Bentley Historical Info Question

Submitted by Swayze Howell Sheen on

The Bentley Historical Library used to be a great spot for information about Michigan sports teams (particularly football). See this link for an example of what I mean.

However, they seemed to have stopped updating the site after the 2010 season, and thus there is nothing on there about Hoke and company's first two seasons.

Anyone out there with a clue as to why this is? 

 

 

 

LSAClassOf2000

April 6th, 2013 at 8:43 AM ^

What makes that even more interesting actually is that the roster database itself (HERE) is current.  I tested it by searching the 2012 recruiting class and they are all in there. Same for the hockey and basketball databases as well - this season's team is in there in each case. I wonder if this is how they simply decided to proceed from that point in 2010-2011 onwards. I know many of us who write diaries use information from this site, so it would be interesting to know the specific answer. 

WolverineHistorian

April 6th, 2013 at 8:50 AM ^

I think the simple answer is that Bentley is very slow when it comes to updating information. It took them nearly 2 years to add the 2008 and 09 football seasons. Though given what happened those seasons, I don't think that was such a travesty.

Unfiltered Manball

April 6th, 2013 at 8:54 AM ^

another Rich Rod conspiracy at work here.

I've never been on the site enough over the years to notice how often it is updated.  And it would be nice to pour over Hoke's numbers in the future.  Hopefully, it will be updated soon.

Maybe there is a new tab for Hoke teams.  Possibly listed as:  Epic Finger Pointing Era, Return of Manball, or The Short-Sleeved Years.

Also, please forgive me for being an unlearned dolt, but who is the Bentley of the Bentley Historical Library?

 

Don

April 6th, 2013 at 10:07 AM ^

doing research, and I think Wolverine Historian's theory is the right one. I'd bet that updating the football site is way down their list of priorities.

Ypsi Arbor

April 6th, 2013 at 11:20 AM ^

Rather than wait for something online, I recommend people travel to the Bentley to research and explore their vast collections in person.

1.) They give public access to original documents detailing the rich history of UM and the state of Michigan.

2.) It's a renowned repository, so the collections are well-organized and labeled.

3.) Plus, nothing beats interacting with history, up close and personal.

So check out their online finding aids and then visit them on North Campus!

jwschultz

April 6th, 2013 at 2:37 PM ^

[Full disclosure: my fiancée is an archivist]

To expand a tiny bit on the general "priorities" suggestion that a couple other posters have already proffered, I'll point out that libraries and archives are not at their highest staffing levels ever, in the current political and economic climate.  Some archivists have even been forced to move from Ann Arbor to Columbus just to find a job in their chosen field...

So, the availability of staff to work on projects like updating new/constantly changing sports records is probably pretty low, and evidently this sort of thing gets put off until somebody can process a couple years' worth of stuff all at once.  For more frequent updates, call your state representative and ask them to vote for more funding for libraries, museums, and archives — or even specifically for more positions at the Bentley!

[okay that was pretty obvious. sorry.]