Collections

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

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

Detroit newspaperman and United States Senator from Michigan. Correspondence chiefly concerning his 1952 senatorial campaign and his newspaper work in the United States and abroad during World War II; scrapbooks of newspaper articles written by Moody and published for the most part in the Detroit News and Barron's; tape recordings of public affairs radio program; photographs and motion pictures of public affairs interview programs.

The Blair Moody collection documents the career of a Washington-based newspaper correspondent and columnist and United States Senator. The collection covers the period 1928 to 1954, though the bulk of materials date since the mid-1940s. Much of the collection pertains to that period of time when Moody was in the Senate or was running for election to the Senate, although his newspaper career is also well documented. The collection has been divided into the following series: Biographical; Correspondence; Personal/Family; Newspaper Career; Gridiron Club; Senatorial Papers; Speeches; Scrapbooks; Sound Recordings; and Visual Materials.

The University of Michigan's highest governing body is the Board of Regents. The Regents deal with virtually every aspect of university policy and campus life. The records of the Regents reflect this broad range of interests and authority. This record group contains exhibits from meetings beginning in 1899. These exhibits are the most complete record of the actions of the Regents, supplementing and detailing the published minutes Proceedings of the Board of Regents. Additional documentation in this record group includes manuscript minutes, 1837-1870, correspondence, material by and about the Regents, photographs, audio recordings of meetings, 1977-2011, and material on recent presidential searches.

As the official governing body of the university, the Regents deal with virtually every aspect of university policy and life. The records of the Regents--which includes exhibits of Regents' meetings, topical files, correspondence files, audio and visual material, and archived web content--reflect this broad range of interests and authority. But while the documentation is wide-ranging, it is not continuous. Certain types of records are continually before the Regents, particularly information regarding salaries, leaves of absence, appointments to faculty positions, and formal approval of degrees conferred upon students. More often, however, the Regents are presented with a specific problem and asked to resolve it through the creation of policy. After the creation and successful implementation of a policy, the situation which caused the issue to arise is usually no longer a matter of Regental concern. The Regents' records reflect this pattern of action. Issues arise, are resolved, and then are supplanted by new concerns.

Michigan-based ski and golf corporation, operating twelve major resorts in North America; records consists of photographs, slides, video cassettes, films, sound recordings, promotional materials, biographical information on the corporation's founder Everett F. Kircher, and miscellaneous office and topical files.

The Boyne USA Resorts record group documents, through visual materials, scrapbooks and clippings, publications, and a scattering of administrative material, the development of northwestern Michigan as an important recreational center. The bulk of the collection consists of various visual media, photographs, photographic slides, albums, videotapes, motion pictures, promotional posters, display photographs, and design images of Boyne facilities.

The records have been arranged into the following series: Everett F. Kircher materials; Boyne USA publications and promotional materials; Topical files; Photographs; Negatives, Photographic Slides; Videotapes; Motion pictures; Art work; Architectural concept and promotional boards; Miscellaneous office records; Scrapbooks and Clippings, and Miscellaneous. The strength of the collection is in the various visual materials that document the development of Boyne USA Resorts from the founding of Boyne Mountain in 1947 to the early 21st century.

Episcopal student chaplaincy established in 1945 as the Episcopal Student Foundation to minister to University of Michigan students. The activities of the ministry were centered in Canterbury House (various locations). The Canterbury House ministry functioned both as a coffee house and as a performance hall for folk and jazz artists. The record group divides into three series. History and background materials include histories, promotional materials, and newspaper articles. The Episcopal Student Foundation Board of Trustees series consists of minutes, financial records, correspondence, and files relating to building facilities. The Canterbury series documents non-administrative activities, including staffing, chaplain activities, and programs and performances sponsored. This series also includes photographs, sound recordings, and files relating to the Institute of Public Theology and the conferences sponsored by it.

The Canterbury House records contain the records of the Episcopal Student Foundation and the Canterbury House, the Episcopal Campus Church at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The records are divided into four series, History and Background Materials, Episcopal Student Foundation Board of Trustees, Staff, and Canterbury.

Music critic for the Ann Arbor News and musical composer. Manuscripts of musical compositions, scrapbooks with newspaper clippings of his criticisms, and sound recordings of performances of his compositions, and microfilm of his compositions.

The Gehring collection consists of manuscripts of musical compositions, scrapbooks with newspaper clippings of his criticisms, and sound recordings of performances of his compositions, and microfilm of his compositions. The collection is organized into four series: Correspondence, essays and other materials; Scrapbooks; Musical Compositions; and Sound Recordings.

Fundamentalist clergyman, founder of the International Council of Christian Churches, editor of the Christian Beacon; sermons, tracts, books and other materials written by McIntire; some photographs and a cassette tape.

The Carl McIntire collection consists entirely of printed materials which fit three general classifications: books, sermons, pamphlets, etc. written by Carl McIntire; newsletters, special reports, and other materials written by Carl McIntire and/or associates, as part of the work of the Christian Beacon Press and the Twentieth Century Reformation Hour; and various publications by or about many of the agencies established or supported by the Bible Presbyterian Church.

Though the collection spans the years 1933-1993, the bulk of the materials date from the 1960s and 1970s. Even so, there is sufficient chronological representation to enable the researcher to trace the development of McIntire's opposition to Communism and its various manifestations as he saw them in ecumenism, the American civil rights movement, opposition to the Vietnam War, and other key issues of the era.

Republican member of the state house and the state senate; president of the University Musical Society. Legislative and campaign files, 1919-1935, detailing his election campaigns, his activities within the legislature, and his various responsibilities as a member of the Republican State Central Committee; general correspondence files, 1922-1960, largely pertaining to his work with the University Musical Society and other civic activities; topical files; family history and memoirs; diaries and appointment books; papers of wife Alva Gordon Sink; and visual materials.

Aviator, civilian personnel officer with the U.S. Air Force; chronological and topical files, audio-visual materials, and clippings and scrapbooks.

The Chauncey Spencer collection is an accumulation of personal materials - correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs, sound and video recordings - relating to his lifelong interest in aviation, his career with the military, and the career of his mother, poetess Anne Spencer.

The Chrystal G. Tibbs Papers comprise over a half-century of documents pertaining to Tibbs's membership in various chapters of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and to the history of the sorority at large. Founded at Howard University in 1908, A.K.A. was the first sorority established by African-American women and currently has approximately 250,000 members. The collection's four series contain papers pertaining to Tibbs's personal participation in sorority activities (including those related to her tenure in various administrative posts), materials from several Michigan chapters, sorority publications, and audiovisual materials. In addition, the collection contains work done by Tibbs and family members to document the Powell, Webster, and Winchester family history.

The Chrystal G. Tibbs Papers comprise materials accumulated through Tibbs's participation in Alpha Kappa Alpha conferences, chapter meetings, and special interest groups at the local, state, regional, and national level over a span of fifty years. The activities of Michigan-based chapters are particularly well represented. Materials also include personal and professional documentation directly related to Tibbs and her immediate family. The collection is divided into four series: Personal Papers, Professional Career, Powell Family Papers, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.