USU Special Collection's Brad Cole wins CIMA Service Award

Utah State University’s Brad Cole, currently acting as interim dean for USU’s University Libraries, has been awarded the 2015 CIMA Service Award. He is the associate dean for University Libraries and head’s Special Collections and Archives.

The Conference of Inter-Mountain Archivists (CIMA) presents two awards annually; Lifetime Achievement and Service, to individuals who have shown leadership and service in the Intermountain West and have made considerable contributions to the archival community and CIMA.

A majority of Utah colleges as well as the LDS church have special collections departments, and archivists from Utah, Nevada, Arizona and Idaho are considered for the prestigious award.

Cole has been involved in a number of creative projects and activities that has led to better access for the research community as well as the public. Through his work, Cole has encouraged USU, as well as several other special collections around the state of Utah, to convert legacy finding aides into EAD format, the national standard that creates continuity among archival records.

A USU alum, Cole received his master of science degree in 1983 and has been a leader in the archival community for 32 years. Among other contributions, Cole served as CIMA president from 1993-94 and has served on several committees, including the CIMA council.

Cole has been recognized for his long list of publications, book reviews, articles and presentations.

“Brad has made a lot of strides to create work for public access and to make an inventory that’s available online,” said Daniel Davis from USU’s Special Collections. “He has been a mentor to many young archivists and everyone in Special Collections, including myself.”

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Contact: Brad Cole, (435) 797-8268, brad.cole@usu.edu

Writer: Jackson Murphy, Jackson.murphy@usu.edu