Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

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Collection

Albert Kahn Associates records, 1825-2014 (majority within 1900-1945)

166 linear feet (in 180 boxes; textual materials, photographs, and audiovisual materials) — 90 portfolios (photographs) — 22 scrapbooks (sample architectural materials) — 131 oversize volumes (books) — 12,731 drawings (in 45 drawers and 114 tubes; architectural drawings) — 111 MB (online)

Online
Albert Kahn was a Detroit-based architect, active from 1896 to 1942. He founded the firm, Albert Kahn Associated Architects & Engineers, which is today known as Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. He was best known for his industrial design work, including the Ford Motor Company's Highland Park and River Rouge plants; numerous commercial buildings in Detroit such as the Fisher Building, Detroit Athletic Club, and General Motors Building; and much of the University of Michigan's Central Campus, including Angell Hall, the Clements Library, and Hill Auditorium, as well as the Willow Run Bomber Plant near Ann Arbor, Michigan. After Kahn's death in 1942, his architectural firm, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc., has continued to be a worldwide leader in the design of factory buildings that enhance the manufacturing process. The Albert Kahn Associates records are composed of materials produced by Albert Kahn the architect, as well as materials produced by his firm, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc., and include correspondence, company files, photographs, published materials, and architectural drawings.

The Albert Kahn Associates records offer researchers the opportunity to study the correspondence, transcripts of speeches, photographs, and architectural drawings of the preeminent, American, industrial architect, Albert Kahn, and his firm, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. On March 21, 2003 (the 134th anniversary of Albert Kahn's birthday), Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. (AKA) donated this collection to the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan to ensure the conservation and accessibility of these records. Through this gift, AKA has shown its commitment to preserving the legacy of Kahn, whose factories on five continents influenced the development of industrial architecture and whose commercial, residential and institutional buildings define the character of Detroit and the University of Michigan today. The collection encompasses 166 linear feet (in 180 boxes) of correspondence, transcripts of speeches, newspaper and journal articles, company files, audiovisual materials, photographs and slides, as well as 90 leather portfolios containing photographs of completed buildings, 22 albums of sample architectural materials, 131 books, and 12,731 architectural drawings in 45 flat-file drawers and 114 oversize tubes.

The narrative and visual materials in the collection illuminate the breadth of Kahn's career and highlight the work of his architectural firm, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc., which continued to develop projects after his death, and remains a living institution. In pairing the textual materials with the photographs and architectural drawings associated with Kahn's projects, this collection offers a rich perspective on the master architect himself, illuminating his personal views on his own architecture and its place in a changing and often tumultuous world.

Collection

Barbara Bach papers, 1960-2008 (majority within 1975-2007)

9.3 linear feet (in 10 boxes)

Barbara Bach first worked as a Boston area schoolteacher and creator of television documentaries. After receiving a Master's degree in Education in 1969, she became an Ann Arbor, Mich. businesswoman, networking facilitator, fundraiser, and lifelong educator/mentor to individuals and organizations. The collection includes business records, association newsletters, campaign literature, photographs, and correspondence representing her multiple careers as an entrepreneur, legislative aide, community activist, and executive director in a policy environment promoting economic development in Michigan.

The Barbara Bach papers reflect a context of turbulent economic conditions and ground-breaking socio-political events. Some defining highlights of Bach's political efforts include her work with the Ann Arbor Public Schools Title IX Monitoring Committee for gender equality in sports, her nonpartisan campaign work for the county-wide Washtenaw County SAFE House proposal to assist victims of domestic violence, and her Democratic Party campaign work on behalf of Albert H. Wheeler, Ann Arbor's first African American mayor.

However, Bach's business experience and activities on behalf of economic development and job training in the State of Michigan, in connection with the Michigan Community Colleges Association (MCCA) and as Executive Director of the Inventors' Council of Michigan (INCOM), represent the bulk of the collection.

During the 1980s, community colleges were becoming a focal point for job-related training as a precursor to economic development. Organizations such as the Michigan Technology Council (MTC), with support from the University of Michigan, brought together leaders from business, industry, and government in an effort to facilitate technology transfer through commercial applications and new product development.

Economic recession had helped to heighten interest, at all levels of government, in the policy concept of economic development through entrepreneurial successes. Ideally, through teaching, research, and networking assistance, an entrepreneurial "supercenter" would encourage new product and business development, ultimately creating jobs throughout the economy.

