2 responses to “Laurenda Daniells, University Archivist Emerita (1923-2017)”

  1. Shelley Sweeney

    Laurenda Daniels was responsible for getting me into the Archival Studies program at UBC. I was supposed to see the Special Collections Librarian for career counselling but she was away the day I dropped in and by lucky circumstance Laurenda Daniells was in instead. Speaking with Laurenda was the encouragement I needed to change course and pursue a career in archives, and I’ve always thanked my lucky stars that I ended up in this field. I recently had the pleasure to read Laurenda’s autobiography. The first part, when she lived in Winnipeg, is especially moving and reminiscent of the naïve perspective of Scout in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” It’s a very powerful exposure of the casual racism that imbued Canadian society in the early years of the 20th century and I recommend reading it for that part alone (if you can get a copy of it!). I will remember Laurenda and while sorry I didn’t get to see her in person, am so thankful I did get to email with her in these last few months.

  2. Chris Hives

    As the person who gave me my first job in the archival world I, of course, have nothing but incredibly fond memories of Laurenda. I had the good fortune to work with her for three years following my MAS graduation on a contract to undertake an “automation” project designed to provide intellectual and physical access to archival holdings in UBC’s University Archives and Special Collections using the relatively new pc computer technology in the mid-1980s. Laurenda was the architect of this cutting-edge, grant-funded project and this was quite representative of someone who was very much a forward thinker and went to great lengths to keep up with the latest developments in the archival profession. I learned a great deal from Laurenda during the three years of the project. Not only did I benefit from Laurenda’s professional mentorship during this time but she also, through example, made me appreciate the importance of service to the profession and taking the time to give back to in some small way try to make things better. Laurenda throughout her career was very active in local, provincial and national archival organizations and in particular a strong advocate for formal and informal archival education. When she retired in 1988 I was fortunate to succeed her as UBC University Archivist and as such I inherited a program built on a very firm foundation and well-respected across the campus.