Collections : [University of Michigan Special Collections Research Center]

Materials relating to the work of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science and the 1979 and 1991 White House Conferences on Libraries and Information Services. Includes correspondence, committee files, clippings and subject files.

The records of the National Microfilm Association concern the work of the organization between 1944 and 1973, with scattered materials documenting some activities as late as 1990. The materials consist of correspondence, constitutions, by-laws, handbooks, meeting minutes, membership lists, biographical information, financial records, company publications, and articles and scholarly presentations.

In December 1982, Dr. Vernon Tate donated a large collection of manuscripts and publications documenting the history of microphotography and his own career as a historian, archivist, librarian, and microfilm pioneer to The University of Michigan Libraries. This donation provided the impetus for the creation of the Power Collection for the Study of Scholarly Communication and Information Transfer in the Special Collections Library. The Power Collection is named in honor of Dr. Tate's long-time friend, Eugene B. Power, the founder of the micropublishing firm University Microfilms, Inc.

Dr. Tate's donations to the Power Collection contain over 140 linear feet of manuscripts, including his own personal and professional papers, an extensive collection of records of the National Microfilm Association (NMA), and the Microfilm Pioneers Collection which contains the papers of several of Dr. Tate's colleagues concerning microphotography and the activities of NMA. In addition, Dr. Tate donated an extensive collection of serials and monographs relating primarily to the fields of photography, microphotography, and archives.

The earliest records concern a meeting held in 1944 to discuss the creation of a microfilm trade association and the subsequent NMA founding convention held in Cleveland, Ohio, in March 1945. Included in the collection is the correspondence of Franklin Morgan, one of the organizers of these two meetings and the first president of NMA, covering June 1944 to October 1945.

Morgan resigned as president in October 1945 and vice president Eugene Power succeeded him. At about the same time the board of directors hired Wilfred Knighton as secretary. He served in this position until September 1946, when the board replaced him with Vernon Tate.

The records covering the first years of NMA's existence are fairly substantial. For these years the files contain extensive correspondence of the presidents and secretaries of the organization, along with minutes of annual meetings and board meetings and scattered materials on committees and finances.

After the first few years, NMA declined in strength and activity and the quantity and quality of the records reflects this. There apparently were no annual meetings after 1946 and no board meetings after 1947. The president and secretary continued an active correspondence through 1948, although many of the letters from 1947 and 1948 concern attempts to revitalize the organization.

Between 1949 and 1951, NMA was completely dormant. The only records consist of occasional letters inquiring about the organization or specific questions on microfilming techniques. Vernon Tate continued to answer letters addressed to NMA, even though the organization was inactive.

With the revitalization of NMA after a meeting at the Library of Congress in 1952, extensive files on all aspects of the organization's work appear once again. One major difference in the records, however, is that the correspondence file no longer contains a complete record of the president's correspondence. It consists of letters received and sent by executive secretary Vernon Tate, with occasional copies of presidential letters sent to Tate for his information.

The records grew in quantity and complexity as the years passed, especially during the 1960s when NMA underwent tremendous growth in membership and activities. It was at this time that the organization established much of its committee structure, founded state and regional chapters, and began a Fellows organization for individuals who had been awarded that honor.

In 1969, NMA hired a professional executive vice-president who took over some of Vernon Tate's duties. The following year the organization moved its headquarters from a building owned by Tate in Annapolis, MD, to Silver Spring, MD, closer to Washington. The files for succeeding years reflect Vernon Tate's increasingly limited role and no longer include the files generated by the headquarters staff.

Tate left his positions with NMA at the end of 1973 and the scattered materials in the collection dating from later years relate mainly to his continuing role with the Fellows organization. Included are correspondence and minutes of Fellows meetings.

Researchers should be aware that some NMA-related materials also appear in Tate's Personal and Professional Papers. Included in that collection is Tate's correspondence concerning the organization for the years 1944 to 1946, before he became an officer, and scattered correspondence from the years after Tate left his positions with NMA in 1973.

Additional materials on NMA appear in the Microfilm Pioneers Collection. Several officers of the organization donated their papers to that collection.

