by Clements Library | Sep 9, 2026 | Collections, Library Work, Manuscripts
In a recent blog post, we began to explore the Weld-Grimké family correspondences which the digitization team at the Clements have been working for the last year to digitize and make accessible online. The correspondences represent the big, complicated, fascinating lives of Sarah, Angelina, Theodore and their family through the 19th century and vast political and personal changes. I had the honor of digitizing this collection, letter by letter, over the last year and getting to intimately know this family. Today, I want to continue with some of the themes which drew me into this collection and a bit about the process of digitizing this collection.
by Clements Library | Sep 1, 2026 | Library Work, Students
During James Watke-Stacy’s time as Intern for Instruction and Engagement, he was often tasked with looking through the Clements collections for materials that would assist with class instruction or an event. Before graduating last spring, he compiled some lessons he learned through this process to share with students tackling archival research for the first time.
by Kelsey Turgeon | Aug 31, 2026 | Day In The Life, Library Work, Manuscripts
Brynne Smith, an undergraduate student, has joined us today for a Q&A to share what her day is like as the George F. Hacker Intern at the Clements! Tell us about your background and how you came to work at the Clements Library. I am from Ann Arbor! I am going into...
by Clements Library | Aug 26, 2026 | Collections, Library Work, Manuscripts
For the last year, the digitization team at the Clements Library has been hard at work on digitizing one of our cornerstone collections. Nearly 3,500 letters from the Weld-Grimké collection will shortly be digitally available, allowing remote access to these important documents. Stretching from 1740 to 1930, these letters document the lives of the Weld and Grimké families in South Carolina, Philadelphia, Massachusetts, and Michigan. Centered around sisters Angelina and Sarah Grimké, these correspondences highlight the work of women as political actors, religious leaders, and medical practitioners. I had the honor of working through this collection page by page, taking over 13,000 images of these letters and in this blog I’d like to share a brief biographical sketch of the Grimké family and then I will be back to share a bit more about the digitizing process and my interest in this collection.
by Clements Library | Aug 5, 2026 | Acquisitions, Collections, Library Work, Manuscripts
Many manuscripts collections have been processed and made available for research, ranging from a Broadway Theaters scrapbook depicting a “School of Educated Dogs” to the papers of WWII veteran Robert S. Simpson, who helped establish a typhus hospital at the liberated Allach concentration camp. As always, all are welcome to visit the Clements to research these materials in person.
by Kelsey Turgeon | Jul 28, 2026 | Collections, Library Work, Manuscripts
Photographed wearing a fur coat and posing alongside three dogs, I first came across Florence in the Clements Library Image Bank. Alongside her fur coat ensemble, two more digitized photographs served as an introduction to Mrs. Romaine. These images captured her time on the stage and later in her mid to late forties, leaving us to wonder who was she in between all of those years? And who was she?
by Clements Library | Jul 14, 2026 | Acquisitions, Collections, Library Work, Manuscripts
The Clements Library is thrilled to make another large batch of manuscript collections available for research. Included in this batch are colorful sample checks, documents penned by poet James Whitcomb Riley, and a fan diary recording celebrations of the 4th of July over the years!
by Kelsey Turgeon | Jul 7, 2026 | Collections, Day In The Life, Library Work, Manuscripts
Welcome to the 6th edition of a Day in the Life at the Clements Library! Read on to spend a day with Diana Baxter, a recent graduate of the University of Michigan’s School of Information.
by Clements Library | Jun 24, 2026 | Acquisitions, Collections, Graphics, Library Work, Volunteers
The Graphics Division has published thirteen new finding aids documenting the lives of individuals and families from the 1840s to the 1990s.
