Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

The Finnish Collection consists of 100 reels of microfilm concerning Finnish-American Churches, Labor Societies, Temperance Organizations, and other materials from the United States and Canada. The collection is the result of a joint project between the Bentley Library, Suomi College (now Finlandia University), and the University of Turku, Finland, coordinated in 1974-75.

The Suomi College Finnish-American Collection is comprised of 100 reels of microfilm containing records from 151 separate organizations (68 of which are located in Michigan). These organizations are comprised of the following kinds of records:

1. Church materials: 62 record groups (32 from Michigan)
2. Labor societies: 9 record groups (0 from Michigan)
3. Temperance materials: 61 record groups (26 from Michigan

Other organizations, including educational, relief, musical, athletic, national, historical societies, publishing companies, and some personal: 19 record groups (10 from Michigan)

Because the materials have been filmed in a random order, an index at the end of the container listing has been prepared to guide the researcher to specific kinds of records: church, temperance, etc.

Reports and administrative records of WPA project to survey historical records in Michigan; includes correspondence, drafts of guides to county archives, proceedings of county boards of supervisors, field reports of workers, and copies of land patents for some counties; also material relating to the history of Blacks in Michigan.

The Historical Records Survey record group documents the activities and the product of the legions of depression era workers who inventoried the records held in county courthouses, municipal offices some private repositories. The records include correspondence, drafts of guides to county archives, proceedings of county boards of supervisors, field reports of workers, and copies of land patents for some counties; also material relating to the history of Blacks in Michigan.

Originally the H.R.S. records transferred to the Michigan Historical Collections measured about 121 linear feet. After processing, the collection consisted of 26 feet of records relating to the H.R.S. and 65 feet of transcripts of county and municipal records. Of the remaining 30 feet, 29.5 feet of duplicate, extraneous, or insignificant materials were discarded (described in more detail further on) and approximately half of a linear foot of printed material was transferred to the library's printed collection.

The H.R.S. material has been divided into the following series:

1. Survey of County Records
2. Survey of Municipal Records
3. Survey of Federal Records
4. Survey of State Records
5. WPA Project Files
6. Manuscripts Survey
7. Inventory of Negro Manuscripts
8. Transcripts of County Records
9. Transcripts of Municipal Records
10. Photographs
11. Historical Records Survey Correspondence
12. Survey Forms of 1987 Survey of Records in Counties and Municipalities.

Architectural firm founded by Gunnar Birkerts, headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Textual records, architectural and engineering drawings and photographs document fourteen of the firm's major buildings including the Federal Reserve Building (Minneapolis, MN), Corning Glass Museum (Corning, NY) and the University of Michigan Law School Library Addition.

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:

1. Haley Funeral Home (1960-1961)
2. University Reformed Church (1960-1964)
3. Freeman Residence (1964-1966)
4. Lincoln Elementary School (1965-1967)
5. Tougaloo College Master Plan, Library and Dormitories (1965-1972)
6. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (1967-1973)
7. Duluth Public Library (1969-1980)
8. S.U.N.Y., Purchase, Dance Instructional Facility (1970-1976)
9. Corning Municipal Fire Station (1973-1974)
10. Calvary Baptist Church (1974-1977)
11. University of Michigan Law Library Addition (1974-1981)
12. Corning Museum of Glass (1976-1980)
13. Ferguson Residence (1980-1983)
14. St. Peter's Lutheran church (1981-1988)
15. Additional Projects (added in 2008)

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."

Volney H. Jones was a leading ethnobotanist and served as Curator of Ethnology at the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology from 1945 to 1969. The papers include correspondence with ethnobotanists and anthropologists, including Edward F. Castetter and Leslie A. White, administrative files, biographical information on anthropologists, teaching files for Jones' courses within the Department of Anthropology, and notes for unpublished textbooks on ethnobotany. The papers also include correspondence with Chase S. Osborn, Stellanova B. Osborn, and Milo M. Quaife concerning a project to establish a Friends of the Michigan Indian organization, and correspondence and reports from Ted Bank concerning the University of Michigan expeditions to the Aleutian Islands.

The Volney H. Jones Papers include correspondence with ethnobotanists and anthropologists, including Edward F. Castetter and Leslie A. White, administrative files, biographical information on anthropologists, teaching files for Jones' courses within the Department of Anthropology, and notes for unpublished textbooks on ethnobotany. The papers also include correspondence with Chase S. Osborn, Stellanova B. Osborn, and Milo M. Quaife concerning a project to establish a Friends of the Michigan Indian organization, and correspondence and reports from Ted Bank concerning the University of Michigan expeditions to the Aleutian Islands. The Jones papers are comprised of eight series: Correspondence, Administrative Files, Biographies and Bibliographies, Teaching Files, Culture Areas and Ethnobotany Textbook Files, Hopi Research Files and Maize Research.

Battle Creek, Michigan and Washington, D.C. family including C.W. (Charles William) Post, cereal manufacturer, and anti-union activist and founder of Post City, Texas; and his daughter Marjorie Merriweather Post, executive of General Foods Co., wife of U. S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, art collector, philanthropist, socialite, and Washington D.C. hostess. C.W. Post papers, largely concern labor-management relations, unionism, the Postum Company, currency reform, advertising, and matters of food and hygiene; Marjorie Merriweather Post papers document her social activities and travel, philanthropies art collections, and the maintenance and preservation of her homes and other possessions.