Special Collections Library

Power Collection for the Study of Scholarly Communication and Information Transfer

The University of Michigan

(Forms part of the Vernon D. Tate Archive of Micrographics Collection)

The paper and printed portion of the collection is organized into 9 series. The first 5 are organizations with which Dallas Denny was involved or interacted. These series are: I. American Educational Gender Information Service, II. Human Outreach and Achievement Institute, III. Outreach Institute for Gender Studies, IV. Atlanta Pride Committee, and V. International Foundation for Gender Education. The remaining paper series are: VI. Conferences, VII. Miscellaneous Publications, VIII. Shuttle Harry Benjamin, and IX. Photographs (unidentified). Boxes 5 through 14 contain ephemera, memorabilia, photographs, videotapes, computer media, and audio tapes. An item listing is provided in most instances. Boxes 15 through 19 contain correspondence that was processed at a different time than the rest of the collection. For this reason, and because the materials are somewhat different than the rest of the collection, it has been kept separate. The correspondence is organized into 5 series: I. Correspondence, Individuals A-I (Closed), II. Correspondence, Individuals J-Z (Closed), III. Correspondence, 1989-July 1995, IV. Correspondence, August 1995-December 1998, and V. Miscellaneous. The AEGIS files are divided into nine parts based on delineations present in the original file structure. These represent the activities and governance of the organization. Correspondence files are most often organized chronologically within a folder, except for the General Mailings. A larger collection of correspondence can be found further on in the collection. The Survey folders contain survey responses in regard to the experiences of transgendered individuals with therapy and their familiarity with the Standards of Care. Some of the responses included identifying information; these have been removed and replaced with photocopies that have such information blacked out. The Human Outreach and Achievement Institute is the predecessor to the Outreach Institute for Gender Studies and therefore the original host of Fantasia Fair. However, for the sake of continuity, the Fantasia Fair materials for 1992 and 1993 are housed with the rest of the Fair materials in the Outreach Institute series. Most materials within the Miscellaneous Publications series are housed in individual folders; however, a couple folders have multiple publications because they dealt with the same topic area. Boxes 7 through 11 contain a variety of objects, memorabilia, and paraphernalia. In most cases the items are listed individually within the main box divisions. Further description is provided for some items in interior boxes as needed. Box 10A contains photographs that have been divided into sections based on the envelopes and order in which they were found. Only a few of the sections had identifying information and this is reflected in the finding aid. Beginning with Box 15, this portion of the collection consists mainly of correspondence. It includes 4 linear feet of correspondence and 0.5 feet of miscellaneous materials. Correspondence, written by and to Denny, is separated and arranged by name or date, depending on the quantity of communication between Denny and a particular individual. Denny maintained regular correspondence with several people over extended periods of time. Because of the sensitive nature of the subject matter, several people signed only their first names. Thus, several folders in the "Correspondence by Name" section are filed under the first name. The greatest portion of the correspondence is from transgender and transsexual individuals seeking information and advice. Many of these individuals are isolated from others with a common experience and, therefore, turned to AEGIS and Denny as their strongest (if not only) source of support. The correspondence, which ranges from discussion of hormones to coming out to family members, reveals not only the services that AEGIS offered, but also the emotional and physical needs of the transgender community. Individuals' letters are extensive and offer a glimpse into the day-to-day struggles of those who identify as transgender. Women and men write about cross-dressing, surgery options, experiences in other countries, living without surgery and many other issues. Because of the sensitive and personal nature of these letters access to them is restricted until the year 2050. Correspondence also include letters written between Denny and AEGIS board members and other leaders in the transgender community. Denny's involvement with other organizations and in organizing events reveals how important AEGIS was within the MTF community. Also of interest are correspondence between Denny and various other organizations. The gender community is a diverse group that does not always see eye-to-eye and tension arises occasionally between cross-dressers and transsexuals, male-to-females and female-to-males, etc. Letters from and to a heterosexual cross-dressers group and a female-to-male organization reveal Denny's on-going attempts to raise awareness of and reach an understanding with these groups.

Nicholas Delbanco (1942-), came to the University of Michigan in 1985, from Bennington College and Skidmore College, and has served as Director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing and as Robert Frost Collegiate Professor of English Language and Literature.He has also served both as Director and Chair of the Avery Hopwood and Jule Hopwood Awards Program. He has published over twenty-four books (novels, short stories, non-fiction, and textbooks), as well as many essays, reviews, and articles, and edited selected works of his friends and mentors, John Gardner and Bernard Malamud. The Nicholas Delbanco Papers includes correspondence, manuscripts, personal materials, professional records, and clippings. The correspondence is a rich collection of personal and professional letters exchanged over many years with fellow authors, publishers, and literary agents. Several manuscripts in various stages are also included.

