Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

As part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Institute for Social Research, individuals connected with the history were interviewed. Excerpts of the videotaped interviews were used to produce "In the Public Interest: Fifty years of Social Research." Includes videotaped interviews with ISR personalities and typed transcripts of the interviews. For some interviews only a transcript is available. A copy of the final product excerpted from the interviews is included along with a CD-R containing copies of the transcripts.

During 1997-1998, as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of ISR, a series of filmed interviews were conducted by Erik Austin with individuals connected with the history of ISR. The interviews were excerpted and used to produce the videotape history In the Public Interest: Fifty Years of Social Research. Documentation from this project includes a copy of the final video, videotaped interviews with individuals associated with ISR, and typed transcripts of the interviews. The records are arranged as two series: Videotapes and Transcripts.

The Videotapes series (29 VHS tapes) includes a copy of In the Public Interest: Fifty Years of Social Research a copy made from a 1956 University of Michigan television program featuring Angus Campbell, and 27 videotapes of interviews from 1997-1998. The Transcripts series contains written transcriptions of the interviews, along with a convenience copy of the written text in digital formats contained on a 650 megabyte CD-R. The CD-R contains the text of the interview transcripts in Microsoft Word, PDF and TXT formats. Researchers should note that there are some interviews for which only a transcript is available. As such, the transcript series is more comprehensive than the videotape series.

The ISR Publications contains publications of the Institute for Social Research and several sub-units, especially the Survey Research Center. The publications include annual reports, histories, bibliographies, newsletters, brochures and research reports.

The ISR Publications include annual reports, bibliographies and book catalogs, brochures, histories, lectures, newsletters, such as FYI and Open Channel, and reports such as Perceptions of safety and security at the University of Michigan. Contains annual reports, bibliographies, brochures, bulletins and course catalogs, manuals, newsletters, and reports from the Center for Political Studies, Center for Research on Utilization of Scientific Knowledge, CIEL Project: Computers in Early Literacy, Inter-university Consortium for Political Research, National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging, Research Center for Group Dynamics, Survey Research Center, and the Population Studies Center.

The Publications series (6.5 linear feet, 477.9 KB) consists of three subseries: Unit Publications, Sub-Unit Publications, and Topical Publications.

The Institute for Social Research (ISR), an interdisciplinary center for social science research, was created in 1949 when the Research Center for Group Dynamics (founded at Massachusetts Institute of Technology) joined the university's Survey Research Center. ISR houses the Center for Political Studies (CPS), Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), Population Studies Center (PSC), Research Center for Group Dynamics (RCGD), and the Survey Research Center (SRC). Records document the founding and development of ISR and its related centers and programs and include audiovisual materials, minutes, correspondence, topical files, reports, and proposals. Administrative records include governance committees and director's files. Records of the Program for Research on Black Americans (PRBA) consist of grant proposals, survey instruments, focus group transcriptions, correspondence, bulletins, and internal governance records created under the auspices of PRBA and its various projects. Records of the Research Center for Group Dynamics are primarily the papers of director Kurt Lewin, including manuscripts and talks. Survey Research Center records consist largely of proposal and project files, although they also include faculty oral histories. The records of the Population Studies Center consist of lectures from its founder, Dr. Ronald Freedman, while the Center for Political Studies contains one binder of material from the American National Election Survey conducted in 1980.

The Institute for Social Research (ISR) records are dated from 1936-2017 (scattered) and consist of 143.8 linear feet (in 146 boxes) and digital files (online). Materials in this record group include audiovisual material, committee files (which include minutes and agendas), correspondence, directors' files, oral histories, publications, reports, and topical files. These records document the founding and subsequent development of ISR as well as its centers and programs, particularly the Program for Research on Black Americans (PRBA) and the Survey Research Center (SRC). The records also provide an overview of ISR's administration and the evolution of social science survey research methodology.

There are gaps in the records, which can be addressed in part through the papers of Rensis Likert, Angus Campbell, Dorwin P. Cartwright, and Philip E. Converse—all of which are held at the Bentley Historical Library (BHL). When viewed in conjunction with other ISR-related personal papers in the Bentley Historical Library, a rich and detailed picture of the growth of ISR as a center and the social science research discipline emerges.

Includes annual reports, brochures and pamphlets, course bulletins, calendars, and the newsletters Humanities and Notes from the Institute for the Humanities at the University of Michigan.

