1.4 linear feet (5 oversize portfolios)
The George Manupelli papers, 1961-2013, consist of correspondence, photography, artwork, and clippings relating to his work in the avant-garde art world.
7.6 linear feet (in 8 boxes) — 3.85 GB (online) — 3 oversize folders — 2 tubes — 1 oversize poster — 1 oversize box
The George Vargas papers present a look at the interests, work, and activities of artist and historian George Vargas. The material is dated from approximately 1933-2016 and includes topical files, artwork, and correspondence.
The strength of the collection is found in the numerous lectures written by Vargas, which reveal the depth of his research, the original artwork, and the broader view of multi-cultural and, particularly, Latino art activities in Michigan. Also of note are his extensive files of artists that were of interest to him as well as his own papers and publications.
The researcher should note that many items in the collection overlap various series. As a result, researchers should—in addition to reviewing multiple series—be sure to look for the "see also" notes that help identify some of these overlaps.
17 linear feet (in 18 boxes) — 10.2 GB
The University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy record group documents the history and development of public policy studies at the University of Michigan. The records contain some information on the beginning of instruction in public administration in 1915 and the formation of the Institute of Social and Public Administration in 1936. The bulk of the material documents the administration and subsequent reorganizations of the academic unit currently known as the School of Public Policy. Records include correspondence, minutes, historical materials and topical files concerning the Institute, its Lansing Office, its programs in the Republic of China and documented the Philippine Islands, and the Michigan Constitutional Convention of 1961- 1962. the records have been received in three major accessions, 1972 (boxed 1-9), 1997 (boxes 10-14) and 2006 (boxes 15-18).
Most of the materials comprising the 1972 accession cover the period from the 1950s to the mid-1980s. Unfortunately, few documents about the establishment and development of the public policy studies curriculum between 1915 and 1945 exist. Particular strengths of the record group are the materials on the Philippine Institute of Public Administration and the Taiwan Center for Public and Business Administration Education. The German Training Program files also offer insight into international interests of the public administration faculty at the University of Michigan. The German Training Program was a program established to provide Germans with a knowledge of American political and social institutions, democratic skills, and development of individual competence in fields of knowledge such as journalism, pedagogy, and public administration. Other series in the School of Public Policy records allow for a general overview of the structure of the School of Public Policy. They also demonstrate the composition and research interests of the faculty and students in the department.
The records comprising the 1997 accession from the School of Public Policy were primarily arranged chronologically. This arrangement has been retained and the record group has been broken down into a Chronological Files series, several Topical Files series, a Sound Recordings Series, and a Photographs series. It should be noted that some of the files in the Topical Files series include documents created after the dates noted in the series heading.
The 2006 accession consisted of additional administrative files and material relating to the dedication of the Joan and Sanford Weil Hall groundbreaking and dedication.
22.5 linear feet (in 26 boxes) — 9 oversize volumes
The records of UMGASS have been divided into ten series: Slides, Topical Files, Production Files, Posters, Memorabilia Volumes, Magnetic Tape Recordings, Sound Recordings, Audiotapes, Videotapes, and Scrapbooks. Because materials on one production can include photographs, scrapbooks, recordings, or slides- all of which live within different boxes of the collection -- a directory has been compiled in the Production Files series. The directory lists the year and title of the UMGASS production for which the library has materials and a lettered key exists that denotes the physical existence and location of materials within the collection.
2 linear feet
The collection is divided into series corresponding to particular oral history projects, followed by a Personal series and a Collected materials series.
Voices on the water : an oral and pictorial history of Antrim County's chain of lakes was published in 1998, with a second edition published in 2005. The series contains recordings of oral history interviews conducted in the preparation of the book along with photographs: original and copy prints of vintage views, some modern views, and snapshots of interviewees.
The library has release forms only for the interviews with Jo Anne Beemon, Warren Daane, Lena Stalker, and Byrnece White.
35.5 linear feet (in 36 boxes)
The Glen Sheppard Papers comprises materials collected and maintained by Glen Sheppard over the course of his career as editor and writer for the North Woods Call. The collection is divided into three series entitled Topical Files (First Alphabet), Topical Files (Second Alphabet), and Visual Materials. The Topical Files (First Alphabet) series contains materials on a greater array of topics than the Second Alphabet, though the latter is the larger of the two series. The two Topical files have been kept separate in accordance with Sheppard's own filing system. Materials within topical headings have likewise been maintained largely as Sheppard had organized them. Photographs are found interspersed with other materials in various topical files throughout the collection. The Visual Materials series comprises photographs, negatives, and maps that have been filed separately from the rest of the collection. A large proportion of the photographs in this series are alphabetized according to topic. Such topics include wildlife (namely birds, fish, and game animals), hunting and fishing, people (mainly politicians and important figures involved in Michigan conservation), and landscape photographs.
