The William L. Clements Library is a rare book and manuscript repository located on the University of Michigan's central campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The library is widely considered to hold one of the most prominent collections of Americana and a destination for researchers studying the History of the Americas from European discovery to the early 20th century.
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The Library was founded in 1923 by William L. Clements, an alumnus and regent of the University of Michigan. The library's initial collections were donated by Clements and included his personal collection of "20,000 volumes of rare books, 2,000 volumes of early newspapers, several hundred maps, and the papers of William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne."[1] Among the restrictions Clements placed upon the library was that it should remain separate from the University's greater library system and be governed by an independent board of trustees. Today, this distinct governing structure remains in place, but the Library's collections are integrated into the University Library's Mirlyn catalog.[2]
The Library's collections are comprised mostly by primary materials for the study of American history and culture from the fifteenth to the early twentieth century. Particular strengths include the early exploration and settlement of North America, the period of the American Revolution, the American Civil War, and the social and cultural histories of the 19th century.
Public exhibits of American history from the library's collection are on public display on weekday afternoons. Exhibited materials have included rare books, manuscripts, maps, photographs and prints. Recent exhibition topics include manuscript Civil War music, items related to the sugar trade, and a forthcoming exhibit on the first year of the American Civil War.
The Library's collections are spread across five divisions: the Book Division, the Manuscripts Division, the Graphics Division, the Map Division, and the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive.
The William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne papers, one of the Library's earliest manuscript acquisitions, remains one of its most prestigious manuscript collections today. Other significant collections include the James S. Schoff Civil War Collection and papers of Generals Thomas Gage, Sir Henry Clinton and Frederick Christian Arnold, Freiherr von Jungkenn, leader of the British-allied Hessians.
The Manuscripts Division also holds numerous important single items, including King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella's confirmation of entail for Christopher Columbus's first voyage, the British Army's marching orders prompting the Battles of Lexington and Concord, several coded letters between John André and Benedict Arnold, and a collection of eyewitness accounts of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln.[3]