Michigan's past is at your fingertips
What will you unbox?
Read Civil War love letters. Unfurl early Michigan maps. Discover old football programs. Flip scrapbook pages with family photos.
The Bentley is free and open to everyone.
Storied History
Bentley materials aren't relics—they are invitations.
Each box, photograph, letter, link, and recording opens a door into lived experience, revealing how people navigated their worlds and shaped the one we inhabit today. The incredible stories discovered here become part of magazine articles, exhibits, websites, books, and more.
Researcher Brad Hammond at a Center for Japanese Studies event called “Remembering the University of Michigan’s Wartime Japanese American Workers.” Photo by Leisa Thompson.
Members of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at a banquet on April 10, 1910. Photo from the Richard Hill scrapbook.
Student docents at the Frankel Detroit Observatory designed and produced the Watcher in the Sky exhibit.
George Armstrong (left) with a friend in 1908, both students at U-M. Photo courtesy of Polly Paulson.
New letters recently added to the Joseph Campau collection. Photo by Lon Horwedel.
Find What You’re Looking For
Researchers study a map of Michigan from the Bentley. Photo by Lon Horwedel.
The Bentley Historical Library is open to the public and is free to use. Photo by Lon Horwedel.
A drawing of a landscape plan along the the Lincoln Highway from the collection of landscape architect Jens Jensen.
This photograph of a vintage computer screen is from the U-M Information Technology Division records.
A Bentley patron reads historical letters in the reading room. Photo by Lon Horwedel.
An example of one of the many websites the Bentley has captured. Photo from the Be Aware You’re Uploading web archives.
A processing archivist hard at work sorting through new materials. Photo by Lon Horwedel.
A behind-the-scenes tour of the Library gives members of the public a sneak peek at the stacks (and more). Photo by Bentley staff.
Patrons at the Bentley flip through historical materials. Photo by Lon Horwedel.
Archives can be Weird
Our materials are unique, and so is the search process. These three steps can help.
1. Find
Find materials by searching the Bentley’s collections.
Discover the ArchiveRelated How-tos
2. Request
Request and track materials you want to see at the library.
How to Request ItemsRelated How-tos
About the Bentley
Everyone is Welcome.
That Includes You!
Sharing more than two centuries of history, the Bentley is home to the archives of the University of Michigan and one of the largest collections of materials on the history of the state of Michigan. Access is free and open to the public.
Learn more
