Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Papers of Dr. Jack Kevorkian (1928-2011), medical pathologist, social activist, advocate for the terminally ill patient's right to die and physician-assisted suicide (which Kevorkian called "Medicide"), author, artist, and musician. By his own estimation, Dr. Kevorkian assisted in the suicides of more than 100 terminally ill people between 1990 and 1998. Kevorkian was acquitted in three physician-assisted suicide trials, and a mistrial was declared in the fourth. In a fifth trial, he was convicted of second-degree murder after administering a lethal injection and served eight years in prison. The collection includes materials related to the Kevorkian family (personal and business records, correspondence, photographs, and audiovisual recordings); Jack Kevorkian's research files and files related to Medicide (files related to the physician-assisted suicides and recordings of Kevorkian's consultations with the terminally ill); and miscellaneous papers (his personal and professional correspondence, published works and manuscript drafts, records related to his court trials, photographs, recordings of news coverage and interviews, audio recordings of Kevorkian's music, and images of his art).

The Jack Kevorkian Papers are arranged into five series: Kevorkian Family, Research and Practice, Morganroth & Morganroth, Personal Interests, and Medicide Files.

The Kevorkian Family papers mostly include correspondence, recollections, photographs, and video and audio recordings of family gatherings. The Research and Practice series contains Kevorkian's correspondence on scientific subjects, his research files, and Kevorkian's articles on various medical, ethical, and bioethical topics. Also included are recorded interviews and media segments featuring Kevorkian as well as media reports about his activities and court trials. Materials in the Personal Interests series include sheet music of Kevorkian's musical compositions, recordings of Kevorkian playing music, reproductions of his paintings, publicity regarding exhibits of his art, and a sample of collected books. The Morganroth & Morganroth series includes materials used during the court trials, such as correspondence and Kevorkian's research as well as the script of the HBO film, You Don't Know Jack, annotated by Mayer Morganroth. The Medicide Files series contains the files of the terminally ill patients who had asked him assist in ending their lives and who he helped in doing so. Medicide files include correspondence between Kevorkian and his consulting "patients" and their families, photographs, and forms developed by Kevorkian as well as recordings of consultations.

University of Michigan professor of political science, special advisor to the U.S. Military Government in Germany after World War II, participant in numerous government commissions; papers include correspondence, working files, speeches, course materials, and visual and sound materials.

The James K. Pollock papers represent an accumulation of files from a lifetime of academic teaching and research and an extraordinary number of public service responsibilities to both his state and his nation. The files within the collection fall into two categories: types of document (such as correspondence, speeches and writings, visual materials, etc.) and files resulting from a specific activity or position (such as his work as delegate to the Michigan Constitutional Convention or his service with the Office of the Military Government in Germany after World War II).

The collection is large and of a complicated arrangement because of Pollock's many activities. When received in 1969, the files were maintained as received; very little processing was done to the collection so that an inventory to the papers could be quickly prepared. The order of material is that devised by James K. Pollock and his secretarial staff in the U-M Department of Political Science. Recognizing the anomalies within the order of the collection, the library made the decision to list the contents to the collection while at the same time preparing a detailed card file index (by box and folder number, i.e. 16-8) to significant correspondents and subjects. While there was much to be said for this method of preparing a finding aid expeditiously, it also covered up some problems in arrangement. Thus series and subseries of materials are not always grouped together as they were created by Pollock. Files on the Hoover Commission and the Michigan Constitutional Convention, for example, come before Pollock's work in Germany after the war. In 1999, effort was made to resolve some of the inconsistencies and obvious misfilings of the first inventory but because of the numbering system used in 1969 and the card index prepared for the files, there are still some problems. Researchers should be alert to these difficulties and take time to examine different parts of the collection for material on a similar topic.

Aviator and wife of the late Senator Philip A. Hart. Scrapbooks, photographs, clippings, and papers documenting her life as wife of Senator Philip A. Hart, her family life, and to a lesser extent, her aviation activities.