The Publications includes annual reports, brochures and pamphlets, course bulletins, calendars, and the newsletters Humanities and Notes from the Institute for the Humanities at the University of Michigan. The publications are organized into three series: Unit Publications, Sub-Unit Publications, and Topical Publications.

The Unit Publications series includes annual reports, brochures and pamphlets, and bulletins describing course offerings from the Institute. This subseries also contains calendars and flyers describing the various programs, presentations, and events sponsored by the Institute for the Humanities. These are arranged chronologically and broken down by the Institute's annual themes. There are two newsletters Humanities and Notes, which cover the activities of the unit from 1989 to the present.

The Sub-Unit Publications series contains brochures from the Humanities Camp. The Humanities Camp is an event which brings together alumni and supporters with University of Michigan faculty to discuss and explore current issues and themes in the humanities.

The Topical Publications series includes Development brochures.

The Institute for the Humanities, founded in 1987, was developed in response to a recognized need for renewed dialogue across disciplines. Originally oriented around the humanities and the arts, the center soon evolved into a widely recognized venue for international scholarship. The records are largely comprised of video and sound cassettes documenting a diverse range of events.

There are two series in the Institute for the Humanities record group: Administrative Records and Audio-Visual Material. The records, largely comprised of videotapes and cassette tapes, provide dynamic evidence of the steady growth and refinement of an initiative that greatly enriched teaching and scholarship in the humanities at the University of Michigan.

Administrative files, conference proceedings, project proposals, research files, records, and photographs relating to continuing education conferences and workshops.

The records of the Institute consist of forty-nine linear feet of manuscripts and printed materials. The records date form 1965 to 1983. The record group is divided into four broad Series: Administrative Files (boxes 1-7), Research Files (boxes 8-18), Continuing Education (boxes 19-48), and Photographs (box 49). Of these, only the Administrative Files have been closely processed. The Administration Files are divided into several subseries, the most substantive of which are History of ISMRRD, Committees, Institute Reviews, and Projects, Proposals and Reports.

Interdisciplinary institute at the University of Michigan and Wayne State University for the study of aging. Records include administrative files relating to the activities, research, publications and conferences of the Institute's University of Michigan program; audio-visual material, and photographs.

The records of the Institute of Gerontology cover the period 1948 to 1987. They are composed of the office files of several staff members at the University of Michigan. (Not included are the records of that part of the IoG housed at Wayne State University.) Included are the scattered files of four of the institute's co-directors, the chairman of the Executive Board, the editor of the Occasional Papers series, the annual conference coordinators, and the directors of certain projects. Also included are correspondence and memos, financial information, grant proposals and reports, minutes, and printed matter. The programs for the Annual Conferences on Aging provide a "who's who" for many of the individuals represented in the collection.

The records provide an overview of the activities, policies, and personnel of the IoG from its inception. Some substantive and seminal memos and reports exist which throw light on the development of programs and on the value of certain projects. Most of the documents are routine, however, and serve primarily to introduce the researcher to the various units and activities of the institute. For details and insights into particular aspects of the IoG, the researcher should consult the separate collections of the various co-directors, directors of research, and project directors, as well as the institute's publications.

Organization founded jointly by the University of Michigan and Wayne State University to encourage practical education and research in all areas of industrial relations. Files from the University of Michigan office, including executive board records, unpublished papers, and miscellaneous topical files; and photographs.

The Institute's records measure one linear foot and date from 1949 to 1975. They consist of a scattering of materials, arbitrarily arranged into a single topical file. Of most interest are the executive board records (1957-1960; 1966-1969) and a few unpublished papers regarding aspects of labor relations in Michigan.

Transcripts of interviews conducted with Michigan labor leaders by staff of University of Michigan and Wayne State University Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations.

The topics covered in these 129 interviews ranged from working conditions, reasons for interest in union, the interviewees' concept of management's reactions to collective bargaining, the strategy of union growth, sit-down strikes, the personalities of union leaders, the role of left wingers, the function of worker education, factional fights, work and production techniques, conversion to wartime production, political action, equal employment opportunities, the growth of various union functions, to the development of present-day auto contracts and Canadian labor relations. Overall the interviews give an intimate look into the development of unions and labor relations from the union's standpoint.