Angela Oonk

Director of Development

✷ Look to Clements to understand the big moments of history and the details of humanity.

I am always humbled to work with family members entrusting us with their ancestors’ recorded memories that provide precious details of humanity. Lee Rucker Keiser not only donated her mother’s WWII letters, the Marion E. Grusky Rucker Collection, but also proofread the finding aid and wrote a fantastic blog introducing the collection. Each date memorized by students in American history class has as its foundation the individual experiences of real people in the past. Everyday individuals are key to a full understanding of the events that shape our present and future.

✷ Look to Clements online resources for world-wide access to rare historic materials.

Almost every research project today has its beginning online. Catalog records, finding aids, and digitized items are often a researcher’s first point of access to the collections. Scanning fragile Clements materials requires individually handling each piece, making the process expensive and time consuming. With the various 250th anniversaries of the fighting of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States coming up, we were pleased to receive two important grants to aid with the digitization of the papers of the British generals Thomas Gage and Henry Clinton.

✷ Look to Clements fellows to uncover the stories of those we’ve rarely heard from.

The best way to encourage research in unique topics is to provide awards to support visiting fellowships. A new offering for the upcoming fellowship year, the Charles R. Eisendrath Fellowship in Early American Journalism, will enhance the journalism profession by encouraging scholarly work on aspects of journalism in early America. Partnerships with donors to create fellowships on a wide range of topics also enhance the intellectual atmosphere while scholars are onsite.

✷ Look to Clements catalogers and reference staff for a roadmap to the collections through multiple access points.

The quiet, important work of catalogers and reference staff is behind the scenes and often taken for granted. Not only is it difficult to secure funding for additional positions, but the need is never-ending as new materials are constantly being added to the collection. Grants from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation and the Frederick S. Upton Foundation, as well as additional matching funds from individual donors, provided funding for a two-year Historic Visual Culture Graduate Assistant from the U-M School of Information. Annika Dekker is serving her second year in that role and has completed a wide range of projects, including organizing over 3,000 postcards and writing a finding aid for rewards of merit.

For a literal look to the stars, this stereoview from the recently acquired Vogel collection shows “The wonderful Universe Explorer, the great 36-inch Equatorial Telescope, Lick Observatory, Mt. Hamilton, California” (Underwood & Underwood, 1902). Manufactured in France, upon its completion in 1888 the telescope was the largest in the world.

✷ Look to Clements conservators for top-notch, long-term stewardship of unique historical materials.

Our in-house conservator, Julie Fremuth, works closely with curators to ensure that materials are stabilized, protected, and usable. Conservation materials like acid-free folders, mylar sheets, and specialized papers are expensive. Through the “Adopt a Piece of History” program, donors can help sponsor conservation projects, like a photograph album from Oberlin, Ohio, containing 11 studio portraits, including several images of family members and friends apparently related to a biracial family. This particular item has been adopted by Cinda-Sue Davis. Conservation will include removal of photos, creation of facsimiles to replace originals, stabilization of the binding and torn pages, new housing for the original photos, and a three-part wrap for the album.

✷ Look to Clements curators for the acquisition of historic documents to tell a well-rounded story of American history.

I met Robert Vogel early in my tenure at the Clements and heard about his life-long collecting of images related to engineering and industry. His organization, research, and meticulous notes provided a basis for a finding aid that will serve researchers far into the future. As with many archival materials, there are important layers to uncover as well. While Robert was primarily interested in documenting engineering and technology, these images also often include workers, uncovering clues about work clothes and labor conditions. As objects, the stereoviews can also be studied as an early form of photography. I look forward to seeing the many ways that the Robert M. Vogel Collection of Historic Images of Engineering & Industry will be used in the future. 

As we all look to the Clements for the study of American history, it is our donor community, the Clements Library Associates, who are the true stars.

Helen Harding — Business Manager

After working as a generalist in the Development Office since 2023, Helen has stepped into the role of Business Manager. She works with our HR generalist Heather Goodchild, handles finances for the library, and manages our facilities, including our North Campus storage facility. Her development background makes her well-suited to support the library’s mission of collecting and preserving primary sources, making them available for research, and supporting and encouraging scholarly investigation of our nation’s past.

Upon graduating from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s in American culture, Helen started a successful catering company and restaurant, called EAT. Throughout her career she has successfully run and managed various small businesses, but turned her attention to the nonprofit sector when she pursued a master’s in public administration with a concentration in nonprofit management.

Photo by Marc-Gregor Campredon, Office of University Development, Regents of the University of Michigan.

Katie Jaede- Assistant Director of Development

Our new Assistant Director of Development, Katie Jaede, joins us from the development team at Cranbrook Art Museum. Katie will assist with fundraising, supporting our mission by working on annual giving, stewardship, and event planning. She enjoys connecting donors and visitors with collection items of interest or that coincide with their philanthropic goals, and she loves developing and maintaining relationships with both donors and colleagues.

At Michigan State University, Katie earned a bachelor’s in history of art and visual culture, and a Master’s in arts, cultural management, and museum studies. She’s always had a passion for history, art, and the humanities. She enjoyed promoting and helping to steward the collections of the Cranbrook Art Museum, and she’s excited to bring that same enthusiasm to her work at the Clements!

Heather Goodchild — Human Resources Generalist

Heather was hired in the new position of Human Resources Generalist for both the Clements and Bentley Libraries. She wears a lot of hats, including assisting managers with the hiring process and onboarding, managing timekeeping, and working with HR systems.

The opportunity to help others led Heather to human resources. After graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in business management, her mentors encouraged her to enter the field and she’s been enjoying having the opportunity to help others ever since.

Photo by Marc-Gregor Campredon, Office of University Development, Regents of the University of Michigan.

Ella Johnson — Digitization Specialist

As our new Digitization Technician, Ella’s responsibilities include scanning materials, creating metadata, and processing the images you see on our digitized collection page. Ella is a recent graduate of Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, where she majored in art history and worked on various digitization projects in the archives there. She also did digitization work for her local historical society in high school.

Clements Library Board of Governors

Welcome to new board members Wes Cowen (Old Mission, MI), Peggy Harrington (Mill Valley, CA), and Christina Karas (Ann Arbor, MI)!

And farewell to retiring board members Candace Dufek, Thomas Liebman, and Janet Mueller. Thank you for your service!