The Topical Files are primarily composed of various drafts of articles, press releases and newspaper articles written by other environmental journalists, research materials and notes, correspondence (mainly faxes), and photographs. The collection also contains a great deal of material pertaining to various government agencies, including bills and acts of legislation, memoranda, interoffice communications, reports and research studies, and pamphlets and other literature published and distributed by said agencies. These agencies include government bodies devoted to conservation issues, chief among which is the DNR (Department of Natural Resources). Other government agencies represented in this collection include the NRC (Natural Resources Commission) and the DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality). The collection also contains selected clippings from the North Woods Call along with logistical papers pertaining to the Call's operation.
The collection features materials on a broad array of topics of environmental import for the state of Michigan. The First Alphabet and Second Alphabet series feature articles, reports, environmental impact statements, and resource management plans pertaining to environmental issues impacting particular Michigan towns and counties. Such issues include the impact of corporations, factories, oil and gas resource exploitation, and pollution. The collection also includes files on the topics of land use management, water resource management, fisheries management, and Native American rights to Michigan's natural resources. The collection contains Sheppard's researches on Michigan flora and fauna (concentrated in the Second Alphabet series), with particular emphasis on deer, wolves, bears, and various species of fish. Sheppard's researches also include coverage of endangered wildlife, invasive species, and zoological diseases. The collection contains articles and research materials concerning hunting, fishing, tourism, and outdoorsmanship. Michigan's islands, rivers, lakes (particularly the Great Lakes), national and state parks, nature preserves and conservancies, wilderness areas, and wildlife refuges are all well represented in the collection (mainly in the Second Alphabet series). The collection also includes papers pertaining to the administrations of Michigan governors John Engler and Jennifer Granholm.
27.5 linear feet (in 29 boxes) — 2 oversize folders — 94.4 GB (online)
The Grand Hotel records are arranged in six series: Printed Material, Miscellaneous, Press Clippings and Publications, Photographic Material, Audio Material, and Videographic Material.
4.5 Linear feet (9 manuscript boxes)
The Gregory M. Franzwa Lincoln Highway Papers, donated by Franzwa's widow, Kathy, on June 26, 2015, is a compilation of correspondence, administrative documents, guides, articles, photographs, and audiovisual materials that deal with the running of the Lincoln Highway Association as well as with the history, sites, and legacy associated with the highway itself.
Correspondence: In this series, there are letters and emails arranged chronologically about a variety of subjects including: the publication of Franzwa's books, the formation and functioning of the Lincoln Highway Association, conventions, and information related to the history of the interstate. Some are the most frequent correspondents that appear in this collection are: Bob and Joyce Ausberger, Rob Bauer, Earl W. Givens, Brian Butko, Lawrence R. Eno, Randall A. Wagner, and Esther M. Oyster. Each of these individuals played a role in the management of the organization. Many of the earlier documents in this section deal with the construction of the Lincoln Highway and are photocopies of the originals.
Lincoln Highway Association Administration: The documents in this series relate to the operation of the Lincoln Highway Association. Located first within this section are the membership rosters that are organized by date. There are two rosters from 1992 that contain slightly different information and are separated from the other booklets due to their rarity, fragile condition, and abundant annotations. Following the rosters are the papers of the organization that are arranged chronologically. The types of materials included in the papers are: participant lists, bylaws, mission statements, reports to the board, position descriptions, invitations to events, financial records, meeting notes, and internal communication. There are also awards presented by the Lincoln Highway Association to chapters of the organization as well as to individual members. The Lifetime Membership Awards are arranged alphabetically by last name while all the other certificates are organized chronologically.
Guides: This section consists of brochures, educational materials, information about landmarks along the Lincoln highway, maps, tours, and travel guides. Both the brochures and the maps are alphabetically organized by state while the travel guides are arranged alphabetically. The travel guides from the beginning of the twentieth century are photocopies of the originals. Though many topics appear in this series, Iowa is particularly well represented.
