H. A. Taylor

This was a poignant read, with all three 'main characters': Terry Cook, Gordon Dodds and Hugh Taylor himself now dead. Taylor's writings are a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a polymath: he constantly relates the work of archivists to work in other fields, particularly postmodernist history, communication theory and environmental studies.

Many of the articles were written just as the computer and networks of computers were starting to have an impact on recordkeeping, and some of Taylor's show more predictions are prescient. For example, from 1987:

We had better devise systems that are usable by our clients, and user oriented; otherwise, they will be back consulting us "monks at the gate" and much of the advantage of automation will be lost.

I loved his definition of research as "re-search, that is, the recovery of what was once known".

Taylor was deeply influenced by Howard Zinn's call to action in 1970 and proudly identified himself as an "activist archivist". His respect for the natural world and the work of those who try to protect it really shines through in his writings, with terms like bioregionalism popping up here and there. From 1997:

We are presently at a crossroads: either immensely powerful interests now driving an obsolete and discredited modernism will render the planet uninhabitable, or we will recognize the organic context of our lives and recover a sense of community that is in harmony with the "story of the universe."

He was also a deeply spiritual man and felt strongly that archival work needed more of a human dimension and to be used as an active force for change. As another English archivist who made the move across the Atlantic to work in Canada, I feel proud to have followed in Taylor's footsteps. show less

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