The collection documents in text and images all aspects of the history and functions of the Clark Historical Library since its founding. Photographs are mostly in Boxes 7-8, but other images may be found in various publications and scrapbooks.
An addition to the collection in 2021, Board Meeting Minutes (Boxes 12-17), 1962-2006, undated, may include agendas, attachments, reports, and board packets, and 1 box of board member correspondence and photographs.
Another 2021 addition is the Charles H. Wright addition, 1959, 1978, 1 cubic foot (in 2 boxes) features official government documents from African countries. Most folders are official Parliamentary Debates of the Eastern House of Assembly of Nigeria. Each packet includes who attended, the information discussed, and relevant recorded dialogue. Other materials included in the collection are an Official Gazette from the Republic of Nigeria, as well as multiple Monthly Digest of Statistics from Zambia. Multiple titles were separately cataloged.
The 2021 addition, No Acc#, Boxes 20-36 (7.75 cubic feet in 17 boxes) focuses on the Clarke Historical Library, though other materials include Frank Boles' professional correspondence and materials about the Park Library, Mid-Michigan Library League, Michigan Historical Review, and Clarke Historical Library Board of Governors 1954-2019. The Mid-Michigan Library League is one of Michigan's eleven library cooperatives and as of 2021, includes 36 libraries in 15 counties located in Michigan's lower peninsula. The Michigan Historical Review is a scholarly publication about Michigan history and joint venture of the Clarke and CMU's History Department. Some materials are in Spanish. The 2021 addition was arranged to match the organization of previous accessions to the collection. Some of the addition was interfiled into Boxes 10-11.
In 2024 the Clarke’s official Accession Books and one Deaccession book, 1956-2022, were digitized for internal staff use only. The original paper and microfilm are in Boxes 37-38 of this collection. These boxes are closed to researchers. The collection is ongoing.
Organizational History:
The Clarke Historical Library was founded in 1954 through a gift from Dr. Norman E. Clarke, Sr., to his alma mater, Central Michigan University. Dr. Clarke was a book collector of unusual insight and breadth. His collection was created, in his own words, to "Portray the lives, the thoughts, and the culture of the pioneer people to whom we owe so much." The collection includes materials documenting the history of Michigan and the Old Northwest, children's literature and art, the history of Central Michigan University, Strangite Mormons, Michigan Native Americans, and much more. For more information about more information on Dr. Clarke see the finding aid for his collection.
Annual reports after 1993/1994 and newsletters are now cataloged as books and so are not in this manuscript collection.
Biography:
Dr. Charles H. Wright was born in Dothan, Alabama on September 20, 1918. He attended both Southeast Alabama (1935) and Alabama State College (1939) before graduating from Meharry Medical School in 1943. He moved to Detroit, Michigan to practice general medicine until joining a residency program in Obstetrics and Gynecology in New York in 1953. Dr. Wright returned to Detroit and practiced medicine until he retired in 1986. Dr. Wright was heavily involved in the social and political aspects of medicine and society. He helped create the African Medical Education Fund with the Detroit Medical Society that provided funding for medical training in the United States for Africans. Dr. Wright also traveled widely, most notably in West Africa and Columbia, to assist in different medical events such as medical surveys and a floating hospital. He founded the International Afro-American Museum in 1965, which was later renamed to the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in 1998. The museum is the preeminent museum of African American history and is located in Detroit. Dr. Charles Wright died on March 7, 2002. (This information is from Dr. Charles H. Wright's biography page on the Elmwood Historic Cemetery website, https://www.elmwoodhistoriccemetery.org/biographies/dr-charles-h-wright/ accessed March 31, 2021.)
