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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.

This collection is made up of letters by Bernard Baruch and Mark Sullivan regarding United States foreign policy, financial policy, national politics, and personal matters.

This collection is made up of 60 letters between Bernard M. Baruch and Mark Sullivan, a testimony and several pamphlets by Baruch, and a signed, dedicated portrait photograph of Baruch. The majority of the collection consists of Baruch's letters to Sullivan. The correspondence addresses United States politics, beginning in the early 1920s with foreign policy, farm policy, and the long term outcomes of the Paris Peace Conference. Later letters contain Baruch's critiques of U.S. fiscal policy, foreign policy, and military preparedness, as well as general thoughts about the U.S. economy and the political environment following the Wilson administration.

Baruch and Sullivan discussed their writings and other works, offering critiques, recommendations, and congratulations. They discussed Sullivan's journalism and historic works, and Baruch's political career and treatment in the media. In one letter, Baruch gave a narrative account of his early education in South Carolina (January 21, 1927). The letters also contain discussions of more personal matters, holiday greetings, and invitations for Sullivan to vacation at the Hobcaw House. At various points in the correspondence Baruch expressed his perception of anti-Semitism in U.S. politics and education. The collection includes one photograph portrait of Bernard M. Baruch, signed and dedicated to Duane Norman Diedrich. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for more information.

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.

Also included in this collection are a number of documents from predecessor institutions. Of particular note is the Land Grant from the United States to the University of Michigan, 1824, which details the sections of land given to the Trustees of the University of Michigan by the power vested in Lewis Cass (as Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Territory of Michigan) by section 16 of the Treaty at the Foot of the Rapids (Treaty of Fort Meigs), 1817, and section 6 of the Treaty of Detroit, 1807. By treaty, the chiefs, sachems, and warriors of four Indeginous nations, the Ottawa (Odawa), Ojibwe (Ojibwa, Chippewa), Wyandotte (Wyandot), and Potawatomi (Bodéwadmi, Potawatomie, Patawatima) ceeded the land northwest of the Ohio river to the United States of America. In the Treaty at the Foot of the Rapids, the chiefs, sachems, and warriors of the Wyandotte, Seneca (Onödowáʼga), Delaware (Lenape), Shawnee (sawanooki), Potawatomi, Ottawa and Ojibwe ceeded the rest of their lands within the Ohio territory to the United States. In return, among other promises, the Ottawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi tribes were promised six sections of land to be reserved for the rector of St. Ann Catholic church, for religious practice; and the college of Detroit, for the future education of their children.

Bright Sheng, a composer born in China, is also renown as a conductor, pianist, and researcher. The Bright Sheng Collection contains the papers of University of Michigan composition professor Bright Sheng. In addition to Sheng's own files and correspondence, it includes manuscript, printed, and published versions of his scores (printed scores are for musicians' use, while published scores are for a wider audience), published and unpublished recordings of his works, interviews, programs and reviews featuring his works, and work from Sheng's students. Also included are field recordings and an audio diary from the 2000 Silk Road project in China.

The Bright Sheng Collection contains the papers of University of Michigan composition professor Bright Sheng. It is comprised of 17 series: Biographical, 1982-c2000; Correspondence, 1962-2004; Professional, 1997-1998; Career, 1988-1995; Program Notes [undated]; Awards and Citations, 1984-2003; Photographs, 1985-2004; Reviews, 1986-2004; Programs, 1973-2003; Libretti, 1999-2003; Published Scores, 1988-1999; Printed Scores, 1982-2002; Manuscripts and Revised Scores, 1985-2004; Audio Recordings [undated]; Student Works, 1996-2004; Silk Road Trip, 2000; and Moving Images, 1985-2003. Together, these series document Sheng's career from his early days as a student to his current status as world-renowned composer and professor.

