Archives
The Archives of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History was established in 1982 by the Board of Trustees for the acquisition, appraisal, processing, preservation, administration and unbroken custody of the non-current recorded information produced by the life and works of the Museum. It is the repository of recorded information (in whatever medium it may be found) with value for evidential, administrative, legal, financial and historical purposes for use in the future.
Institutional records housed in the Archives include administrative files of former directors and trustees; inactive departmental records, professional papers and correspondence of former Museum scientists, curators, and honorary associates; field notebooks, scrapbooks and clippings; files of Museum publications; and some memorabilia.
The Archives also house special collections concerning events or people loosely associated with the Museum. Material of this type includes the Henry Wood Elliott Fur Seal Controversy papers; records of the Blossom South Atlantic and Crile-White African expeditions, among others; biographical information on former directors, trustees, staff, and students; an autograph collection of explorers and scientists; correspondence of a circle of 19th century botanists; daily sighting records kept by an amateur naturalist from Painesville; and the records of the Lake County Wildflower Club. Upon the Museum's merger with HealthSpace Cleveland and Eco-City Cleveland in 2007 and 2008, respectively, the archives of those institutions were added to the Museum Archives.
The Archives is currently staffed on a volunteer, part-time basis. Although inquiries from researchers are welcome, we may not be able to accommodate them in a timely manner. For more information, contact Evie Newell, Archivist and Records Manager, by phone at (216) 231-4600, ext. 3212 or email at enewell@cmnh.org.