Clarke Historical Library Collections

Material in the Clarke Library falls into three broad groups. The historical collections represent the library's first area of collecting emphasis and the largest portion of the overall holdings. The historical collection focuses on the history of Michigan and the Old Northwest Territory. The Children's Library was added to the Clarke's holdings in 1972. It emphasizes exemplary books more than fifty years in age, both recreational and educational, that shape the minds of young children. The library also serves as the archives of its parent institution, Central Michigan University.

Historical Collections

The original goal of the Clarke Library was to document all aspects of the history of Michigan and the Old Northwest Territory. Collecting material regarding the state and the Old Northwest Territory remains a fundamental focus of the library. Today the collection includes over 65,000 volumes, 2,500 manuscript collections, 11,000 reels of microfilm, 16,000 visual images, and 3,000 maps.

The library seeks to collect comprehensively both historical and contemporary printed works about Michigan. The printed collection includes works of fiction by Michigan authors or other fictional works which devote a substantial portion of their text to a Michigan setting. The library also collects printed material comprehensively regarding the Old Northwest Territory.

The library's manuscript collections are also statewide in focus. Current manuscript collecting emphasis, however, focuses on the northern half of Michigan's lower peninsula with a special emphasis on the Native American community, Michigan's oil and gas industry, and the documentation of rural life.

Overall the library is particularly rich in resources regarding Michigan's Native American community, the European exploration of the Great Lakes, and the eventual settlement of Europeans in Michigan. The library's documentation regarding nineteenth century Michigan is extensive. It includes material such as information about the Strangite Mormon community on Beaver Island, the original field notes of Michigan surveyor Douglass Houghton, and a superb collection of birds-eye views of Michigan towns and cities. In addition, the library has federal census manuscript returns for Michigan from 1820 to 1920 available for researchers on microfilm.

The vast bulk of the historical collection documents Michigan in the twentieth century. The library's extensive collection of newspapers on microfilm focuses primarily on rural newspapers and holds extensive chronological runs of papers. A large collection of local history material also explores the development, growth, and often decline, of individual Michigan communities.

Children's Library

The Lucile Clarke Memorial Children's Library was donated to the university by Dr. Norman E. Clarke Sr. in memory of his wife, Lucile. The library emphasizes books printed in the eighteenth through twentieth centuries. Most of the library's volumes are first editions.

The range of material is broad. Particularly well represented among the more than five hundred pre-1821 imprints are early editions of the New England Primer. A collection of McGuffy Readers and Sunday School books, as well as similar volumes, reflects the educational goals of many of the books.

Children's books, however, also entertain and delight. The library holds virtually all of the books listed in Jacob Blanck's Peter Parley to Penrod, a checklist of classic children's literature. More than 2,000 turn-of-the century dime novels are found in the library. A different generation of youngsters recalls series books such as the Hardy Boys, which are also found in the Clarke. Many of the books are beautifully illustrated. An example of fine drawing found in the children's books is the work performed by W.W. Denslow in illustrating the 1899 original edition of L. Frank Baum's classic, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The Lucile Clarke Memorial Children's Library is among the finest of its kind in the nation.

CMU Archives

Founded in 1892, Central Michigan University has a distinguished history as Michigan's second "Normal" (Teacher's) School. Eventually, the institution grew into a multi-faceted university serving over 17,000 students.

The Clarke Historical Library serves as CMU's institutional archives and preserves a variety of material documenting the university's history. In selecting material for the archives the library staff attempts to both document the official history of the institution, as well as the less formal but equally important informal activities that take place within the institution, such as student groups and faculty gatherings.

The most frequently consulted items are yearbooks, class bulletins describing courses and curricula, and the student newspaper. A large photographic collection also documents the people who made up the institution and the buildings in which they worked.

Also available are unpublished documents such as the over one hundred feet of files created by the Office of the President, which detail the university's history for the thorough researcher.

The CMU Archives offers important insights regarding the development of higher education in the twentieth century.

To search the Clarke catalog for specific items please click on the "Centra-Libraries Catalog" button. Please note, once you have entered Centra to return to the Clarke Historical Library Home page, click on the "Clarke Historical Library" link at the top of the page.

This information was written in August 1996.