Imagining Archives

Book excerpt: 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