The first six series in the Bright Sheng Collection are extremely short, with a combined physical extent of approximately .5 linear foot. The Biographical, 1982-c2000 series is comprised of a single folder containing biographical material about Sheng. The Correspondence, 1962-2004 series contains topical files of Sheng's correspondence with colleagues in China, with his professors, and with his family, as well as a partial chronological file of correspondence falling outside of those three categories. The Professional, 1997-1998 series includes an article written by Sheng, as well as articles in Chinese about Sheng's music. The Career, 1988-1995 series contains materials related to Sheng's various appointments and positions over the years. The Program Notes series contains an article about the Sung Dynasty and the work Two Poems from the Sung Dynasty. The Awards and Citations, 1984-2003 series includes materials related to various honors Sheng has received in the course of his career, including a MacArthur 'Genius' grant and the University of Michigan's Leonard Bernstein Distinguished University Professorship.

The records of the Casa de Unidad Cultural Arts and Media Center cover the organization's efforts to promote, develop, and celebrate Hispanic and Latino arts and traditions in Southwest Detroit. The record group consists primarily of correspondence, board minutes, grant proposals and reports, newsletters, event and program budgets, event flyers, educational workshop reports and audio material.

The records of Casa de Unidad cover the period between 1980 and 2006. The collection consists primarily of correspondence, board minutes, grant proposals and reports, newsletters, event and program budgets, event flyers, educational workshop reports and audio material. The majority of the material is in English, though a small number of flyers, newsletters, and audio recordings are in Spanish. The collection contains the following series: Administrative Material, Educational/Artistic Activities, Unity in the Community Festival, and Audio Material.

This Caspar F. Goodrich Papers contain correspondence, documents, ephemera, and other items related to Rear Admiral Caspar F. Goodrich, who served in the United States Navy from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century. Many of the materials relate to his naval career, business and personal affairs, and his political interests after World War I.

The Caspar F. Goodrich Papers contain correspondence, documents, ephemera, and other items related to Rear Admiral Caspar F. Goodrich, who served in the United States Navy from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century. Many of the materials relate to his naval career, business and personal affairs, and his political interests after World War I. The collection documents Goodrich's various travels and naval campaigns as Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy and details his business, scholarship, and personal life.

The Correspondence series comprises the bulk of the collection. The Chronological Correspondence subseries (approximately 5 linear feet) contains incoming and outgoing letters to Caspar F. Goodrich. Approximately 2,535 letters to and from his wives Eleanor and Sarah and various family and friends, naval personnel, professional society members, businessmen, and academics document Goodrich's personal life and naval career. The series, arranged chronologically, ranges from the late 1860s until 1925, the year of his death. Goodrich, in his extensive naval and professional travels, wrote from many continents in the midst of wars and diplomatic negotiations. The letters detail his ongoing involvement in foreign policy, domestic and international politics, and naval and academic matters. Many pertain to his actions during the Spanish-American War and to aspects of naval administration and navy yards. Some correspondents discussed Goodrich's speaking engagements at the U.S. Naval War College and other venues, as well as his involvement in various naval societies and similar groups. The series also reveals the particulars of his intimate life and private thoughts.

This subseries includes, for example:

