Hugo Leendert Philip Stibbe

6 May 1934 - 24 Jun 2003

• OCCUPATION: Geographer, Archivist
  
• BIRTH: 6 May 1934, Semarang
• DEATH: 24 Jun 2003, Ottawa, Canada

• MARRIAGE: 16 May 1964, Edmonton

1. +David Jack Stibbe
2. +Hugo Mark Stibbe
3. +Stephen Paul Stibbe
4.  Ian Keith Stibbe

                                                    _Meijer Stibbe ______+
                                                   | (1815 - 1899) m 1844
                           _Abraham Meijer Stibbe _|
                          | (1846 - 1935) m 1876   |
                          |                        |_Leentje Stofkoper __+
                          |                          (1815 - 1873) m 1844
 _Jacob Stibbe ___________|
| (1884 - 1964) m 1930    |
|                         |                         _____________________
|                         |                        |                     
|                         |_Mijntje Vlug __________|
|                           (1850 - 1915) m 1876   |
|                                                  |_____________________
|                                                                        
|
|--Hugo Leendert Philip Stibbe 
|  (1934 - 2003)
|                                                   _____________________
|                                                  |                     
|                          ________________________|
|                         |                        |
|                         |                        |_____________________
|                         |                                              
|_Willemina Helena Schot _|
  (1907 - 1989) m 1930    |
                          |                         _____________________
                          |                        |                     
                          |________________________|
                                                   |
                                                   |_____________________
                                                                         

[144] Hugo Leendert Philip Stibbe

Hugo Stibbe died in Ottawa, Canada, on 24th June, 2003. He was esteemed in archives and libraries around the world for his contribution to the development of international standards for the description of cartographic material and archival records.

Hugo was born in Samarang, Netherlands Indies, now Indonesia. He obtained a merchant marine engineering certificate in the Netherlands in 1954 and served in the Dutch merchant navy before immigrating to Canada in 1958.
In 1966, he received a MSc. degree in Geography from the University of Alberta. He established the map library of the U of Alberta and was its map librarian until 1973, when he came to work with the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa where he was for fifteen years Chief, Document Control Section, in the map division (National Map Collection then). He completed his Ph.D in Geography at the University of Utrecht in 1976. At the NMC he designed and implemented the cataloguing and indexing system for maps. In 1987 he was asked to establish the National Archives of Canada's Office of Descriptive Standards and became its first Senior Archival Descriptive Standards Officer. He represented the Archives at the Bureau of Canadian Archivists for different projects. He retired from the National Archives of Canada in 1999.
Hugo Stibbe was always extremely active in national and international associations. Within the Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives (ACMLA) he was treasurer, vice-president and president, member of the Committee for Standards and Procedures for Map Libraries, of the National Union Catalogue Committee, and of its successor, the Canadian Committee on Bibliographic Control of Cartographic Materials. He organized the Anglo-American Cataloguing Committee for Cartographic Materials which produced Cartographic Materials: A Manual of Interpretation for AACR2, published in 1982 by the Library Association, the Canadian Library Association, and the American Library Association. This publication, a second edition of which was released in June, 2003, is the universally accepted interpretation for standard descriptions of cartographic material in libraries and archives.

Through his initiative co-operation with other organizations sharing the same purpose was encouraged. He became active with the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) where he represented the ACMLA. He later served as chairman of the IFLA Working Group on ISBD(CM) and member of the Working Group on ISBD(G). He chaired the ISBD(CM) which developed the cartographic specifications in UNIMARC; was chairman of the Standing Committee of the Section of Geography and Map Libraries; was secretary of the Division of Special Libraries; and acted as co-ordinator of Section VI, Access to Cartographic Materials of the Manual of Map Curatorship.

Archives around the world and the International Council on Archives felt the need for international standardized and automated descriptions since the middle of the 1980s. In 1988 the National Archives of Canada hosted an international meeting on this subject. It concluded that there was a need for international archival descriptive standards and the establishment of a working group on description. Hugo was one of the participants. In 1990 he was asked to develop a statement of principles upon which the standards were to be based. The same year the ICA established the Ad Hoc Commission on Descriptive Standards, and later, in 1996, the Committee on Descriptive Standards, and Hugo was appointed its Secretary and Project Director. He held the position from 1990 to 2000.

Hugo's energy and expertise contributed decidedly to the Committee's different projects: the development and publication of the first edition of ISAD(G), the General International Standard Archival Description (1994), and the second, 1999, edition; ISAAR(CPF), the International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families (1996); the development of guidelines for the translation of the two standards in languages other than English; the compilation of a bibliography of the two standards and of citation of articles which mention the standards; co-operation with IFLA for the design and eventual implementation of an international standard archival authority code similar to the ISBN and ISSN numbers; the planning with the Society of American Archivists regarding the development of an EAD (Encoded Archival Description) for contextual information associated with archival creators and the revision of EAD to conform with ISAD(G); and finally the development of guidelines for an archival finding aid typology and for standardization of finding aids. Hugo was directly involved in the development of the two standards. Last April, Christine Nougaret, a former colleague of Hugo's on the Committee, wrote how significant his contribution had been: "Hugo was one of the linchpins in the development of the ISAD(G) and ISAAR(CPF) standards, his experience with archives and library descriptive standards enabled him to focus discussions toward one goal, i.e., the timely production of good international standards acceptable to all archival traditions ...this success is due, in large part, to Hugo's rigour and determination and his ability at leading his flock without ever going off course, all this with humour, finesse and kindness." Throughout his career Hugo published and lectured extensively on automated description, and cartographic archives.

His former colleagues at the National Archives of Canada were deeply distressed last Autumn at the news that he was suffering from an illness which would only leave him some months to live. Those who visited him in the last weeks were welcomed with the same kindness and serenity he had always demonstrated in the past. Earlier in June Gerald Stone said "Above and beyond his specific accomplishments, Hugo is a wonderful colleague and friend, of deep personal integrity, committment, and sincerity, and whose warmth, inclusiveness, and good humour served as an excellent role model and mentor." On learning of his illness the International Council on Archives expressed terrible sadness at the situation.

Hugo's passing is a great loss, a moment of sorrow which makes us realize even more the value of the man gone.

Louis Cardinal
Ottawa

Source: International Council of Archives