Yesterday, the Archival profession lost a giant who agitated, inspired and implemented seminal ways of stewarding history and record-keeping. His passion for teaching and mentoring young archivists well into retirement was best vocalized in his 2010 ACA Keynote, “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants.” A strong advocate for human rights and archival implications of documentation and advocating for future generations is represented in the voice he so passionately infused in his many articles and speeches given around the world.
The following is from the Association of Canadian Archivists:
An ACA member since the Association’s inception in 1975, he served the ACA in a variety of roles, including serving on the Publication Committee (1982-1984), the Conference Programme Committee on three occasions, the Electronic Records Committee (1991-1992) and the Aboriginal Archives Special Interest Section (1997-1998). He also acted as the ACA President’s Special Advisor on Public Policy from 1998-2006, a role in which he wrote briefs, appeared before Parliamentary Committees, published newspaper articles, and lobbied various bodies on legislation and policies that affected the archival community, such as copyright, privacy and access, and the historical census. He served similar roles in the Society of American Archivists and other organizations. In addition to authoring over 80 articles appearing in leading international journals, he also served on the editorial board for Archivaria (1981-1996 and 1999-2006) and American Archivist (1991-2001). He was named a fellow of the Association in 2009.
From 1975 to 1998, he worked at the Public, later National, Archives of Canada, leaving as the senior manager responsible for directing the appraisal and records disposition program for all media. In his long and distinguished career there, he was responsible for the development of policies and methodologies which dramatically altered the national archival system. Among his many vital contributions, it was at the National Archives where he conceived and implemented macroappraisal and since its implementation in Canada, it has gained wide international acceptance. Leaving the National Archives in 1998, he founded an archival consulting firm, Clio Consulting Inc., and worked for national, municipal, and academic archives, as well as archival associations, around the world. He also served as an Associate Professor for the Archival Studies Program in the Department of History at the University of Manitoba from 1998-2012. He was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2010.
Terry will be missed greatly by his family, friends and followers in and out of the archival profession. It’s you and Elvis now friend.