The Post family collection includes papers of businessman and food processor, C. W. Post, largely relating to labor-management relations, unionism, the Post Company, currency reform, advertising, and matters of food and hygiene; and papers, photographs, and sound recordings of his daughter, Marjorie Merriweather Post, General Foods executive and philanthropist, relating to social activities and engagements, philanthropies, and the maintenance and preservation of her homes and other possessions.

The C.W. Post papers consist of manuscript items and printed works created by C.W. Post and retained by his daughter, Marjorie Merriweather Post. The papers are arranged alphabetically by subject.

Papers of Morton Isadore and Katherine Smit Netzorg; their son Morton Jacob Netzorg and his wife Petra Fuld Netzorg; Petra Netzorg's mother Charlotte Fuld, and Petra's younger sister Bracha Fuld. The collection chronicles the history of the Philippine Islands in the 20th century, specifically during the Second World War; life of German Jewry on the eve of World War II; Zionist Insurgency in the British Mandate Palestine; developments in the scholarly field of South East Asian Studies and international publishing and book trade industries related to the region. The collection is a rich source of bibliographic material related to the Pacific Islands, primarily the Philippines, as well as the entire South East Asian region.

Family and business correspondence, including internment camp communications of Morton I. and Katherine; journals and diaries; published works and manuscripts of Morton J.; material related to Bracha Fuld's death; photographs; the Cellar Book Shop card catalog; also World War II-period artifacts, and Bracha's military ribbon.

Photographs and slides depicting Fuld and Netzorg families and their friends, Netzorgs' house in Detroit, Detroit street scenes, and the Cellar Book Shop. Of special interest are the World War II period photographs in the Morton I. and Katherine S. Netzorg part of the series depicting the conditions in liberated Philippines in 1945, military action and military life, and Jewish life in the U.S. military. Also of interest are the Fuld family photographs depicting Jewish life in Germany from the late 1800s to late 1930s. Slides with images taken during 1970s trips to the Philippines featuring Banaue, Cebu, Jolo, and Zamboanga, locations in the Southeast Asia, and Europe.

Recorded reminiscences of Morton J. Netzorg and Petra Fuld Netzorg.

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.

Established as Department of Library Science; name later changed to School of Library Science, then School of Information and Library Studies. Materials relating to the teaching of library science at the university, including summer session and departmental files; administrative files of T. W. Koch, William W. Bishop, Rudolph H. Gjelsness, Wallace Bonk, Russell Bidlack, and Robert M. Warner; course materials and topical files; accreditation records, faculty minutes and photographs.

The records of the School of Information (formerly the School of Library Science and most recently the School of Information and Library Studies) include 51 linear feet of material dated between 1904 to 2014. The records document the development library education at Michigan from its beginnings as summer course to a full-fledged professional program that has, in recent years moved beyond traditional library science to incorporate a multi-disciplinary approach to information studies with a strong emphasis on the role of technology in the creation, dissemination and preservation of information.The records also document the decision to change the name of the school from the School of Library and Information Science to the School of Information Science, further emphasizing a focus on information and technology.

The records, including correspondence, reports, committee minutes, administrative files and course descriptions, came to the library in nine accessions. There is some overlap and continuation of series among the accessions.

The records are organized into ten series: Histories, Office Files, Dean's Files, Audiotapes, Photographs, Faculty Meetings, Course Material, Archived School of Information Website, Faculty Files, and Collaboratory for Research on Electronic Work Project.

Records of the University of Michigan College of Engineering include histories, correspondence and topical files of deans; minutes of the executive and other committees; faculty records, including minutes of meetings and faculty biographies; miscellaneous student and alumni records; photographs, microfilm, digital files, and archived website.

The College of Engineering records date from 1860 to 2014 and measure 118.5 linear feet, 3 oversize folders, and 1,196 GB. The records document the internal activities of the College of Engineering, both administrative and academic, the role of the college as a unit of the University of Michigan, and research developments and trends over the years. Correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, financial records, and other material reflect changing research interests within the field of engineering as well as the curriculum development that has accompanied technological advances. Of particular interest are the files relating to outside work by faculty members, a question of enduring concern within the college. The records reflect the relations of the College of Engineering with private industry, especially through the documentation of funding from outside sources and the involvement of professors in outside research.

James Bennett Griffin was one of the major forces in the development of North American archaeology and served as the director of the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Michigan from 1946 to 1975. The papers contain correspondence, extensive research and photograph files on North American archaeological sites, cultures and artifacts, and information on Griffin's writing, professional activities, and teaching within the University of Michigan Department of Anthropology.

The James B. Griffin Papers are a rich source of information about Griffin's life, the history of the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Michigan, archaeological sites and topics, particularly in North America, and the overall development of the field of North American archaeology from the 1930s to the 1990s. The papers consist of 16 series: Biographical and Personal; Student Years; Correspondence, 1930-1975; Correspondence, 1975-1997; Radiocarbon Laboratory; Teaching and Advising; Conferences and Symposia; Professional Associations and Affiliations; Speaking Engagements; Travel and International Initiatives; Writings and Publications; Hopewell; Topical Files; Archaeological Sites and Projects; North American Archaeology Card Files; and Photographs.