The Nicholas Delbanco Papers were acquired by the Special Collections Library, University of Michigan, in September, 2006. Five boxes were added in November, 2009. The papers span over 40 years and include a particularly rich collection of correspondence with nearly 800 authors, educators, family members, and friends. Well known authors include, among others, John Updike, John Gardner, Joyce Carol Oates, Annie Dillard, and Raymond Carver. The correspondence traces the growth of friendships and professional relationships over many years. Other materials demonstrate the development and publication of Delbanco's manuscripts, articles, commentaries, speeches, and other writings as well as his professional careers at Bennington College and the University of Michigan. Delbanco's dedication to his students and the advancement of literature are demonstrated in his professional records, the depth of comments offered on student writings, and his active participation in associations and workshops. Personal materials include correspondence with family members, educational records, photographs, and journals from his early years.

The Nicholas Delbanco Papers are divided into six series: Name and Topical, Writings, Personal, Professional, Computer Disks, and Clippings. Books and serial publications have been separated from the collection to be catalogued individually.

The Name and Topical series contains 10 linear feet, Boxes 1-10, of mainly correspondence with fellow authors, academians, literary agents, and publishers. Topics relevant to the collection, such as university and organizational correspondence or special events are also included. Relevant photographs, clippings, ephemera, manuscripts are generally kept with related names and topics although there may be overlap in the Writings Series, especially when Delbanco and his fellow authors reviewed each other's work. The series is arranged alphabetically, and chronologically within. Incoming and outgoing correspondence are not separated. Each name or topic is given a folder as long as there are at least three letters of correspondence or if the person is of significant status. Names or topics that do not meet these minimum requirements are filed by letter in the alphabet, but are not arranged alphabetically nor chronologically within. The correspondence within these folders spans the years of the collection. There are also several folders that have unidentified correspondence in them because signatures are illegible or incomplete. Identified but undated material are generally placed in the back of related folders.

The largest segments of this series include correspondence with Frederick Busch, John Updike, Jon Manchip White, Andrea Barrett, Alan Cheuse, Richard Elman, Jim Landis, and publishers such as Brandt & Brandt, Warner Books, and Paul R. Reynolds, Inc. Although Jim Landis represented William Morrow as Delbanco's editor, the importance of his friendship with Delbanco appears greater than the business relationship; because of the depth of this friendship, the correspondence is arranged under Landis' name. Correspondence with John Gardner includes correspondence before Gardner's death and then with Gardner's family after his death in 1988, after which Delbanco was assigned to be his literary executor. Other notable correspondents include, among many others, Carly Simon, Joan Didion, Annie Dillard, George Garrett, and Wallace Stegner. Any photographs of correspondents or photographs of Delbanco by the correspondents that were originally with letters remain with those letters. Delbanco initially formed many of these friendships and professional relationships in college, graduate school, as a professor at Bennington College, and through writing workshops and conferences at Yaddo, Bennington, and Bread Loaf.

The Writings series is approximately 29 linear feet, Boxes 11-40, and encompasses many but not all of Delbanco's published writings. The series contains six subseries: Fiction, Short Stories, Nonfiction, Editorial Works, Other, and Writings by Others. Titles are arranged chronologically within the Fiction, Short Stories, Nonfiction,and Editorial Works subseries. Each title may contain a variety of formats which are noted – manuscripts, corrigendas, page proofs, typescripts, mock ups, galleys, penultimates, and unbound signatures, etc. These are arranged chronologically and often are titled as such by Delbanco in his notes. Correspondence that relates directly with manuscript materials that were originally with these manuscript materials, remains in this series, while there may be complementary information in Name & Topical.

The bulk of the material in the Fiction subseries, approximately 14 linear feet, is from The Martlet's Tale, News, Fathering, Small Rain, What Remains, and The Vagabonds. It is evident in the collection that some manuscripts were written under a variety of titles before the final decision was made as to the what the published title would be. Every attempt has been made to distinguish and attach these to the final product. One example is Fathering, which was written during the creative process under titles such as "Plague Year", "Times Fool", and "Leave Taking", before settling on the final title.

The Short Stories subseries contains approximately 1 linear foot of materials, Box 25, tracing development of About My Table and four folders, mainly reviews, on The Writer's Trade, and Other Stories. Individual short stories may be found in the Other subseries.

The Nonfiction subseries, Boxes 26-35 with additional materials in oversize Boxes 45-48 and 50, contains material primarily from Beaux Arts Trio, and two textbooks, The Sincerest Form: Writing Fiction by Imitation, and Literature: Craft and Voice. The Beaux Arts Trio was inspired by Delbanco's father-in law, Bernard Greenhouse, a cellist for the original trio.

