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The Bentley Historical Library houses the Michigan Historical collections, which documents the history of Michigan; and the University Archives and Records Program, which maintains the historical record of the University of Michigan. Founded in 1935 as the Michigan Historical Collections, directors of the library include Lewis G. Vander Velde, F. Clever Bald, Robert M. Warner, Francis X. Blouin, Jr., and Terrence J. McDonald. The records include administrative files, correspondence, meeting materials, files on exhibits, archived websites, images, audio-visual media, and documentation of special projects such as the Vatican Archives project.

The records of the Bentley Historical Library were received in six main accessions 1991, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2007 and 2014. Together the records comprise 79 linear feet, plus two oversize boxes, and oversize folder, three flat file drawers, and more than 16 GB of data spanning the years 1935-2014. The researcher should consult the summary box list on page vii for a quick overview of the materials in the collection.

The Law Library was established as part of the University of Michigan Law School in 1859 and is currently maintained and administered as a part of the instructional and research operation of the Law School. The collection contains documentation related to administrative matters within the Law Library, including financial documentation, correspondence, director files, and documentation on the building expansion of the library. The collection also contains some of the material removed from the collections at the library, as well as documentation related to the Law School, which was also previously housed in the library collections.

The material included in the Law Library records are primarily the files of the library directors and of Professor Hobart R. Coffey and Esther Betz. The material included in the Law Library records are divided into five series: Administration, Collections, Law School, Audio Visual Material, and William Cook Papers.