Collections

The collection documents the reconstruction and new addition of the CMU Park Library building, as well as ongoing life in the new building.

This collection documents the reconstruction and new addition of the CMU Park Library building, as well as ongoing life in the new building, located on the corner of Preston and Franklin Streets in Mount Pleasant, through photographs, webpages, clippings (copies), publications, and other materials. This collection was kept separate from prior Park Library collection due to its timely nature and for ease of retrieval, as requested by the Dean of Libraries.

Included here are various publications of exhibits and events, news articles, website pages, and brochures generated since 2002 documenting ongoing events in the building. Of particular note is Library needs of faculty in a changing environment: report of findings, a report based on a survey, written by Professor Mary A. Senter, December 2006. Also included are two CD-Roms, one of the library’s opening, January 9, 2002, and another of the 50th anniversary of the library’s federal depository program, January 24, 2008.

Later additions to the collection from the Dean’s Office include materials used to plan the new building, 3 CD-Roms of photographs of the construction and dedication. The collection is ongoing. A 2023 addition from the Libraries Business Services legacy files includes photographs of the interior construction and completed building exterior, and a Michigan Construction journal featuring the new building, and a questionnaire asking for construction details which were included in the article (see Box 1 Exhibits/Events Brochures folder).

Reference Point, the Park’s newsletter, is separately cataloged and housed as a periodical in the Clarke’s collections.

For additional information about the Park, see other, related collections documenting the history of the Park Library in the Clarke Historical Library.

The University of Michigan News and Information Services (NIS) acts as the University's media relations office, disseminating information about university programs, research, events, and faculty activities. This collection includes audiovisual recordings of press releases, news briefs distributed to television and radio stations, web-based podcasts and digital videos, and externally produced materials about the University and its activities. Additionally, researchers will find copies of University-produced media from the 1970s to the early 2000s in both audio and video formats.

The University of Michigan News and Information Services Audiovisual Materials contains sound and visual materials produced by the University of Michigan to share with the media as well as materials relevant to the promotion and image of the University. News and Information Services also publishes materials featuring achievements by scholars, recordings of speeches by invited speakers, and media appearances by or about University officials, programs, and scholars.

This volume contains notes Kate Brown Barlow kept between 1886 and 1887 relating to the cases handled by the Newsboys and Children's Aid Society of Washington, D.C. Typically the notes record the child's name, their race, family and financial circumstances, conditions at the place of residence, physical appearance and state of clothing, indications of hardship, and any details about job or housing placements.

During the course of her work, Barlow occasionally documented going on house visits. She described the conditions the children lived in, noting the alleys and regions of the city where they resided. At times she inquired about their behavior and asked for character references, often in relation to trying to secure job or housing placements for the children. Her notes indicate boys were placed to work in sites like a coach factory, a drug store, a coal yard, and a restaurant scullery, and that she was coordinating with other aid organizations like the Orphan's Asylum, the Industrial Home School, the House of Mercy, and the Foundling Society to provide housing. Barlow indicated other programs assisted with food deliveries to families or provided free legal services. Several incidences recorded in the volume reflect racial prejudice, such as refusals to house or employ African American children (August 16, 1886; March 1, 1887; April 5, 1887). Barlow also commented on interracial households, suggesting they were notable.

The case notes provide insight in the children's difficult circumstances, with reports of violence, child prostitution and sexual grooming, lack of access to education, and malnutrition and hunger. The volume includes a note written by a 23-year-old man to a 14-year-old girl pasted into the back of the volume, which the case notes from October 18, 1886, reference. Barlow recorded when mental illness or alcohol and drug use factored into the case. At times she noted children running away from their families or from work or alternate housing arrangements. She also commented on mixed reactions by the families, with some offering gratitude while others were mistrustful of Barlow's intentions and refused their children's work or housing placements. Barlow acknowledged the frustration the cases sometimes generated as well as her emotional exhaustion.