The Sincerest Form: Writing Fiction by Imitation, a teaching textbook, was a project undertaken with students from Delbanco's English 417 and Strategies in Prose classes. Materials for this textbook include student critiques, opinions, and exercises for the purpose of learning the basics of writing fiction through imitation, "to encourage the students to develop a much more careful and critical eye when reading" (Instructor's Manual, Box 31), and at an advanced level, "to develop what they learn in class into serious critical essays" (Instructor's Manual, Box 31). Student papers, their releases for usage, and Delbanco's comments in response to their writings are included with these materials.

Literature: Craft and Voice is a three volume textbook written in collaboration with Alan Cheuse, covering works of fiction, poetry, and drama by various masters and commentaries on them. The textbook includes "nonfiction accounts of the process of composition (memoirs by playwrights, letters by poets, essays by short story writers, etc.) in which the authors discuss the problems posed and artistic challenges met." (Prospectus, 2003, Box 33).

The Editorial Works subseries contains approximately 1 linear foot, Box 35, of materials for which Delbanco served as editor. These include works by John Gardner, a colleague at Bennington College, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1982, at the age of 55. Delbanco was a great admirer and good friend of Gardner and his family. There are only a few materials relating to Stillness and Shadows, but there is overlapping information and also correspondence in Name and Topical (Gardner, John), reflecting Delbanco's and Gardner's relationship and the trust held by Gardner's family for Delbanco's handling of Gardner's unfinished manuscripts.

In materials relating to Talking Horse: Bernard Malamud on Life and Work, which was a collaboration with Alan Cheuse, there are correspondence, drafts, and an introduction by Delbanco regarding published and unpublished prose by Bernard Malamud. Malamud was Delbanco's mentor at Bennington College; other materials demonstrating Delbanco's and Malamud's relationship are contained in Name & Topical.

The Other subseries, approximately 4 linear feet, Boxes 35-39 and oversize Box 50, contains a variety of materials such as essays, short stories, commentaries for a WUOM radio program with Alan Cheuse, early writings from the late 1950s and early 1960s, articles for various magazines and newspapers such as Travel Holiday and Harper's, reviews on Delbanco's writings, reviews by Delbanco, and unidentified writings. Autobiographical and biographical materials are also located here as well as interviews with, Kurt Delbanco, Bernard Greenhouse, and Amy Tan. This subseries contains some materials for which it is undetermined whether publication occurred.

The Manuscripts by Others subseries, 1 linear foot of materials, in Box 40, contains writings by Robert Boyers, an article by Thomas and Andrew Delbanco (brothers of Nicholas), Jim Landis (friend and editor at William Morrow), and Stewart O'Nan, fellow author. These writings were submitted to Delbanco for his professional review; the reviews are included here.

The Personal series encompasses 1.5 linear feet of a variety of materials, Boxes 40-41, that pertain to Delbanco's childhood, education, and family. There is correspondence with his brothers, mother, father, uncle, and grandmother; also, marriage telegrams, birthday cards, and get well cards addressing his hospital stay and surgical procedure due to heart problems in 2003. Materials collected while at Fieldston, Harvard University, and Columbia University include correspondence, yearbooks, publications, ephemera, and writings. There are limited marriage, financial, and selective service records. Fifteen folders contain photographs of family, friends, travel, and professional portraits. A diary and handwritten journals contain notes and writings dated 1958 through 1966, with some undated material also. In oversize Box 50, inside Sketchbook #2, is a story written and signed by Delbanco as a very young child.

The Professional series contains 3.5 linear feet of material, Boxes 42-45, divided into subseries: Bennington College, Skidmore College, University of Michigan, Associations and Workshops, and Ephemera.

The Bennington College and Skidmore College subseries' include mainly class notes, professional correspondence relating to his academic positions, clippings, and thoughtful, detailed reviews of student work by Delbanco.

The University of Michigan subseries includes class notes, professional correspondence relating to Delbanco's academic status, clippings, lecture notes, certificates of awards and honorary degrees, and over 40 folders containing Delbanco's commentaries on student works, both at undergraduate and graduate levels. Comments on students' works provided by Delbanco are referred to as "comments"; year end evaluations of classes by students are referred to as "class evaluations". Some students are Hopwood Awards winners. There is commentary in this subseries between Delbanco and Elizabeth Kostova regarding her work for the MFA Program and debut novel, The Historian, which won an award for best Novel in Progress through the Hopwood Awards Program, and went on to be purchased for 2 million dollars by Little Brown and Company in 2004.(See Fiction, Comments, 2002.) Also included are speeches and correspondence regarding the Hopwood Awards Program.

