Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

The University of Michigan Herbarium, started in 1837, is home to over 1.7 million species and is one of the world's leading botanical collections. The U-M Herbarium records collection includes correspondence, photographs, and research materials documenting early Herbarium history, U-M's ethno botanical research practices, and the international professional discourse surrounding botanical research.

The collection represents the Herbarium's actions as a collector of the historical correspondence and photographs of botanical researchers. The records contained within this collection primarily document the research methods and professional conversations of American botanists. Through the correspondence and papers of Michigan and U-M botanists, this collection also documents the development of the Herbarium, its activities, and its status as a collector of botanical specimens and historical records. Researchers should note that there are photographs and plant specimens scattered throughout the correspondence series, and whereas the plant specimens are noted in the box listing, the photographs are not. The collection's four series include Harley Harris Bartlett Papers, Herbarium Historical Correspondence, Herbarium Historical Photographs, and Archived Website.

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.

University of Michigan unit established in 1990 in part to collect and disseminate information regarding the history of health sciences in Michigan. Records include newsletter of the Center; collected historical manuscripts, photographs, and motion pictures relating to the development of health sciences at the University of Michigan; include notebooks of medical school students, account book, 1831-1839, of Berrien Springs, Michigan physician, and miscellaneous materials relating to the medical school and to medical practice.

The records of the Center for the History of Medicine (CHM) records include administrative records documenting operation of the center and archival material collected by the center. The materials have been divided into three subgroups: Administrative, Collections, and Center for the History of Medicine Website.

Harlan Henthorne Hatcher (1898-1998) was president of the University of Michigan from 1951 to 1967. The papers span the years 1837-1998 and document Dr. Hatcher's University of Michigan presidency, Ohio State University career, literary career, organizational involvement, personal life, and family history. Includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, manuscripts, speeches, yearly datebooks, oral history interview transcripts, magnetic audio tape recordings, an audiocassette recording, and photographs.

The Harlan Henthorne Hatcher Papers document his University of Michigan presidency, Ohio State University career, literary career, organizational involvement, personal life, and family history. The collection spans the years 1837-1998, with the bulk of the materials covering 1891-1986. It includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, manuscripts, speeches, yearly datebooks, oral history interview transcripts, magnetic audio tape recordings, an audiocassette recording, and photographs. The collection is strongest in its documentation of Dr. Hatcher's presidency at the University of Michigan, especially in correspondence and speeches. Documentation is weakest on the subjects of his Ohio State University career before 1944 and organizational involvement before 1967. The collection may be useful to researchers interested in the history of the University of Michigan from 1951-1967, the duties of university administrators and their spouses, authors of the 1920's to 1950's, and environmental activism in Michigan in the 1970's and 1980's.

The Harlan Hatcher collection has been divided into two subgroups of files: those which were created or accumulated from his tenure as president of the University of Michigan (1951-1967) and those materials (mainly personal) dated either prior to or subsequent to Hatcher's presidential years.

The library, as archives of the University of Michigan, is the repository for all of the files of its presidents. For historic reasons, all of the papers of presidents up to and including Harlan Hatcher have been treated as personal collections and cataloged under the name of the president. Beginning with Hatcher's successor - Robben Fleming - and continuing to the present, the files of individuals occupying the president's office have been considered both personal and institutional. Records created from an individual's responsibility as president, usually materials from the years when he was president, are treated as office files and have been cataloged as part of the University of Michigan President's Office record group. Materials from either before or after an individual's tenure as president have been treated separately and have been cataloged under that president's name.

The University Library system at the University of Michigan provides information resources and services to faculty, students, staff, and the public, and is comprised of undergraduate, graduate, and subject-oriented divisional collections. The record group includes administrative files of library directors, reports, committee files, financial records, photographs, and publications.