• Fifteen letters to his mother from the U.S.S. Portsmouth in South America at the beginning of his naval career in 1869.
• About eight hundred letters to and from his first wife Eleanor Milnor Goodrich from 1884 to 1899 about his travels, interactions with family acquaintances, their children's schooling, their home in Pomfret, Connecticut, and personal thoughts and sentiments. Two letters to her discuss the Suez Canal during the Anglo-Egyptian conflict in 1882. Approximately fifty ink and pencil drawings are enclosed in his correspondence to Eleanor, illustrating scenery and travel observations from around the world as well as mundane matters.
• Approximately fifteen pieces of correspondence during the 1898 Spanish-American Conflict in Cuba. Materials include letters from Goodrich aboard the U.S.S. Newark addressed to Cuban chief commanders demanding the unconditional surrender of Manzanillo, notes in Spanish to Goodrich from Cuban leaders, and military decorations from the Navy for his service.
• Approximately fifty letters from 1907 to 1914 to and from Frederick Winslow Taylor, an engineer and leader in the Efficiency Movement and Progressive era, on personal, commercial, and legal matters including their business with the Tabasco Company.
• Six letters from Charles Chaillé-Long written between 1906 to 1908.
• Twenty three letters from Secretary of the Navy Truman H. Newberry to Goodrich from 1907 to 1910 on naval matters.
• Approximately ten letters to Goodrich from the Secretary of the Navy Office on his delegate appointment to the 1908 International Historical Congress of the War of Independence in Saragossa, Spain.
• Over thirty letters on education, including letters written in 1916 to and from the Oneida Institute and a 14-year-old school boy, James Stidham, whose education Goodrich sponsored. Other letters discuss his children's schooling and etiquette training with his wife Eleanor.
• Two signed Franklin D. Roosevelt letters to Caspar F. Goodrich as Assistant Secretary of Navy (1913 and 1919).
• Orders that Goodrich received after being recalled to active duty during World War I and a letter that he wrote to United States Representative Gilbert A. Currie, criticizing the Justice Department's treatment of spies and foreign nationals.
• Letters to and from Goodrich and the Navy Athletic Association on the Army-Football Game in 1923.

Goodrich received personal letters from the 1910s until his death in 1925. Many of these letters concern the writers' political opinions prior to U.S. involvement in World War I and the progress of the war, often with a focus on naval engagements. Goodrich's correspondents discussed the possibility of U.S. intervention on behalf of the Allied powers and expressed their joy when the U.S. did enter the war. Following the war, they wrote about the peace process and other aspects of international politics. The collection includes letters that Goodrich wrote to newspaper editors about the treatment of German and Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war; he advocated a requirement that captured combatants repair all war damage to French and Belgian villages before being allowed to return home. Other drafts by Goodrich concern his opinions about the United States Navy, his opposition to anarchists and socialists, his desire for the United States to deport immigrants who commit crimes, and other political subjects.

Some of the late correspondence reflects Goodrich's ongoing interest and participation in naval organizations, including his involvement in naval academy veterans' efforts to sponsor the rebuilding of the library of the Catholic University of Leuven in Leuven, Belgium, after its destruction during World War I. He also received correspondence from newspaper and magazine editors rejecting articles and short stories.

The Letter Books subseries consists of 7 volumes and a series of letters written to his daughter Gladys that collectively span from 1876 to 1914. Volume 1 contains various copies of articles and letters, as well as a travel and historical account of the Suez Canal. Dating from Goodrich’s time aboard the U.S.S. Kearsarge as Lieutenant Commander, subjects range from copied articles on steel manufacturing from Mechanics Magazine to disciplinary reports for crew members. One letter complains of the presence of Commander F. V. McNair’s wife aboard the ship. Also included is an "analytical report" of the crew with detailed tables documenting nationalities, physical characteristics, and punishments, along with an evaluation of "desirable" or "undesirable" persons. There are several copies of personal letters including ones detailing Goodrich’s indignation after his promotion to Executive Officer on the U.S.S. Tennessee was denied. The volume includes a bookmark embroidered with "Remember."

Volumes 2-7 contain Caspar F. Goodrich's outgoing personal and professional correspondence, as well as a few stories and articles. Goodrich discussed navy business and personnel, his work at the U.S. Naval War College, his Spanish-American War service, naval history, naval funding, and other subjects. Several letters reflect Goodrich's attempts to win his son Caspar a place at the United States Naval Academy and his opinions about various academy policies. Many of the letters concern Goodrich's finances and the Gladwyn estate in Pomfret, Connecticut. Some correspondence pertains to his efforts to construct a memorial for the sailors killed in a boiler explosion on the U.S.S. Bennington in San Diego, California, in July 1905.