The Associations and Workshops subseries contains correspondence, applications, meeting and agenda documents, ephemera, judging and recommendations notes and documents, and fellowship and grant awards information. Bennington Summer Writing Workshops (with photographs), Bread Loaf Writer's Conferences, Pen/Faulkner, the National Book Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, and the NY Writers Institute are highlighted.

The Ephemera subseries contains flyers and pamphlets that relate to Delbanco's appearances, readings, and publications. There are also catalogues of trade publications and in oversize Box 50, 6 posters.

The Computer Disks series contains unidentified 3.5" and 5.25" floppy disks.

The Clippings series is arranged by decade and contains articles and reviews written about and by Delbanco from the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Ann Arbor News, etc. Reviews and articles can be found with related subjects as well throughout the collection in related files.

The Noël Sturgeon Papers are a collection of materials regarding the research and activism work of Noël Sturgeon from 1977-2002, with the bulk of the material originating from 1983-1993.The ealiest papers primarily concern the organization of an anti-nuclear demonstration held at the Nevada Test Site in 1983, and the Mother's Day Action protests in the 1980s. Later material includes Sturgeon's doctoral research and dissertation, including interview transcripts, as well as her work with the Ecofeminist Newsletter throughout the late 1980s and 1990s. Materials are generally arranged chronologically (as recieved), with some unsorted materials at the end. A collection of 9 audio recordings of interviews is included at the end of the collection.

The collection is 4.0 linear feet in size, and contains 8 series detailing the research an activism of Noël Sturgeon, a feminist scholar and organizer in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. The collection is primarily comprised of papers, especially newsletters and associated materials, and correspondence related to activism and demonstration planning. Materials are from 1983-2002, and the early papers are primarily concerned with anti-nuclear protests and demonstrations at the Nevada Nuclear Test Site. Other papers include Sturgeon's research materials, including research consent forms, interview transcripts, and a copy of her doctoral dissertation. Nine audio cassettes of recorded interviews are also included. The bulk of the material concerns the Ecofeminist Newsletter, which Sturgeon spearheaded, and include subscription information, mailing lists, and article submissions.

The Orson-Welles and Alessandro Tasca di Cutò papers reflect the working and personal relationship between Orson Welles and Alessandro Tasca di Cutò. He was a producer for many of Orson Welles’s films, but two were especially significant for Orson Welles: The Chimes at Midnight (also known as Falstaff, 1965) and Don Quixote (1955-73, unfinished). In both cases, Welles shot the material over a period of years, and on a shoestring budget. The majority of the archive consists of an assortment of letters, handwritten notes, and telegrams that Welles sent to Tasca di Cutò concerning the day-to-day working needs of the filmmaker.

The majority of the archive lies in its assortment of letters, handwritten notes, and telegrams that Welles sent to Tasca di Cutò concerning the day-to-day working needs of the filmmaker. The collection is divided into four series: Correspondence, Projects, Photographs, and Miscellaneous.

In the Correspondence series, the bulk of the letters are written from 1960-1964. Alessandro is usually referred to as Sandro by Orson Welles. The majority of letters are from Welles to Tasca di Cutò mainly discussing film production details. Welles signs many of his letters with just “O”. There is also a letter from Welles to Joseph Marks head of MAfilm in Hungary from 1985. The correspondence contains several references related to Orson Welles’s death in 1985, including a photocopy of a telegram of condolence from France’s President Francois Mitterand to Tasca di Cutò, and from Ann Rogers, Welles’s one-time secretary in London. In the Various to Tasca section letters include correspondence from Paola Mori and Rebecca Welles Manning along with business contacts. The letters are a combination of typed and handwritten letters and some letters are photocopies of originals.

The Projects series includes information on films Orson Welles acted and directed. Included in this series are scripts, production documents such as budgets and filming schedules, and photographs. The films include: "Black Magic", "Nella terra di Don Chisciotte" (In the Land of Don Quixote) a documentary, "Chimes at Midnight", "The Other Side of the Wind", "The Big Brass Ring", "The Dreamers", "King Lear", "The Cradle Will Rock", "Mercedes", "It’s All True", "The Unseen", "Don Quixote", and "Saladino". The "Chimes at Midnight" documents include 22 costume sketches that are attributed to Orson Welles, but are left unsigned. In "Don Quixote" there are eleven drawings and paintings by several different artists depicting scenes from "Don Quixote" based on stills from some early footage. The drawings are from different artists but all are in the style of Gustave Dore. The drawings were to show Don Quixote “reading his book and getting his Big Idea.” The unfinished projects include: "It’s All True", "The Other Side of the Wind", "The Big Brass Ring", "King Lear", "The Cradle Will Rock", "Saladino" and "Don Quixote".

