Imagining Archives: Essays and Reflections

Hugh A. Taylor is one of the most important thinkers in the English-speaking world of archives. A retired civil servant and archival educator, he was named to the prestigious Order of Canada, his nation's highest civilian award. The fifteen essays in this volume are presented in chronological order so that readers may appreciate the broadening evolution and rich interconnections in Taylor's thought as these occurred over more than three decades. These essays link archives to social life and contemporary ideas. Long before postmodern scholars' recent fascination with 'the archive,' Taylor was intent on constructing archives anew, imagining them as places where archivists connect their records with social issues, with new media and technologies, with the historical tradition of archives, with the earth's ecological systems, and with broader spiritual meaning. Also included are two original essays by editors Terry Cook and Gordon Dodds.

About the Author

Terry Cook is visiting professor in the postgraduate archival studies program at the University of Manitoba and has taught at the University of Michigan's School of Information. He is the author of The Archival Appraisal of Records Containing Personal Information: A RAMP Study With Guidelines and editor of Electronic Records Practice: Lessons from the National Archives of Canada . Since 1972, Gordon Dodds has worked at the Archives of Ontario, the National Archives of Canada, and the Provincial Archives of Manitoba, where he was manager of the Government Records Office and an associate provincial archivist. In addition to several articles on archival issues, he is the coauthor of four books: Tyneside Classical: The Newcastle of Grainger, Dobson, and Clayton ; A Picture History of Ontario ; Canada: A History in Photographs ; and The World of William Notman .