Hidden gem of history: the Cook Archive

At the back of building D at Cook Medical’s Park 48 facility, in between the video department and a pod of cubicles, a narrow hallway flanked by file cabinets and whiteboards takes you to a small room. It’s off the beaten path, but if you stop and look in the Cook Archive room, you will be surprised, encouraged, and maybe even inspired by more than 3,700 catalogued historical items from Cook’s start-up days to the present. The number of items added to the archive increases daily.

As you enter the room, you are immediately greeted by a life-sized, photographic cut-out of Bill Cook. In the photo, he is garbed in a stylish 1960s suit with a disarming smile and a sparkle of ingenuity in his eyes. The photo is of Mr. Cook at the RSNA (Radiologic Society of North America) conference in 1963, which marks a turning point in his new medical device business, because it was there that he met Dr. Charles Dotter, now known as the “father of interventional medicine.” The photo of Mr. Cook tells a story, just like each item in the Cook Archive does. It’s a fitting welcome to the archive, a room brimming with a treasure trove of history.

The digital archive

In addition to the archive room, Cook maintains over 300,000 assets in a digital archive, which are currently being reviewed for image quality and labeled with descriptions by the Archival Materials team. The descriptions will provide information that identifies the photo subjects and enhances the searchability of the assets. Once a month, the team, which includes Jon Hancuff, manager, global editorial content; Tony Mitchell, archival specialist; Mike Galimore, archival specialist; Doug Wright, archival specialist; and Ashley McGuire, generalist, editorial content, join together for a day-long, eight-hour marathon of reviewing assets, helping with the monumental task of assigning descriptive tabs to the growing list of digital assets.

The archive room

Meanwhile, back in the archive room the temperature is noticeably cool. Tony explains, “The room is purposefully temperature controlled and maintained at 65 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit to conserve paper items stored in the archive and eliminate humidity. All archived documents are also stored in specially designed boxes that protect items from ultraviolet light exposure, which can make paper yellowed and brittle over time.”

Tony catalogs each archive piece in a spreadsheet and assigns it a filing code for easy retrieval in the archive. Archive storage is divided into sections, with floor-to-ceiling shelving housed in cases, which can be opened and expanded at the spin of an attached wheel.

A formal archive

A formal archive with designated space and cataloging procedures was established around the time of Cook Medical’s 50th anniversary in 2013. As the company celebrated its past, management and employees alike began recognizing the need to preserve its historical impact on minimally invasive medicine around the world.

Cook artifacts began to be collected from across the company and sent to the archive. A Cook artifact can be found anywhere—in file cabinets, in old, dusty desks, or in not-so-empty offices. If you have a trained eye for historical value, you immediately recognize the stories behind that old photo in a desk drawer or the letter in a box of correspondence and realize that such an item can become a jewel to treasure in the Cook Archive.

The team has defined an archive-worthy artifact in its Cook archives procedure as “any item in Cook’s possession that holds substantial historical value due to its relation to Cook’s origins, organizational development, core values, or philosophy.” As part of Cook’s records management program, a Records Retention Schedule informs employees when it is acceptable to dispose of records and documents. Before disposing of any documents, we encourage you to review the archives procedure for examples of types of documents and items that should be stored in the archive rather than discarded.

The Cook Archive stores not only tangible items—reminders of Cook’s humble beginnings, successes, and setbacks—it’s also a room full of memories of the past and earnest hopes for the future. “Through your own history, you can see your successes and failures,” says Tony. “No company can afford not to learn from its successes and failures. The Cook Archive reminds us of this.”

Start seeing the value in simple artifacts that can trigger conversation about Cook, or a story or two. When you retire, for example, postcards from the past, old letters, and mementos from galas you attended are prize finds. Bring them to the Cook Archive. Contact Tony.Mitchell@CookMedical.com or Doug.Wright@CookMedical.com for more information about how to donate to the Cook Archive.

What’s in the archive?

Watch these short videos to see a few featured items.

Gianturco’s suitcase

Employee toolbox from the 1970s

The first Cook logo in movable type, from the 1960s