Photographs are included in each project, but the Photographs series contains photographs of Alessandro Tasca di Cutò on set and in some of his acting roles.

Miscellaneous contains material such as stationary, and programs from many Orson Welles tributes. Included is a photocopy of a legal document that is a confirmation of ownership rights to Oja Kodar for some of Orson Welles’s material. The Clippings and Articles contains general clippings from several publications from 1943-1985 documenting Orson Welles’s career with some in French and Spanish.

The Orson Welles-Chris Welles Feder Collection is an assortment of material on Orson Welles collected by his eldest daughter Chris Welles Feder. She was born Christopher Welles in 1938 to Orson Welles and Virginia Nicolson Welles. The collection includes letters written by Orson Welles to his first wife, Virginia Nicolson, and family photographs. Also included are clippings and articles, audiovisual materials such as movies or TV shows dedicated to Orson Welles, and miscellaneous material such as postcards, exhibition programs, and catalogs. The collection has five series: Correspondence, Clippings and Articles, Photographs, Audiovisual, and Miscellaneous.

The Correspondence series contains letters written mainly by Orson Welles to his wife Virginia Nicolson from 1937-1952. They were married in 1934 and separated in 1939 when Orson moved to Hollywood and Virginia visited Ireland with her friend Geraldine Fitzgerald. By 1940 the couple legally divorced. The letters are a combination of handwritten and typed letters and some include drawings in the margins by Welles. A significant series of letters are the ones written between July-August 1939 to Virginia. They provide insight into Welles's professional transition from New York to Hollywood, describing his first month on the West Coast and his introduction to the world of movie-making. Responses from Virginia Nicolson Welles are not included. The early photographs, wedding announcement, and Christmas card of 1937 had been housed together in an album.

The Clippings and Articles series includes newspaper clippings from 1936-2004 on both Orson and Virginia, but the majority are about Orson Welles’s career. Also included are clippings from society pages from the 1930’s announcing Orson Welles and Virginia Nicolson's marriage, the birth of their daughter Christopher, and the couple’s divorce. Some clippings include annotations in the margins by Chris Welles Feder.

The Photographs series includes a wedding portrait of Virginia and Orson Welles’s marriage in 1934. Also included are childhood photographs of Chris Welles Feder with Orson Welles along with photographs of Rebecca Welles Manning, Orson Welles’s daughter with Rita Hayworth. Also included are headshots of Orson Welles for different productions and some photographs of him as a child. Production photographs from "Too Much Johnson" (1938) and "Macbeth" (1948) both directed by Orson Welles are in the collection.

Audiovisual Material is an assortment of audio cassette tapes and VHS tapes. Included are three Smithsonian Historical Performances audio cassettes of the radio dramatization of "Les Miserables" recorded by Orson Welles in 1937. VHS tapes include movies Welles made guest appearances in and television shows, and Criterion Collection material about his life and work.

The Miscellaneous series contains an assortment of legal documents, press packets and exhibit and awards programs from Orson Welles tributes and retrospectives.

The Orson Welles – Oja Kodar Papers includes scripts, production documents, photographs, and other materials from Orson Welles's work in film and other media. General correspondence, topical files, papers related to Oja Kodar, and personal materials also make up a portion of collection. The bulk of the papers date from the 1960s to the 1980s with a smaller amount of material from the 1930s-1950s. The Additions to the Welles-Kodar Papers series, acquired in 2015, complements the scripts, correspondence and photographs already held, but also include annotated typescripts of drafts for a planned memoir, additional on-the-set photographs from films, television, and other projects, personal photographs, and documents from collaborations between Welles and Kodar.

The Orson Welles - Oja Kodar Papers primarily document the creative activities of Orson Welles during the last two decades of his life. The papers also contain a smaller amount of materials from the 1930s through the early 1960s. The materials in this collection were obtained from Oja Kodar, his companion and creative collaborator from the 1960s until his death in 1985. Additional papers were acquired in 2015 and are described below in the Additions to the Welles-Kodar Papers series.