"Our Trip Around the World" consists of sequential letters written by Caspar F. Goodrich to his daughter, Gladys, documenting international travel from October 1910 to March 1911.

The Writings and Manuscripts series consists of over 270 items of personal notebooks and diaries, manuscripts (including typed and handwritten drafts), speeches, poems and short stories, and bound booklets of Goodrich's own writing from 1900 to 1925. Much of this encompasses biographical material on Goodrich, not only of his extensive travels and naval campaigns but also of a wide body of his scholarly work and lecture material during his time at the Naval War College. Many concern topics related to the United States Navy's history, organization, vessels, and personnel. Some writings reflect his support of policies promoting the use of English as the primary language of the United States, his belief that criminals and others should be prohibited from having children, and his opposition to anarchist political philosophies. Some of his works were published in Army and Navy journals, literary magazines, major newspapers, and by the colleges and societies in which he held teaching positions. A selection of works includes:

• "Battle of Santiago Bay," featuring a poem and account of the battle in 1898.
• "Some Unbeaten Paths in India" includes matte photographs, original watercolors by Captain C.J. Davis of the Indian army, and handwritten and revised drafts produced during Goodrich's business and personal travel in India in 1914.
• "Piracy in the West Indies a Hundred Years ago," a loose-leaf undated three-part series of writings.
• "The Traditions of the Navy," a multiple part 1921 manuscript typed and handwritten, bound by loose string.
• "The Taxpayer and the Schools," a 1923 manuscript.

The Printed Items series includes bound booklets produced by figures other than Goodrich, pamphlets, memos, reports, and newspaper clippings. Printed annual membership lists (bulk post-1911) for various societies like the Naval History Society and the Naval Academy are also present. Notable selections include:

• Thirty materials from 1911 to 1915 on the Tata-Hydro-Electric Project in Bombay, India, including booklets, printed reports, maps, and articles. One set of nine booklets contain the ceremony program guide, photographs of the plant's opening in February 1911, and a printed speech from the Chairman of the Board of Directors.
• Twenty-five bound books, booklets, and pamphlets dating from 1912 to 1923 detailing Communism and the "conditions of Russia." Some titles of note include New York World's staff correspondent Lincoln Eyre's Russia Analyzed (1920), Eugene Richter's Pictures of the Socialist Future (1912), and Lee Alexander Stone's Pacifists and Reds (1924).
• Five bound pamphlets from 1917 to 1920 covering the American constitutional government: Constitution of the National Association for Constitutional Government; How The Constitution Saved the Revolution; The Americanism of the Constitution of the United States; and Experiments in Government and the Essentials of the Constitution I & II.
• Three Congressional Record daily reports from the 68th Congress (1923-1925), First Sessions.
• General Orders No. 260-303 from January to June, 1917, with several missing.
• Approximately 150 newspaper clippings from 1904 to 1925. They are mostly comprised of letters to editors, news pertaining to Goodrich's naval campaigns and accomplishments, political cartoons, material in Spanish, and short stories in various newspaper publications.

The Documents series contains various certificates, special passports, driving test passes, committee reports, and memoranda. This series features certificates honoring Goodrich's participation as a delegate to the International Historical Congress of the War of Independence in Saragossa, Spain (1908), a memorandum with Clarence E. Warren, who agreed to look after the Goodrich home during the admiral's absence (1913), and a typed "Act of March 4th, 1909" stipulating punishment for conspiracy against the United States. It also includes bills, receipts, memorandum of expenses, and minor finance sheets which reflect Goodrich's various travels and personal and naval accounts.

The Ephemera series includes program guides, menus, brochures, calling cards, and printed and engraved invitations, many for gatherings sponsored by naval and patriotic organizations. Included are a large selection of visiting cards from his 1908 visit to Saragossa for the International Historical Congress of the War of Independence The series spans nearly twenty years from 1904 onwards (bulk ca. 1909) with additional undated materials.

