The William L. Clements Library is one of the University of Michigan’s “collecting units”—libraries, museums, and other departments that acquire and hold primary source materials that support the educational goals of this great institution. The Library opened its doors to scholars in 1923, and since that time it has followed in the footsteps of its founder by building and ever improving its collections. These focus on primary sources on paper—books, maps, manuscripts, and graphics—that document the history and culture of the Americas from 1492 to 1900. Americanist scholars and students from the campus and from around the world use the Library’s resources in the pursuit of their research.
The Clements continues to build and strengthen its holdings through gifts and purchases. Potential acquisitions are selected to improve areas of strength in the collections or to venture into new areas of scholarship on American history and culture before 1901. This exhibit introduces some of the acquisitions made since 2007 and illustrates the diversity of media and subject matter that researchers can draw on from the Clements collections.
Open to the public in the Main Room of the Clements Library, Monday through Friday from 1:00 pm to 4:45 pm. The Clements Library is located on the campus of the University of Michigan at 909 South University Avenue, Ann Arbor. For further information, visit our website or call 734-764-2347.