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Local History

Dexter, Michigan Community Band

As the repository for materials relating to Michigan history, the Bentley Library includes in its holdings manuscript collections, published materials, and visual materials relating to local communities throughout the state. The breadth of the library's holdings in this area includes both peninsulas, all of the state's counties, and most of the principal cities and metropolitan regions. The quantity of material for any given community varies depending upon population, its distance from the Bentley Library in Ann Arbor, and the existence of a closer collecting archive. The library is strongest for local history materials for Ann Arbor, Michigan, for other cities in Washtenaw County, and for the state's largest cities (Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, etc.). As a collector of church records (Religious history), the library has holdings of records from churches throughout the state, both on-going and defunct congregations. Detailed information about the Bentley's local history holdings may be located through the MIRLYN database.