The Welles-Kodar Papers have been divided into thirteen series: Theater, Radio, Film, Television, Other projects, Magic, Name and topical, Personal, Oja Kodar, Sound, Motion pictures, Realia, and Articles and clippings. Though much of the collection was loose and unordered, any parts of the collection that were grouped or organized by Welles, his assistants, or Oja Kodar have generally been kept in their original order. The loose, unorganized papers were then arranged according to the patterns that seemed exist in the material that was organized. Essentially, the current organization of the collection is an attempt to more fully implement the organizational schemes that Welles and Kodar were employing in the collection.

The first five series (Theatre, Radio, Film, Television, Other projects) represent the bulk of the collection and are arranged by project. For example, all materials relating to Citizen Kane including correspondence, photographs, and production documents, are kept together, physically and intellectually. The projects are then ordered chronologically. For example, immediately after the Citizen Kane (1941) materials are materials related to Welles' next project, The Magnificent Ambersons (1942). There are two exceptions to this project-based arrangement, where two groups of materials were kept together by production company (Astrophore and Roprama Film). Researchers should also note that Welles often worked on several projects at once so a memo filed, for example, under F for Fake (1974), may touch on Blind Window , which he was working on in roughly the same time period. Browsing through material from projects that occurred during the same general time period may therefore be a useful search strategy for researchers.

The Magic series, consists of a small amount of magic books, scripts for tricks, correspondence with magicians, and playing cards, reflects Orson Welles' strong, life-long interest in magic.

The remaining seven series (Name and topical, Personal, Kodar, Sound, Motion pictures, Realia, and Articles and clippings) contain material not generated during the making or distribution of Welles' creative projects. The Name and topical series consists of an alphabetical set of subject and name files material may range from correspondence with friends to posters from film festivals honoring or featuring Welles's work. The Name and topical series also includes correspondence with many famous filmmakers and actors and actresses. The Personal series contain photographs of Welles and materials relating to childhood friends, family, Welles's houses, and personal legal and financial matters. The Oja Kodar series includes material from her career as a sculptor, scripts she wrote, and some correspondence and personal material.

The final series: Sound, Motion pictures, Realia, and Articles and clippings, are relatively small (taken together they take up roughly 3 linear feet). Some material of note include cigar boxes on which Welles jotted various notes and a set of acetate records which seem to include a rare Welles radio performance.

The Theater series consists of a few files (about .1 linear feet) with he contents made up primarily of photographs and some programs from relatively early in his career, including the Mercury Theatre, as well as some from after he started working in film. Dates span 1934-1960.

In 2015, the library acquired the remaining Orson Welles papers in the possession of Oja Kodar. The Additions to the Wells-Kodar Papers series has been arranged into eleven series, mirroring the arrangement of the papers in the original acquisition. The series are: Theater, Radio, Film, Television, Other Projects, Magic, Name and Topical Files, Personal, Oja Kodar, Biographical Works, Clippings and Articles, and Oversize Photographs.

The Radio series consists of a few files (about .1 linear feet), related to Welles' work in the late 30's and early 1940s, including photographs, scripts, articles, and correspondence.

The Film series is the largest in the added material, comprising ca. 3 linear feet of scripts, drafts, correspondence, articles and clippings, promotional materials, and photographs. Films represented include both those directed by Welles and those directed by others in which he acted or participated. The series is arranged chronologically by film, dated according to their first public showing or general release date. Unfinished or unreleased projects are identified with an approximate date range of the years in the work took place.

The material related to the earliest films from the 1940s and 1950s consists primarily of photographs. Later unfinished films of particular interest include The Deep, Because of the Cats, The Other Side of the Wind, Crazy Weather, Assassin/The Safe House, The Other Man, The Dreamers, Big Brass Ring, and King Lear. Also included is articles, promotional materials, correspondence, and photographs from Don Quixote, filmed on and off from the late 1950's to the early 1970s. Materials are primarily related to the version which was released in 1992 after a the footage was edited and finished by director Jesus Franco, but the photographs are from the original filming.

As with drafts in the earlier accessions, Welles typically worked on scripts in sections, producing successive drafts which he then amended. The collection preserves many pages of these working drafts, which sometimes also include Welles's typed or written notes about the story and characters, along with messages to and from his typists. Minimal reorganization of the papers was done in order to preserve evidence of the process, and there are many files of "drafts" which may contain repetitions and out-of-sequence pages, filed as they were found. As Welles often worked by inserting new pages into older drafts or blending together several different versions of a scene, page numbers may not follow a logical sequence. In many cases no information about the script material was recorded before it was filed away, so dating the drafts is difficult. The dates assigned to this material are approximate. Because of the lack of identifying information on some of the material, a miscellaneous sub-series is included at the end of the series, which includes unidentified photographs and drafts of scripts.