Throughout much of her career in Michigan, Barbara Bach was known as Barbara Eldersveld. The collection also includes some materials from her early public service activities in Massachusetts as Barbara Damon.

The collection is organized into eight series: Personal/Biographical, Greater Boston Area, Teaching and Educational Settings, Political, Business and Entrepreneurial, State Government, Inventors' Council of Michigan (INCOM), and Ann Arbor Community Service.

Collection

Jane Lockwood Barney papers, 1937-2018 (majority within 1980-2009)

12 linear feet — 1 oversize folder — 16.7 MB (online)

Online
Social and political activist whose main causes included access to high quality health care for marginalized ethnic and racial groups and the elderly, homelessness, hunger, job skills training, and Democratic political activism. Papers are comprised of materials documenting her professional and personal life after the passing of her husband, Roger Warren Barney, in 1978. Materials include meeting minutes, notes, correspondence, reports, awards, photographs, and family materials.

The Jane L. Barney papers are comprised of materials documenting her professional and personal life. The Professional Files include organization meeting minutes, correspondence, notes, flyers, manuals, press articles, and personnel files, as well as other administrative papers and reports for the organizations she worked to establish, develop, and run. Also found here are speeches, papers relevant to her work with churches, marginalized ethnic and racial groups, and gerontology.

Jane L. Barney's personal papers largely include correspondence with friends, co-workers, politicians, and family, as well as notebooks, diplomas, hospital and assisted living documentation, and photographs.

Collection

Maxine L. Berman papers, 1968-2017 (scattered dates)

1 linear foot — 1 oversize folder

Materials surrounding the career of Jewish American politician, women's rights advocate, and the University of Michigan alumna (1968) Maxine L. Berman who served in the Michigan House of Representatives between 1982 and 1996. The collection contains biographical information, correspondence, legislative documents, collected publications, speeches, an audio recording of an interview, and other materials on subjects such as women's health and reproductive rights, education reform, civil rights, election law, and fiscal concerns.

This collection primarily focuses on Berman's political career during her tenure with the Michigan House of Representatives from 1982 to 1996. Biographical materials include an audio interview of Berman discussing her experience as a delegate to the 1976 Democratic National Convention, materials pertaining to her book The Only Boobs in the House Are Men: A Veteran Woman Legislator Lifts the Lid on Politics Macho Style, photographs, and numerous articles highlighting her career, as well as women in politics.

The collection also includes correspondence, publications, reports, speeches, and other materials primarily focusing on civil rights, education reform, election law, fiscal concerns, and women's health and reproductive rights. Of particular note are materials pertaining to the death penalty and assisted suicide; the performance, curriculum, and operation of charter schools; legislative redistricting; voter registration and campaign finance reform; financial mismanagement at the House Fiscal Agency; the Balanced Budget Amendment; and issues surrounding women's health and reproductive rights including the legalization of abortion and related issues surrounding informed and parental consent.

Other materials in the collection touch upon issues surrounding informed consent for breast cancer treatment options, the accreditation of mammography facilities in Michigan, flag burning, and family values, including materials focusing on the Michigan Department of Social Service's (DSS) attempt to reunite incest victims with their offenders.

Collection

Don Binkowski collected materials, 1825-2013

16.5 linear feet — 1 oversize folder — 1 oversize volume — 15.6 GB (online)

Online
Binkowski was a district judge from Warren, Michigan who collected extensively about Democratic politics and the Polish American community in Michigan. The collection includes materials collected by Binkowski on Democratic politics, the Polish community in Michigan, the cities of Detroit, Warren, and Hamtramck, Michigan, and collected letters, postage covers, and stamps.

The collection includes materials collected by Binkowski on Democratic politics, the Polish community in Michigan, the cities of Detroit, Warren, and Hamtramck, Michigan history in general, and collected letters, postage covers, and stamps. Digital materials include video files and an archived website. Photographs include images of strike violence, 1934-1938, at various Michigan firms; photos of Polish American public figures and organizations, also photos of political meetings and elected officials. Audio cassettes mostly contain recorded interviews with Polish American political figures.

Collection

Black Student Union (University of Michigan) records, 1969-2018 (majority within 1987-2008)

4.8 linear feet (in 6 boxes) — 256 MB (online)

Online
Student organization at the University of Michigan established in 1968 for students of African descent. The materials in the collection include minutes, correspondence, agendas, officer reports and topical files on issues including the Michigan Mandate and the 2000 Michigamua protest. The collection also contains photographs, audio/visual recordings, Twitter posts, and event flyers.