Journals and Clippings: This series is comprised of seventeen journals, arranged chronologically, that contain articles that either mention the activities of the Lincoln Highway Association directly or discuss themes with which this organization contends. There are also clippings that include newspaper articles, periodical pages, and short narratives organized according to date. The older documents in this section have either been printed out or photocopied.
Photographs: In this section, there are seventeen folders of photographs, negatives, film strips, transparencies, and printouts that are predominantly arranged according to chronology. These pictures document landmarks and scenery alongside the Lincoln Highway, Lincoln Highway Association trips and gathering such as the 1992 foundation meeting in Ogden, Iowa, and reproductions of historic images. On the back of many of the sheets of negatives, there is a list detailing the sites depicted along with a date.
Slides: The slides contain images of Lincoln Highway Association members, landmarks and scenery, and reproductions of photographs that had been taken in the early days of the Lincoln Highway's history. Franzwa used these slides, which arrived in carrousels but have since been removed from their initial housing for storage concerns, in presentations about the Lincoln Highway. They have been kept in their original groupings. While some written components to these slideshows are included with the slides, there is also a folder of other scripts as well as introductory information about Franzwa himself.
Audiovisual: The audiovisual materials consist of cassette tapes and digital media. The cassettes contend with topics like: Iowa's relationship with the Lincoln Highway, Utah, and Franzwa's notes on various historic societies. The digital media sub-series is comprised of CDs that contain images of the Lincoln Highway and individuals affiliated with the Lincoln Highway Association. Two of the CDs are pictures that accompany tours, and the PowerPoint is a conglomeration of Edward A. Holden's 1915 expedition.
1 linear foot
The Gregory Stempfle papers are comprised of printed materials collected from his involvement with the Libertarian Party of Michigan (LPM), as well as its local affiliates. The collection is arranged alphabetically.
A large portion of the collection consists of LPM convention packets, highlighting the convention events, as well as the legislation discussed. Packets are included from the years Stempfle attended, ranging from 1997-2014. A packet is contained for the 1988 Nominating Convention, which was held in a suburb of Detroit. This packet includes programs for the event, as well as documents regarding the planning of the convention.
One folder contains materials from the Wayne County local affiliate office and includes newsletters, meeting notes, and correspondence from the 1990s. The collection also includes a scrapbook that holds color photographs from events, correspondence, and flyers from the Livingston County local affiliate.
Stempfle collected campaign materials from a number of Libertarian candidates running for office. Pamphlets, biographies, and campaign materials are included for candidates running for state positions. Some of these politicians include Jon Coon, Diane Barnes, John Stempfle, and more. Pamphlets are also included for candidates running for local office such as Christopher Gonzalez, Martin Howrylak, Mark Carney, and more. The collection contains campaign information for candidates running for national office, including information from the LPM regarding their support of said candidate.
87 linear feet — 10000 drawings
The Gunnar Birkerts and Associates Collection offers researchers a rich perspective on the work of one of the masters of American modern architecture whose career spans the second half of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. The initial accessions of Birkert's material encompassed 69 linear feet of the firm's textual records, which are associated with 14 of Birkerts' distinguished buildings, and 7158 original drawings and prints documenting the evolution of the architectural design process for each project. In 2008, the records and drawings of 74 more projects were included in the collection, bringing the total amount of textual material to 82 linear feet and the number of drawings to over 10,000. Altogether, these visual materials detail many of the expressive elements for which Birkerts' architecture is renowned, including his bold forms, simplification of detail, innovative selection of surface materials and dramatic use of indirect light. Although six of the buildings in the original collection of 14 projects are located in Michigan, along with the offices of the firm, nine other structures were built in New York, Indiana, Mississippi and Minnesota, testimony to the national scope of this architectural practice. The following buildings were selected for inclusion in the collection by Birkerts and Bentley Historical Library staff because they represent the significance, diversity and evolution of the architect's work:
The initial accessions Gunnar Birkerts and Associates Collection are arranged in 14 series, each of which contains the business records and architectural drawings for one building. The finding aid begins with a description of the narrative records in chronological order in each series. An item-level description of the architectural and engineering drawings follows, grouping drawings in folders according to design phases, as described above. The finding aid lists the titles of drawings, when they exist, as well as title bar information including original dates, revision dates, numeric sequencing and, in some cases, names of consulting engineers. A description of the medium and support of each drawing is also given.