Barlow was in communication with the police station, using them as a last resort if housing could not be secured or if she received reports of child neglect or physical and sexual abuse that required immediate intervention. When children under her care were in conflict with the law, Barlow also got involved. She noted talking to police about newsboys who were arrested for gambling (February 19, 1887) and attempting to remove a boy from the workhouse. The volume includes several newspaper clippings, including a New York Times article, "The Percentage of Arrest in Leading Cities," focusing on juvenile reform; one entitled "Crime in Washington;" and another, "Shooting to Kill. Unprovoked murder of George Rawlett, a Young White Man, by a Drunken Negro," with additional manuscript notes about the incident.

Barlow recorded visits from the Newsboy's Home from Columbus, Ohio on September 16, 1886, to compare their practices, and a visit from the Children's Aid Society of Newark, New Jersey, on January 13, 1887.

The Nichols Arboretum consists of 123 acres of land adjacent to the University of Michigan's Central Campus. This collection of the Arboretum's records dates mainly from the latter half of the 20th century, and features publications and printed materials from the 1990s. It also includes written histories from the early 20th century, several files of administrative materials from the late 1960s, and materials pertaining to proposals for the Arboretum grounds in the 1990s

The Nichols Arboretum records comprise of 3 linear feet and 12 oversize folders of materials spanning the years from 1921 to 2006. The bulk of the collection dates from 1995 to 2004. The records document a brief period of the arboretum's administration from the late 1960s, plans and proposals for the arboretum grounds from throughout the late 20th century, and publications and events at the arboretum from the mid-1990s to the very early 2000s. The records have been divided into ten series: Administrative, Correspondence, Display Materials, Events, Friends of NA, Projects, Publications and Printed Materials, Topical Files, Maps, and Plans and Proposals.

Night Photos Taken Before and After the Earthquake and Fire is a photograph album containing 25 nighttime photographs of buildings and streets with electrical lighting in San Francisco, California, from 1901 to 1909.

Night Photos Taken Before and After the Earthquake and Fire is a photograph album containing 25 nighttime photographs of buildings and streets with electrical lighting in San Francisco, California, from 1901 to 1909.

The album (18.5. x 14.5 cm) has black cloth covers with “Photographs” gilt-stamped on front and black paper pages. An inscription on the inside of the front cover reads “Night Photos Taken Before and After The Earthquake and Fire by Cecil C. Cline S.F.” The photographer may possibly have been Cecil Cephas Cline (1884-1949), a San Francisco-based electrician. Buildings pictured include the Ferry Building, the Old Union Trust Building, the Old City Hall, the Tivoli Opera House, and more. While most photographs are exterior views, interior shots of the Ferry Building and Tivoli Opera House are also present.

Towards the back of the album one page is captioned “After the Earthquake and Fire.” Seven photographs are present in this section of the album including several images documenting the Portola Festival held in October, 1909, which was the first city-wide public event held in San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake.

The Noah Scovell collection contains 12 letters and documents related to Captain Noah Scovell, a merchant and shipbuilder in Saybrook, Connecticut. The material concerns shipping, finances, and Scovell's acquaintances.

The Noah Scovell collection contains 12 letters and documents related to Captain Noah Scovell, a merchant and shipbuilder in Saybrook, Connecticut. Scovell received personal and professional correspondence pertaining to subjects such as finances, U.S. citizenship proceedings, shipping, and business in New York. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for more information.

Detroit, Mich. based travel group which toured destinations throughout the world. Records include tour files arranged by destination. These files consist of description of the proposed tour, itineraries of events, and list of tour members. The collection also has organization newsletter Nomad Notes and The Nomad; and photographs from the social activities of the group.

The papers and photographs of the Nomads were initially processed by the organization in the summer of 1989. The collection was gathered from the office records of the Club as well as from the private collections of various members, especially those of Joseph and Anne Marie Benich. Additional items were processed in the spring of 1990 and 1991.

The collection includes Dr. Clarke’s biographical materials, papers, memorabilia, and his collection on the heart and his research interests.