The Black Student Union (University of Michigan) records document the various activities of the Black Student Union at U-M. Materials in this collection include agendas, budgets, correspondence, event flyers, minutes, officer reports, photographs, topical files, Twitter posts, and audio/visual recordings.

Collection

William Bolcom and Joan Morris papers, circa 1950-2014, 2018, undated

69 linear feet (in 82 boxes including oversize) — 31 bundles — 1 oversize folder — 3 oversize posters — 387.3 GB (online)

Online
William Bolcom (born 1938) is a composer and pianist. Joan Morris (born 1943) is a mezzo-soprano. They were both members of the University of Michigan School of Music faculty. Bolcom and Morris have given numerous performances since 1973. They have also recorded albums of classical and popular songs. Performance files include programs, itineraries, newspaper articles and reviews of each performance, and contracts. There are also files relating to the University of Michigan student production of Mina & Colossus as well as Barnum's Nightingale; original scores to Bolcom's compositions, including McTeague, Casino Paradise, and A View from the Bridge; topical files relating to awards, competitions, and other activities and interests; and physical and digital audiovisual materials.

The papers of William Bolcom and Joan Morris document Bolcom's work as a composer and performer as well as Bolcom's and Morris's collaboration in performing and recording American popular songs and classical music. There is also some material relating to their academic work at the University of Michigan, notably a 1988 production of a student opera, Mina & Colossus. The papers include programs, itineraries, and correspondence relating to performances, manuscript and published scores, topical files, audio and visual material (including sound recordings), and photographs.

Collection

Wallace John Bonk papers, 1956-1965

1.2 linear feet

Professor of library science at the University of Michigan. Files relating to his work with the Teachers Section, Library Education Division, American Library Association.

The Bonk collection relates only to his activities with the Teachers Section, Library Education Division, American Library Association. Included are minutes of meetings, correspondence; conference materials, and other subject files.

Collection

Marjorie Cahn Brazer papers, 1955-1992

2 linear feet

Secretary of the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Transportation Authority (AATA). Minutes, 1969-1973, financial statements, reports, and photographs of the AATA largely concerning the problems of mass transportation and the development of the "Dial-a-Ride" system; also papers concerning the development of streets and automobile parking facilities in the city.

The Marjorie C. Brazer Papers covers the period of 1955 to 1983 and has been arranged mainly by the name of organization in which Brazer participated. The largest portion of the collection - Ann Arbor Transportation Authority - consists of minutes, policy and long-range planning documents, and subject files detailing the process by which the bus service for Ann Arbor was established, and the beginning of the Dial-a-Ride program. Other smaller organization files in the collection pertain to the Citizen's Association for Area Planning, the Detroit Committee for Neighborhood Conservation and Improved Housing, the Huron High Bi-Racial Committee, the League of Women Voters (Detroit), the League of Women Voters (Ann Arbor), and the Washtenaw County Citizens Committee for Economic Opportunity. One file - Washtenaw County Political Campaigns - concerns Lloyd Ives' 1959 Ann Arbor mayoral campaign and Brazer's own 1968 campaign for county supervisor.

Of interest is the documentation of an oral history project undertaken by Brazer in 1983 and pertaining to the establishment and operation of the Rackham endowment to the University of Michigan. This materials is arranged into the Rackham Endowment Oral History Project series. The series includes oral history audiocassettes and administrative files for the project. Brazer's work on this project resulted in her Biography of an Endowment, published in 1985 by the Bentley Historical Library.

The collection also contains family school yearbooks.

Collection

Ian Bund papers, 1969-2019, undated

11.4 linear feet (in 12 boxes)

Ian Bund is an American venture capital professional. He was involved with numerous, often Michigan-based, venture capital limited partnerships, companies, and corporations, including Doan Associates, Innovation Capital, the Michigan Investment Fund L.P. (MIF), MBW Venture Partners Limited Partnership (MBW), and the Plymouth and White Pines families of funds. Includes correspondence, financial records, presentations, reports, speaking and teaching materials, and topical files.

The Ian Bund papers primarily document the professional, speaking, and teaching activities of venture capital professional Ian Bund. Material in the collection is dated from 1969-2019 and includes correspondence, financial records, presentations, reports, speaking and teaching materials, and topical files.