The records of the library of the University of Michigan document the development and administration of the central library. The records include topical files, miscellaneous correspondence and reports, and business record books, 1886-1916; include files of librarians/directors/deans Theodore W. Koch, William W. Bishop, Warner G. Rice, Frederick H. Wagman, Richard Dougherty, Robert M. Warner, Don Riggs, William A. Gosling, and Paul Courant; also assorted papers of earlier librarians, Andrew Ten Brook and Raymond C. Davis.

1. The records are organized into elleven subgroups:
2. Assistant Director for Technical Services, 1984 - 1999
3. Associate Director for Public Service Files, 1976 - 1998
4. Associate Director for Technical Services, 1979 - 1986
5. Associate Director's office, 1982 - 1989
6. Audio - Visual Materials, 1954 - 2001
7. Collection Development Office, 1949 - 1986
8. Deputy Director's Office, 1980 - 1991
9. Directors Office, 1905-2013
10. Human Resources, 1956 - 2001
11. Miscellaneous Records, 1837 - 1985
12. Other Offices and Programs, 1904 - 2004

The Alumni Association of the University of Michigan was established in 1897 following a consolidation of the Society of Alumni with the alumni societies of the professional schools. The Michigan Alumnus became the association's official organ. As the organization grew, local chapters were established and provided greater structure. The records include files pertaining to the Alumni Association's administrative office and various chapters and interests groups. This includes national and international U-M alumni and alumnae clubs, the Alumnae Council, the Society of Alumni, the University of Michigan Black Alumni (UMBA-formerly the African American Alumni Council (AAC)), and the Reunion of Black Graduates (RBG). The records include but are not limited to correspondence, minutes, reports, and survey responses, audiovisual materials, digital files, photographs, and publications.

The collection spans 1845-2001. The textual records of the Alumni Association (boxes 1-133) are largely unprocessed, and are described in only general terms in this finding aid. Exceptions include files maintained by Marjorie Williams who served as the vice chair and chair of the Alumnae Council from 1960 to 1962, Class Reunion files, and Topical Files.

Additions to the collection (boxes 168-171) incorporate records, audiovisual materials, photographs, and publications pertaining to the University of Michigan Black Alumni (UMBA). To note are materials specifically related to the African American Alumni Council (AAAC)-formerly the UMBA, and the Reunion of Black Graduates (RBG). This includes information about the Dr. Leonard F. Sain Award, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. scholarship and symposium, the Camp Michigania retreat, and annual reunion for black graduates photographs, planning materials, and souvenir books.

The University of Michigan's first professional school; the Medical School record group includes historical and administrative records related to the school and its faculty and administrators, 1850-2010.

The records of the Medical School span over 160 years, beginning in 1850 and continuing through 2010. They include 389.7 linear feet of material, 10 oversize volumes, 9 oversize folders of miscellaneous documents, and 3.3 GB of digital material stored online. The records include dean's correspondence and subject files, executive committee minutes, faculty minutes, annual reports of departments, school accreditation and review files, a variety of special reports and studies, and extensive files on the Replacement Hospital Project (Taubman Center). The record group also contains photo prints depicting faculty, students and facilities, including a remarkable series of photographs taken by J. Jefferson Gibson circa 1893.

The Medical School records have been organized into five subgroups: Dean's Records, Subordinate Administrative Officers, Faculty Records, Audio-Visual Materials, and Miscellaneous records. Within each subgroup there are a number of series and these series may be further subdivided to reflect the date span of the records received in each accession.

The Medical School records have been received in several accessions and the physical arrangement of the records (the number order of the boxes) reflects the various installments in which they were received. The accessions sometimes reflected the tenure of a particular dean or other administrator, but frequently appear to have been somewhat arbitrary transfers of files. Records from individual subgroups, series and subseries often continue across multiple accessions--sometimes with consecutive date ranges, but often with overlapping date spans.

In this finding aid the records are described in their intellectual order -- subgroups and series are brought together irrespective of the particular accession in which they were received. As a result, in the detailed contents listing the box number order will not always be consecutive.

Photographs collected from various sources, depicting buildings, faculty, students, and other topics relating to the University of Michigan.