The collection includes Dr. Clarke’s biographical materials, papers, memorabilia, and his collection on the heart and his research interests. The papers include certificates of appreciation, membership, degrees earned, an autobiographical manuscript, correspondence, materials related to his collecting interests, Polyclinic, professional papers he presented at conferences and associations, and published articles that he wrote. Correspondence includes both personal and professional correspondence, some of which relates to CMU and the CHL. The memorabilia includes plaques of appreciation, mason paraphernalia, and an academic hood, probably from CMU. His collection of publications and information about the heart, ethylene diamino tetraacetic acid (EDTA), endate, and chelation therapy reflect his research and professional interests. Also included are audiovisual materials, mostly cassette tapes, of research topics of interest to Dr. Clarke and a tape of an award dinner where he was honored for his long service to Providence Hospital. Photographs and other visual or illustrative materials are found throughout the collection.

A 2023 addition includes 1 folder of family photographs of Dr. Clarke, Sr. and his parents, Hannah Grove Clarke and James George Clarke, a veterinarian, and photographs of the veterinary office and livery stable, where he worked, and the family home. Other family photographs are of his wife, Lucile C. Hogan (1892-1968), and her extended Proud family, and a Vermont one-room school in Vermont where a Proud relative attended or taught. The photographs have tape and edge damage. Information taped to them about the images was removed and photocopied and a photocopy is found immediately after each related photograph.

For additional correspondence and information related to Dr. Clarke’s donation of his collections to the CHL, see the CHL Organizational Records collection.

The Norwalk, Ohio family photograph albums consist of two volumes containing approximately 560 photographs that depict an unidentified family, their homes, vacations, and construction of a house.

Volume 1: This album (29 x 36 cm) has black leather covers and black paper pages. Images include many affectionate pictures of children and pets as well as photographs of family vacations, homes, and the construction of a large house. At the end of the album, several photographs of children that appear earlier are replicated in larger formats.

Volume 2: This volume (35.5 x 43 cm) is a leather portfolio bearing an elaborate embossed elephant design on the front cover. Contained within is a series of thirty large format mounted photographs of the same house that is pictured while under construction in Volume 1. Photographs include views of surrounding natural scenery and gardens, exterior shots of the house, and images showing the porch and sunroom.

An unnamed parent or caregiver kept notes about children in a partially used Teachers' Institute Note Book, 1886. The volume was printed in Chicago and Maquoketa, Iowa, by Donohue & Henneberry and W. M. Welch, respectively, and includes advertisements on the inside covers for educational texts and forms. Two pages of manuscript notes define musical intervals. An additional nine pages of text sporadically document the words and actions of at least two children, Harry and Inez, between the ages of 1.5 and 5.5 years old. The writer notes the ages at which children were singing, the type of art they created, the humorous questions, observations, and comments they made, and religious thoughts they vocalized.

An unnamed parent or caregiver kept notes about children in a partially used Teachers' Institute Note Book, 1886. The volume was printed in Chicago and Maquoketa, Iowa, by Donohue & Henneberry and W. M. Welch, respectively, and includes advertisements on the inside covers for educational texts and forms. Two pages of manuscript notes define musical intervals. An additional nine pages of text sporadically document the words and actions of at least two children, Harry and Inez, between the ages of 1.5 and 5.5 years old. The writer notes the ages at which children were singing, the type of art they created, the humorous questions, observations, and comments they made, and religious thoughts they vocalized.

The childhood observations about death, spirits, and God reflect a religious upbringing and household, including one entry about how Harry "was drawing a picture of a deathbed scene where angels were coming to carry the man's spirit to God in accordance with what he had been told on the subject. He said 'Mama I guess one angel holds the man's mouth open while the other takes his spirit out of him.' " Comments about dogs, toys, and imaginative games speak to youthful entertainment and play, and others are more suggestive about the conditions in the children's environment that caught their attention. Questions like "what color is the moon on the other side," or observations that a dead mouse "is kind of wilted isn't it," provide insights into what the children were seeing and wondering about.

One entry at the back of the volume reads, "J. D. McAuliff (Heals by rubbing) St. Louis, Mo."