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Beta Phi Mu, Kappa Chapter records

 Collection
Identifier: RH-A-2346

Scope and Contents

The collection is composed of records from Beta Phi Mu, Kappa Chapter, located in Kalamazoo MI between 1966 and 2000. The collection includes 29 folders of documents such as brochures, initiation booklets, treasure's booklets, membership records, a scrapebook and photo album. The album contains news clippings and a letter from John Upjohn.

Dates

  • Creation: 1966-2000

Creator

Biographical / Historical

Beta Phi Mu was organized nationally in 1948. The Kappa Chapter was installed at Western Michigan University on June 7, 1966. The Constitution of the Kappa Chapter states that the purpose of the fraternity is “to recognize high scholarship in the study of librarianship, and to sponsor appropriate professional and scholarly projects.” The Kappa Chapter was sponsored by the Western Michigan University Department of Librarianship. Regina F. Berneis was the first president of the Chapter. The Kappa Chapter was formed by Dr. Laurel Grotzinger, who worked in the Department of Librarianship, and Mr. Donald R. Brown, who worked as the reference librarian at Waldo Library. The Kappa Chapter was regularly active until 1993, fading once WMU closed the Library School. Meetings were held in 1994 and 1997, and the Chapter officially closed in April 2000.

Extent

1.5 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Physical Description

The collection amounts to 1.50 cubic feet and is composed of records from Beta Phi Mu, Kappa Chapter, located in Kalamazoo MI between 1966 and 2000. The collection contains 29 folders measuring 11.75” x 9.5”. The folders are primarily composed of documents measuring 11” x 8.5”, while also containing brochures measuring 8.5” x 3.75”, initiation booklets measuring 8.5” x 5.5”, a treasurer’s booklet measuring 9.5” x 7.25”, and membership records measuring 14” x 10.75”. The conditions of the files vary, with most in good condition, others with visible yellowing and fading page contents. Some documents are stained. A few documents have slight tears/creases along the edges. Some documents are printed, others are type-written. Documents which are handwritten are written with ink, though some documents contain notes written with pencil. All of the documents in this collection pertain to Beta Phi Mu and its members.

The collection also contains a vinyl-hardcover scrapbook and a vinyl hard-cover photo-album. The scrapbook measures 14.5” x 12”, and contains photographs of various sizes, including 5” x 7”, 3.5” x 3.5”, 5” x 3.5”, and 4.5” x 3.5”. The photographs are labelled with sticky labels measuring 3” x 1.5”. The scrapbook also contains the Kappa Chapter Constitution and other documents pertaining to the Kappa Chapter, as well as news clippings pertaining to the Kappa Chapter, all of various sizes. The photos and documents have been taped onto the pages of the book, with most adhesive holding up well, though some beginning to come loose. The photo-album measures 12.5” x 14.5”, and contains photographs of a Beta Phi Mu Spring Meeting that took place at the Kalamazoo Public Library in 1981 which measure 4.5” x 3.5”. The photographs are labelled with sticky labels measuring 3” x 1.5”. The album also contains a news clipping regarding the event, which measures 6.5” x 2.5”, as well as a letter from John Upjohn measuring 11” x 8.5”. The documents are held to the pages with adhesive which is beginning to come loose. The contents of the photo-album are in decent condition, showing signs of yellowing, likely from the adhesive.

Title
Beta Phi Mu, Kappa Chapter records finding aid
Status
Completed
Author
Bailey Miller; Stephanie Chapman
Date
2021-11-08
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Western Michigan University Archives & Regional History Collections Repository

Contact:
Charles C. and Lynn L. Zhang Legacy Collections Center
1650 Oakland Drive
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5307 US
(269) 387-8490