Providing Access to Manuscript Collections Related to Early American History

FAIN: PW-50320-09

Regents of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1382)
Barbara DeWolfe (Project Director: August 2008 to August 2012)

The production and upgrading of finding aids and catalog records for improved access to 426 manuscript collections, amounting to 593 linear feet, dealing with early American history.

The William L. Clements Library, at the University of Michigan, is applying for funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support a two-year project to provide new or improved access to collections of historical importance for the study of early American history. We have selected 426 collections, for which we need new or better finding aids. These collections pertain to landmark events in early American history, from the middle of the 18th century to 1870, and are of exceptional importance. The goals of the project are to have online finding aids in EAD (Encoded Archival Description) format for our web site, and records in MARC (MAchine Readable Cataloging record) format for the University of Michigan's online catalog, MIRLYN. These records will then be uploaded to OCLC (Online Computer Library Center), and ArchiveGrid, both of which are accessible databases.