Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Records generated by administrators and offices charged with the financial activities of the University, including Secretary and Vice-President Shirley W. Smith and Controller and Assistant Secretary John C. Christensen; include general University financial records; records of land; trust fund records; proposed development and construction projects; operating records of buildings, divisions and other units.

The records of Financial Operations date from 1837 to 1982, primarily after 1910. The 27 linear feet of manuscript material, 52 oversized volumes and one reel of microfilm reflect not only the financial records normally associated with an accounting office, but also the broad range of subjects which became a concern under the leadership of Shirley Smith. What would eventually become Financial Operations may have served as a records storage office for many of the other units under Smith's control. In any event, Financial Operations became the guardian of a wide variety of records, documenting the University in a number of ways not normally expected of an accounting service.

Of particular note, the collection contains a variety of different record formats. Bound materials, in the form of books, are included in the boxes and when numbering more than one, are listed in the finding aid as multiple volumes. The collection also contains oversized volumes, in the form of large accounting books. These oversized volumes are numbered and stored separately. They are listed in the finding aid where intellectually appropriate, and designated by volume number. Enclosed in this finding aid is an index of the oversized volumes, organized by number, and their contents.

The collection is divided into six series: General University Financial Records; Trust Fund Records; Records of Land, Proposed Development and Construction; Operating Records of Buildings, Divisions and other Units; Miscellaneous Reports, Studies and Volumes; and Accounting Office Records.

University of Michigan staff photographer, 1913-1947 and commercial photographer in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Collection includes some manuscript material but is primarily photographic prints and negatives made by Swain. Photo subjects include university buildings, faculty, and student activities, archeological expeditions to the Near East and, Ann Arbor scenes and landscapes form his travels in the western United States and Canada.

The papers and photographs of George R. Swain mainly document Swain's accomplishments as university photographer at the University of Michigan from 1913 to 1947. Researchers should note, however, that this is only a sampling of the photographer's work during these years. The Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan has an extensive collection of Swain's archaeological negatives and prints, and researchers interested in his full career will want to also look at the Kelsey collection. The Bentley Library material, while including several folders of fine photographs Swain made on his travels with Professor Frances Kelsey, for the most part documents Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan.

The collection at the Bentley Library consists of three series: Miscellaneous Papers; Photographers Log; and Photographs (prints; negatives; and lantern slides. Since the bulk of the collection is comprised of early twentieth century images of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan, the materials will be of most interest to researchers searching for visual documentation of this part of the state in that time period. There are very few materials beyond the visual, although the lengthy captions attached to many overseas images and the essays, diaries, and letters, are extremely interesting and offer insight into how Swain approached his craft, both as a professional photographer and in his personal work.

The collection the Helen Newberry Residence contains administrative files and information relating to the history of the Helen Handy Newberry Residence at the University of Michigan.

This small 0.5 linear feet collection contains administrative records from the early years of Newberry Hall, 1915-1947. The first folder contains the minutes of the Board of Governors for the years, 1915 to 1925. The board was made up of five women. These women included the Dean of Women and at least two women who were University of Michigan graduates or who had been students. This board was appointed by the regents from those nominated by the Board of Trustees of the Students Christian Association. The second folder includes brief historical and financial records. These records give a brief financial history of the opening of the residence hall. This includes an interesting discussion of the separate roles of the university and the Student Christian Association in the upkeep of the building. There is a folder of budget summaries and a folder containing audits performed between 1927 and 1931. The Food Services records include the number of meals served and an example of the cost for guest meals. The last folder is the architectural contract from Kahn and Wilby for alterations to Newberry Hall

Libraries administered by graduate students and operating within the individual residence halls of the University of Michigan. The record group consists of administrative files and Benzinger Library (East Quadrangle) files including monthly reports, annual reports, meeting minutes, memoranda, handbooks, and manuals dealing with policies and procedures.

The records of the University of Michigan Residence Hall Libraries (3 linear feet) date from 1954 to 2005. The record group has been divided into four series: Academic Connections, Administrative Files, Benzinger Library (East Quadrangle) Files, Media, and Planning.

Established in 1891 as the University of Michigan Training School for Nurses, the School of Nursing offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees and continuing education in nursing specializations including medical-surgical nursing, psychiatric mental health nursing, and nursing administration. The record group includes administrative and topical files of the dean, committee and faculty records, photographs, and research area files.

The physical records of the School of Nursing measure 112 feet, 2 oversize folders, and 1.24 GB (online), with an additional 9 feet of material in records center storage. Physical records date from 1891 to 2010, although the great majority of the material was created after 1940 by the current School of Nursing; the School of Nursing website has been archived since the early 2000s.

Only fragmentary records of the school's two predecessor units are found in the collection. Reflecting the source of the material, the collection has been arranged into broad subgroups, the titles of which usually reflect the dean from whose office the records originated.

Records of University of Michigan office (and its predecessor administrative offices) responsible for external fund raising and development activities, including subject files of development officials Arthur Brandon, Lyle Nelson, and Michael Radock; staff files; and photographs.

The records of the Vice President for Development date from 1948 to the present and measure 39.5 linear feet. They reflect the basic concerns of the office for these four decades: preserving and improving the university's public image and planning major fundraising efforts. Unfortunately, both activities are incompletely documented. In the area of public relations the records tend to discuss how immediate problems will be dealt with, rather than overall conceptions of the university's image. The thought behind the innovative fundraising devices created or employed by the office is sometimes recorded through consultant reports, but in general is not well documented.

The manuscript records have been divided into two subgroups, one representing the records of the vice president (or senior staff person, for those years in which there was no vice presidency), the other containing records created by the development office. The Vice Presidents subgroup has been divided by the name of each person who has held the office: Arthur Brandon, Lyle Nelson, and Michael Radock. Researchers should note that since Nelson and Radock used their predecessor's files for some time before inaugurating their own records, the relationship between office tenure and file dates is not an exact one. The Development Office subgroup contains records of that office and its subsidiary units. Several accessions of Development Office records received in 1989 and 1990 have been grouped together as Development Office subgroup: 1989-1990 accessions.