The Television series comprises about .4 linear feet, and includes scripts, photographs, correspondence, and other materials relating to projects that were originally meant for television. This includes The Orson Welles Show, a talk show that only ever shot one episode with guests Burt Reynolds and the Muppets. Aslo included are materials related to Orson's Bag, a collection of short films including Swinging London, Stately Homes, and the Merchant of Venice, the contents of which were eventually released in 1995 as part of The One-Man Band. Other materials reflect the initial stages of a Christmas TV movie and a special for NBC.

The Other Projects series (.1 linear ft.) includes materials related to Welles' non-film related work, including advertising and vioceover work, as well as correspondence about various job offers.

The Magic series (about .5 linear ft.) includes scripts, correspondence, photographs, and other materials related to Orson Welles magic performances, including the Mercury Wonder Show, and television specials The World of Magic and Orson Welles' Magic Show. Also included are collected printed magic tricks, drafts of trick patter that he used during performances, articles and clippings, and drawings of costumes.

The Name and Topical Files series (approximately 1 linear ft.) contains primarily correspondence and various other materials arranged alphabetically by the name of a person, place, event, or subject. The series includes letters from directors and film executives such as Martin Scorsese and August Coppola, actors and actresses such as Charleton Heston and Charles Fawcett, close friends such as Roger Hill and Peter Bogdanovich, and some fans of Welles's work. Also included are posters, programs, and other materials related to film festivals and tributes to welles, including the Cannes International Film Festival and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

The Personal series (1 linear ft) includes a variety of materials related to Welle's personally, rather than his screen work. This includes drafts of his writing including essays and articles about various topics, including Shakespeare and tributes and remarks about others in the film business, as well as untitled, unidentified drafts. Also in this series are works by others given to or collected by Welles including poems, short stories, and tributes. Most significant is the material from Welles' unpublished memiors, both in draft form and shorter more organized versions, along with notes, correspondence, and photographs meant for the book. Additionally, there are miscellaneous personal documents, including the notes he would write himself with lists of things that needed to be done, and notebooks with similar content as well as several doodles, one a self protrait. Correspondence with his daughters and Oja is also found in this series, as well as personal and family photographs, some from very early in his life.

The Oja Kodar series (approximately .75 linear ft.) consists of materials related to Oja Kodar's work both with and Without Orson Welles, as well as correspondence, and personal matters. The series is divided into subseries for film, writing, name and topical files, and personal. The writing and film subseries both include unpublished drafts of scripts and stories. The personal subseries included several topics related to Orson Welles' estate after his death, including real estate, legal papers related to the dispute over film rights, and Oja's eulogy for Welles. Also included are materials from her sculpture work and photographs.

The Biographical Works series (about .25 linear ft.) includes published and unpublished works about Welles written by others, including a collection of annotated correspondence, "Orson!:An Original Play", drafts of biographies by Jonathan Rosenbaum and Barbara Leaming, and a copy of The Unknown Orson Welles.

The Clippings and Articles series (approximately .5 linear ft.) is a collection of articles and clippings about Welles from various publications including magazines and newspapers. Materials are mainly arranged chronologically from before 1970 to 2014, but also included are folders of undated materials, undated clippings from Croatian/Yugoslavian publications, and photographs clipped from articles.

The Oversize series comprises two oversize boxes with oversize photographs that correspond with materials in the Film, Television, Magic, Personal, and Oja Kodar series and follows the same order. The magic subseries includes pages from a scrapbook with images from vintage magic ephemera together with images of Welles performing magic.

Writings, clippings, and ephemera relating to the life and works of Pat Halley, a Detroit cab driver, writer, and anarchist.

The correspondence file contains two outgoing letters from Halley: a brief (possibly unsent) letter to writer/publisher Ken Wachsberger and a handwritten letter to two friends asking for their support after Halley was accused of sexual misconduct involving a child.

The largest file in this collection consists of scripts for plays Halley wrote or co-wrote in approximately the 1970s, which include Tales of the Sea, The National Desire, The Werewolf of Grosse Point, The Curse of Belle Isle, Cheap Shots, and A Grave Matter. The theatre flyers and playbills folder holds ephemera associated with these and other performances.

The clippings consist of a 1994 article Halley wrote about his experiences as a cab driver, a 1986 article by Jim Gustafson about the MC5, and Halley's 2007 obituary. Finally, the collection includes a 45 RPM vinyl recording of songs written by Pat Halley and a J. Sase.