The Jane B. Hart papers include materials that document the life of Philip and Jane Hart, Philip Hart's political career, and Jane Hart's aviation and her role in the effort to include women in the space program. The collection consists of four series: Scrapbooks, Audiovisual, Personal Papers, and Inscribed Volumes.

University of Michigan professor of political science, research scientist at the Mental Health Research Institute, and pioneer in the interdisciplinary and quantitative approach to conflict resolution. Administrative papers of Center for Research on Conflict Resolution, Correlates of War Project, and the Journal of Conflict Resolution, topical files on numerous organizations and subjects, and research papers from disarmament negotiations study.

The J. David Singer papers document the career of a leading political science researcher, teacher, and peace activist. The bulk of the materials span the 1950s to the year 2000 and are arranged into nine distinct series:

1. Biographical Materials
2. Topical Files
3. Correspondence
4. Lectures and Conferences
5. Publications
6. Grant Proposals
7. Teaching
8. Programs
9. Later materials
10. Audio-Visual Materials

Hugh "Jeep" Holland was the founder of the A-Square Record label in Ann Arbor in 1967, and consequently became an integral part of the southeast Michigan music scene in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The collection documents, in papers, photographs and sound recordings, Jeep's personal life, interests, and career.

The Jeep Holland papers date from his youth in the late 1940s up to his death in 1998, and document his personal life, his education, and his career, particularly the record label and production company he founded, A-Square Records. The collection is comprised of the following series: Administrative, Artist Files, Personal Files, Realia, Sound Recordings, and Visual.

John and Leni Sinclair were leaders of the counterculture movement in Michigan, organizers of radical social, political, and cultural endeavors primarily in the areas of music, poetry, graphic design, and community welfare projects. Papers and photographs (1957-1979) relating to all phases of their careers, including participation in the Artists' Workshop in Detroit, the Rainbow Multi-Media Corporation, the White Panther Party and its offshoot, the Rainbow Peoples Party; also materials concerning the legalization of marijuana, radical politics, and prison reform. Also material, 1979-2000, relating to John Sinclair's work as a writer, performer, radio show host and music promoter.

The John Sinclair papers came to the library in 1979. Jointly donated by John and Leni Sinclair, this initial accession, covering the period 1957-1979, included textual material, sound recordings, and photographs relating to all phases of their careers, including participation in the Artists' Workshop in Detroit, the Rainbow Multi-Media Corporation, the White Panther Party and its offshoot, the Rainbow Peoples Party; also materials concerning the legalization of marijuana, radical politics, prison reform, and rock and jazz music.

The Sinclair papers provide a rich and unique source for the study of America's radical movement in the nineteen sixties and seventies. Beginning with a remarkable series of correspondence that includes letters from Abbie Hoffman, Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary, and Jerry Rubin, and continuing on through extensive subject files, the collection details the cultural, political and business activities of a man whose energy and charisma made him a local and national leader of the counterculture. In addition, the collection documents the support and creativity of his wife and partner, who as writer, photographer and publicist helped to showcase the lifestyle which he symbolized.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, John Sinclair added to his papers with materials relating to his career as a writer and performer. In the winter of 2000, he donated a second large accession relating mainly to the period since leaving Detroit for New Orleans.

The Sinclair collection has been divided into four subgroups: Textual Files, Printed Material, Sound Recordings, and Visual Material.

Lawyer and Democratic candidate for Michigan Lieutenant Governor in 1966; campaign files.

The collection consists of a Campaign files series documenting his election to become state lieutenant governor in 1966. Included in the papers are correspondence, speeches, and campaign schedules. There are also various papers concerning political personages of the day: Zolton Ferency, George Romney, G. Mennen Williams and Robert Griffin.

