Terry Cook, 1947-2014  

Highlights

Internationally recognized as a leading archival thinker and educator; distinguished career at the Public/National Archives of Canada (now Library and Archives Canada); introduced concept of macro-appraisal. 

Education and Background 

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Terry Cook received a BA in history from the University of Alberta (1969), an MA in history from Carleton University (1970), and a PhD in       Canadian History from Queen's University (1977). 

Professional Career 

In 1975 Terry Cook began his archival career at the Public Archives of Canada, eventually becoming the senior manager responsible for directing the appraisal and records disposition program for Government of Canada records in all media. In his long and distinguished career there, he was responsible for developing policies and methodologies that dramatically altered archival concepts and practices; this included conceiving and implementing macro-appraisal, which has gained wide international acceptance. Cook retired from the National Archives in 1998, and that year became an associate professor in the archival studies master’s program at the University of Manitoba (Department of History). Also in 1998, Cook established Clio Consulting Inc., which became a vehicle for advising government and academic archives around the world.  

Contributions to the Profession 

Terry Cook was an active member of the ACA, chairing the Electronic Records Committee (1991-1992) and the Aboriginal Archives Special Interest Section (1997-1998). He also served as the ACA President’s Special Advisor on Public Policy (1998-2006). In that capacity he wrote briefs, appeared before Parliamentary Committees, published newspaper articles, and lobbied various bodies on legislation and policies that impacted the archival community, such as copyright, privacy and access, and the historical Census of Canada. 

Cook was very influential in the development of archival thinking, education, and advocacy in Canada and around the world. His many seminal scholarly contributions to the archival profession cover a wide range of topics, including archival appraisal, electronic records, archival history and theory, archival education, and Canadian history. He published more than 80 articles in leading archival and historical journals including Archivaria, Archival Science, The American Archivist and The Canadian Historical Review. He served on the editorial boards of Archivaria, The American Archivist, and Archival Science and was General Editor of Archivaria(1982-84). He also edited Historical Papers/Communications historiques, published by the Canadian Historical Association (1978-1982); the Canadian Historical Association’s Historical Booklets Series (1982-1994); co-edited with Gordon Dodds a book of Canadian archival theorist Hugh A. Taylor’s articles (2003), and edited a festschrift for American archival theorist Helen Samuels (2011). 

Honours, Awards and Recognition 

• Society of American Archivists Fellow, 1995 
• ArchivariaW. Kaye Lamb Prize, 1998 and 2006 
• American Archivist Ernst Posner Award, 2002 
• ACA Fellow, 2009 
• Royal Society of Canada, elected 2010 

Further Information: 

• Lemieux, Victoria. “Terry Cook.” In The Encyclopedia of Archival Writers, 1515-2015. Edited by Luciana Duranti and Patricia C. Franks. Lanham, ML: Rowman and Littlefield, 2015. 
• Nesmith, Tom. “Terry Cook, 1947–2014”. Archivaria79 (Spring 2015): 207-13, https://archivaria.ca/index.php/archivaria/article/view/13538. 
• Tom Nesmith, Greg Bak and Joan Schwartz, eds. All Shook Up: The Archival Legacy of Terry Cook. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2020.  
• Smith, Marie-Daneille, “Terry Cook (1947-2014) was internationally renowned archivist”, National Post, June 08, 2014. 

Photo source: https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/ottawacitizen/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/terry-cook-1947-2014-was-an-internationally-renowned-archivist-rockefbfbdnefbfbdroll-mu.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=576&h=432 

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