What You Will Learn
In this installment of the Making Michigan lecture series, you will learn how the Bentley acquired 60+ years of Michigan football game films, and how a two-year digitization project has made them available through the Bentley’s website.
Archivists from the Bentley Historical Library will explain how information was added to enhance the viewers’ experience watching the mostly silent films, including annotations with time code for scoring and other significant plays, links to team rosters, box scores, and Michigan Daily game stories.
Finally, the speakers will share some of the challenges they faced in the project and a few favorite clips gleaned from hours of examining and viewing the films and digital files.
About the Speakers
Brian Williams is Assistant Director and Archivist for University History at the Bentley Historical Library. He joined the Bentley Library as an assistant archivist in 1994. Prior to coming to the Bentley, Williams was an Assistant Archivist at Oberlin College. He holds a master's degree in Information and Library Science from the University of Michigan School of Information, and a bachelor's degree in History from Hope College. He also studied at Muskingum University. Williams specializes in the history of the University of Michigan, including athletics, and is currently leading a project on African American students at Michigan.
Greg Kinney is an archivist at the Bentley Historical Library with the University History Program. He is the archivist for the Bentley’s large collection of Athletic Department records and athletics-related collections, a position partially funded by the Athletic Department. Kinney joined the Bentley staff in 1988 after completing master’s degrees in History and Library Science/Archives Administration at the University of Michigan. He received his undergraduate degree in History from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. He is responsible for the athletic content on the Bentley website and is working with Brian Williams on the African American student project.