Republican member of the Michigan state legislature (House and Senate, 1971-1990); governor of Michigan (1991-2003); active member of the Republican Governors' Association and the National Governors' Association. The Engler collection consists primarily of materials created and maintained by Governor Engler and his staff during the period when he was governor, 1991-2003. Other records include papers from his several terms in the Michigan House and the Michigan Senate. The collection includes papers files, photographs, sound recordings, videotapes, memorabilia, and some electronic files. The gubernatorial files are arranged mainly by unit or functional responsibility within the governor's office. These series are Executive Office, Communications Division, Legal Division, State Government Affairs, Legislative Affairs Division, Operations Division, External Affairs, Scheduling, Washington DC Office, and Office of the First Lady. Topics extensively documented include state welfare and school funding reform, reorganization of state boards and commissions, notably the restructuring of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and Republican party politics.

The John Engler papers are the most important source available for the study of Michigan's state government from 1991 to 2002. The collection is particularly strong on the topics of welfare and school funding reform, state government reorganization and the rising impact of the National Governors' Association in state and national politics. Engler's efforts to attract commerce to Michigan are also well-documented. The materials are arranged into two main subgroups: Pre-gubernatorial Papers and Gubernatorial Papers. The bulk of the material relates to Engler's gubernatorial career, therefore, the analysis that follows focuses primarily on this subgroup.

The materials in the "Gubernatorial Papers" subgroup are arranged according to the offices and subdivisions of the governor's office that created them. This means that the governor's speeches and press releases, for example, may be found within a grouping or "series" called "Communications Division," within the "Gubernatorial" subgroup, while legislative histories for various public acts may be found within the "Legislative Affairs" series.

While some kinds of documents were produced uniquely by one division, other kinds were produced in several divisions of the governor's office. The governor's correspondence, for example, was drafted and approved by several different staff members. Letters to important business and political leaders may be found within the "Executive Office" series, the "State Government Affairs" series, and the "Washington DC Office" series in particular. There no comprehensive chronological correspondence file.

In using the collection, the researcher should think functionally and ask who would have created the information sought. For example, the policy advisors in the State Government Affairs Division created individual topical files which gathered together correspondence and research materials to support briefing memoranda which they presented to the governor, while the speechwriters in the Communications Division often gathered different types of materials to help them shape the presentation of the same policies to the public.

Detroit social activist involved in GLBT organizations and activities. The collection consists of correspondence, essays and articles, e-mails, conference materials, organizational records, publications and articles on the subjects of GLBT history, gay civil rights, gay marriage, interracial and interfaith marriage, GLBT families, sexual and gender equality, violence against GLBT persons, religion and homosexuality, gay clergy, clergy with AIDS, and violence against GLBT persons. The collection also includes materials related to the development of public transportation in the Detroit Metropolitan area; election campaigns and vote suppression of ethnic minorities; and U.S. and international politics and economy.

The collection, spanning 40 years of John Kavanaugh's activism, documents both the history and challenges faced by the Michigan and national GLBT community, as well issues facing the area's racial and ethnic minorities. Of most value, the collection provides documentation regarding the position of various denominations on questions of homosexuality and gay and interracial marriage; racial and ethnic discrimination, and voters' suppression based on race and ethnicity. Kavanaugh's correspondence includes letters and hard copies of e-mails, many of them sent to individual clergy and to groups of citizens. His writings are sometimes represented in form of a self-published newsletter or e-newsletter (e.g. The bead reader and The missing lines). The collection contains a great number of non-mainstream publications, as well as articles and clippings from obscure and rare periodicals. The collection also includes a significant amount of material on the subject of public transit in Michigan, specifically, in the city of Detroit.

The collection is organized into five series: Issues; Black and White Men Together; Religion; Public Transit; and Digital materials.

The John Teachout collection consists of phonograph records produced by his Idiom Recording Company. Several of the records are of local Ann Arbor or University of Michigan performances. In addition to music, some of the records are of dramatic readings. A few of the identifications are uncertain as they were taken from hand-written labels.