Donald Hall and Robert Shaye and the Donald Hall Collection

The Department of Film, Television, and Media at the University of Michigan is fortunate to have its own departmental library, The Donald Hall Collection.

Thanks to a generous gift by Robert Shaye, President and CEO of Unique Features (formerly CEO of New Line Cinema) and an alumnus of the University of Michigan (BBA ’60) and the Four Friends Foundation, the library’s primary mission is to support screenwriting. Upon presenting the gift, Mr. Shaye noted: "There is no school in the country really focusing on producing great screenwriting. I thought the program could distinguish itself by focusing on one aspect of the film industry and doing it well! Michigan has a tradition of honoring quality writing and his is just another part of it.”

The DHC is named for the renowned poet and author, Donald Hall, who taught at Michigan from 1957 to 1975 and it honors the noted professor who greatly influenced Mr. Shaye during his undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan.  Donald Hall was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress (commonly known as the Poet Laureate of the United States) in 2006. Hall was awarded the 2010 National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama. 

The DHC contains thousands of screenplays, DVDs, videotapes and laserdiscs. In addition, viewing stations are available for patrons who wish to screen films for academic assignments or personal pleasure.