The 2008 accession to the collection includes of documentation of 74 additional projects consisting of 3,000 drawings and 13 linear feet of textual materials and photographs. The documentation for these projects is generally not as extensive as for the fourteen in the original accessions and the finding aid does not describe them in as great detail. They have been grouped together as single series titled "Other Projects" and the individual projects are listed in alphabetical order by project title
One of the collection's greatest strengths is found in its emphasis on the architectural design process, offering researchers a broad, visual representation of the evolution of each building through the "Schematic Design," "Design Development" and "Construction Document" sequences. Because Gunnar Birkerts and Associates meticulously saved each drawing associated with the firm's projects, this collection provides an exceptional view of the daily design process, as solutions were sought which defined the architectural character and individuality of a structure. Each of the 14 buildings in the Gunnar Birkerts and Associates Collection is conceived as an individual series, which contains the textual and visual documents associated with the project. Within each of the 14 series, the architectural and engineering drawings are arranged chronologically by design phase, beginning with "Schematic Design," when the owner's program is analyzed and sketches are drawn to illustrate the scale and relationship of the project's components. Researchers interested in viewing the earliest conceptual drawings associated with each building are encouraged to consult the finding aid of the collateral Gunnar Birkerts Collection, which amasses the sketches by the architect's own hand for most of his projects. Digital images of 284 of these conceptual sketches can be seen online in the Bentley Historical Library Image Bank through Gunnar Birkerts, Conceptual Drawings. An understanding of the beginning stage of design for each building is best obtained by studying the conceptual and "Schematic Design" documents in both the Gunnar Birkerts and Associates Collection and the Gunnar Birkerts Collection.
The second "Design Development" stage in each building series includes more precise site plans, floor plans, elevations and sections which further define the dimensions, mechanical/electrical systems, building materials and architectural character of the project. This phase often ends with the production of artistic presentation drawings which are used to obtain the client's approval of the design. Although the collection contains a large majority of original sketches and drawings on tracing paper, vellum, linen and mylar, many blue-line and sepia prints have been retained in each series if they are substitutes for missing originals or if they are annotated and thus show the ongoing search for solutions in the evolution of the design process.
Each series in the collection also records the third "Construction Document" phase, during which the final working drawings are developed before being sent to contractors for bids. These drawings are the graphic representation of the written "Specifications," included in the textual records of every series. The "Construction Documents" for each building, which were often revised to show changes after construction began, may be of significant value to historic preservationists or future owners seeking to restore the building to its original condition or adapt it to a new use.
The Gunnar Birkerts and Associates Collection is also significant in its pairing of the visual documentation described above with the textual records of each building, which describe the decisions and actions of the firm during the design and construction process. Thus, scholars can read the program information, specifications, addenda and memoranda associated with the architectural drawings during each chronological stage of the building's design. Written contracts, correspondence, transmittals and field inspection reports further inform historians about the relationship between the firm and its clients, contractors, consulting engineers, landscape architects and sub-contractors, documenting in rich detail the business affairs of a nationally known architectural firm in the second half of the twentieth century. Of particular value within the narrative records of each building series is the "Architect's Conceptual Statement". These statements offer design and history students an opportunity to understand the interchange of objective and subjective influences on Mr. Birkerts' creative process and the solutions which define the architectural character of each building.
The Gunnar Birkerts and Associates Collection is also of exceptional value to scholars because it represents the end of the era of hand-drawn architectural documents. By the end of the twentieth century, many architects have begun to use the computer in the development of design and construction drawings. However, this collection of the original 14 buildings contains only drawings which show the flow of the creative process from the brain, through the hand, to the paper. Even drawings which are marked "void" are retained because, like annotated prints, they show the evolution of the design as the search for architectural solutions begins to define the building. Whereas the use of computer-aided design would undoubtedly delete many intermediary design drawings from a collection, this aggregation of hand-drawn documents shows the artistry and complexity of the creative process. The beauty of the architect's pencil line on delicate tracing paper, smooth vellum and opaque mylar is preserved here for future generations of scholars, just as its use in the late 1990s is being abandoned by many architects.
In 2015, Gunnar Birkerts donated a large collection of 7,840 color 35 mm slides, associated with the design and construction of 123 projects, documenting through photographs the work of his entire career. This additional collection is encompassed in the series titled, "Photographic Slides of Projects."