The Photographs series contains six photographs of various subject matters ranging from naval business to domestic scenes, such as a military encampment, a sitting room, and a portrait of Goodrich.

TheNotes, Fragments, and Miscellaneous series is comprised of loose, fragmented, or miscellaneous materials. Included are portions of writings, partial letters, illustrations, recipes and lists, and small flat trinkets. A notable item is the engraving plate used for Mrs. Goodrich's calling card.

Members of the Cavanagh family have resided in Yale, St. Clair County, Michigan since 1857. The collection was accumulated by Martha Cavanagh Cameron and consists of original and copied materials of various Cavanagh and Johnston family members.

The Cavanagh family papers have been arranged into an alphabetical series. The files have been arranged by name of family member with a few exceptions for general family and Yale related files. Of special note are the diaries of George Cavanagh, who was proprietor of the Princess movie theater in Yale, Michigan beginning in 1915.

A unit of the University of Michigan's Institute of Science and Technology which conducts and sponsors interdisciplinary studies of fresh water lake ecology. It is the successor to the Great Lakes Research Institute and the Great Lakes Research Division of the University of Michigan. Primarily research data, analysis, and reports on two major studies: the Coherent Area Study of Lake Michigan, 1963-1971, and the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant Studies, 1967-1983.

The records in this collection are largely research files from the period when John C. Ayers was director of research for the Great Lakes Research Division. The bulk of the records document two large research projects: the Coherent Area Study, 1963-1971, and Donald C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant Studies, 1967-1983. There is also documentation of several smaller research projects. The research files include reports, field and laboratory data, and a variety of logs documenting data collection. The collection has few if any administrative records of the GLRD or its successors.

The records are arranged in ten series: Historical Information, Coherent Area Study, Ship's Logs, Donald C. Cook Power Plant Studies, Lake Michigan Ice Studies, John C. Ayers Research Files, Administration, Grants, Topical files, and Visual materials. Because the records contain a variety of formats, including slides, fan-fold computer printouts, and outsize volumes, some subgroups and series are split between ranges of box numbers. The summary contents list provides an overview of the physical arrangement of the records.

Correspondence, reports, budgets, and other materials concerning the establishment of the Okayama Field Station and the subsequent publication of Village Japan, including correspondence with Douglas MacArthur; also records and minutes, 1947-1987, of the executive committee of the Center for Japanese Studies; also papers relating to the programs and financial operations of the center; and photographs and films.

The Center for Japanese Studies records document the founding and functioning of the center, covering the period from the late-1940s through the 1990s. The center's executive committee minutes and official correspondence cover most of this period evenly. Otherwise, documentation of the center's history is somewhat uneven. The center's first decade is well covered, with a considerable amount of field research notes and audio-visual material. From the early-1960s on, however, such documentation is sparse. This later period is documented in other ways, though. The records include a considerable amount of material concerning grants and fundraising, and these documents often describe the center's activities in detail. The records pertaining to special activities of the center also cover the later decades well.

The records are arranged in nine series: Administrative Files, Correspondence, Course Material, Faculty Files, Financial, Grants, Research Special Activities, and Audio-Visual Material.

This collection consists of two matching scrapbooks produced between 1885 and 1893 relating to the trick-cycling career of The Alden Brothers, a two-man team and vaudeville act. Items include contracts, playbills, photographs, clippings, menus, printed cards and invitations, programs (including some printed on silk), business cards, membership certificates, broadsides, and other memorabilia.

This collection consists of two matching scrapbooks produced between 1885 and 1893, relating to the trick-cycling career of The Alden Brothers, a two-man team and vaudeville act. Items include contracts, playbills, photographs, clippings, menus, printed cards and invitations, programs (including some printed on silk), business cards, membership certificates, broadsides, and other memorabilia.

Also present in the collection are letterpress broadsides which feature images of the Aldens performing a cycling trick and a letter from ascensionist Achille Philion.