Burton Historical Collection Tour and Research
Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at 5:00 PM*
Burton Historical Collection
Detroit Public Library
*Tour begins at 6:00 PM
Free and open to the public
Transportation / Directions
Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public Library
5201 Woodward Ave in Detroit Map location
Access off of Cass Ave. due to Woodward construction
313-481-1401
The employee parking lot gate (on the South side of the Library) will be open at 5:00 PM, so we’ll have access to free parking on site. The library is open until 8:00 PM.
Those wishing to caravan together from the suburbs, please meet at the office of Jim Grey at 4:45 PM:
30100 Telegraph Road Map location
Bingham Farms, MI
South Lobby
Jim’s office: 248-540-9070
Jim’s cell: 248-739-9070
Jim’s email: gentrex@aol.com
For those working downtown, or driving on their own, they should plan to arrive between 5 and 6PM.
If anyone is interested in connecting with your fellow JGSMI members and researchers after this program at an eatery nearby, or closer to Jim’s office, let us know.
About the Burton
The Burton Historical Collection (BHC) of the Detroit Public Library began as the private library of Clarence Monroe Burton. In addition to being a prominent attorney, Mr. Burton was a Detroit historiographer and the founder of the C. M. Burton Abstract Co. Mr. Burton’s original intention was to assemble a collection on the history of Detroit. Realizing that Detroit’s history was inextricably connected to that of Michigan and the Old Northwest and those histories to that of Canada and New France, he assembled a collection that was one of the most important private historical collections in the country.
Over the course of 40 years, Mr. Burton systematically collected original documents and personal papers of prominent citizens of Detroit and Michigan. By 1914 the library contained 30,000 volumes, 40,000 pamphlets and 500,000 unpublished papers. Mr. Burton donated his collection, including the building it was housed in, to the Detroit Public Library in 1915. The collection was moved to the new main library in 1921.
Assistant Director Romie Minor will give us a tour at 6PM, and time after that can be used for individual research.
About Romie Minor, Supervising Archivist
Romie Minor is currently the Assistant Manager for the Special Collections Department and the Curator of the E. Azalia Hackley Collection of African-Americans in the Performing Arts at the Detroit Public Library. He holds a B.A. in History, Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science and Graduate Certificate in Archival Administration from Wayne State University.
Registration
RSVP by emailing Jim Grey: gentrex@aol.com.