The University of Michigan Photographs Vertical File represents a miscellaneous assemblage of U of M-related photographs from many different sources, mainly prior to 1950. The vertical file is especially strong on the earliest photographic images of the campus, university buildings, and class activities. While the vertical file contains many images of individuals, researchers should first consult the library's on-line catalog for images of faculty, administrators, and other University personalities. Most photographs originally accumulated by a University department or other unit are kept with that unit's records.

The arrangement of the photographic images was intended to parallel the classification used with University of Michigan published materials and with manuscript materials. Both of these used a classification system using letters of the alphabet (A through N only) for groupings of published or manuscript material. This system was carried over for use with the library's photographic images though there are certain categories for which images are unlikely to be found (Category A, for example, which pertains to legislation affecting the University or Category I which is reserved for university publications of a scientific or literary nature). The classification is further broken down under each letter by a number code which refers to a more specific subdivision. The heaviest concentration of images will be found under C (for U-M schools and colleges, departments, and other units), D (for university buildings and views), and F (for class pictures, photos of student organizations, and images detailing aspects of student life and customs).

Each heading in this finding aid includes the letter classification plus a numbered subdivision. In addition, the individual envelopes are numbered sequentially. Headings for which there are oversized images (usually larger than 8x10) will be indicated by reference to medium or large size photographs. When requesting material, researchers must specify the heading and the classification and folder number.

This finding aid describes only a small portion of the Bentley Library's U-M visual images. The on-line catalog will direct the researcher to additional images.

Records of the Law School document the evolution of legal education at the University of Michigan as well as tenures of various deans and faculty. Documentation includes historical and class files; student organizations and activities; planning and construction of Law School buildings; information on William W. Cook and his bequest; topical files; deans' correspondence; reports and minutes. Also included are materials related to the Thomas M Cooley and William W. Cook lecture series and portraits of faculty and students, photographs of activities of the Judge Advocate General's School held at the Law School during World War II, the construction of the Law Quadrangle and Law Library addition, and student activities.

The Law School Records begin in 1852 and span the years through the end of the twentieth century. The records document the history of legal education at the University of Michigan, the administration of the Law School, and the lives of some of the scholars who have studied and taught there.

The physical arrangement of the records reflects the various accessions of material that have been received from the Law School over the years. This finding aid is structured to reflect the intellectual organization of the records - continuing series and like materials have been brought together regardless of when the records were transferred to the library. The Summary Contents List provides and overview of the organization of the records.

There are eight major series in the record group: Historical and Class Files (1865-1974); Deans of the Law School (1852-1999); Faculty Files (1859-1994); Student Files (1894-1996); Law Quadrangle and William W. Cook, (1919-1938); Law School Lecture Series; Committee of Visitors and Audio/Visual Materials.

University of Michigan professor of political science, specialist in Philippine Island politics and government, vice governor of the Philippines in the 1930s; correspondence, collected Philippine materials, course materials.

As vice governor of the Philippine Islands during the 1930s, and later as advisor on Philippine affairs to General Douglas MacArthur during World War II, Joseph R. Hayden was recipient of much substantive documentation relating to the American phase of Philippine Island history. Hayden was an astute and discerning scholar of Philippine life and history, and as such used the opportunity of his frequent trips to the Far East to collect materials (official and personal) that he knew would be of value in his teaching and research, and that he also hoped would prove useful to scholars following after him. Although the Hayden papers include some non-Philippine materials, such as his University of Michigan files and those records from his service with the Michigan Naval Division during World War I, the Philippine Collection is the heart of the collection. Comprising more than 75% of the Hayden papers, the Philippine Collection is testimony to Hayden's foresight in drawing together official documents (because of the positions he held) and other records (sent to him because of his known interest in the Philippines). This collection of official reports, minutes of meetings attended, memoranda with government officials, photographs, clippings, and published materials is unique, especially because of the devastation to Philippine public records and historical documents that occurred during the war.