Faculty governance has a long and distinguished history at Cornell University – having been initiated when the first faculty was assembled in 1868 – and has remained active continuously to the present (2011). During the early years the faculty met weekly, but more recently, monthly meetings have been the norm. As the faculty grew, so has the number of faculty who actively participate in governance. This report contains the written minutes for 2,090 meetings during the past 140 years and has resulted in a lengthy record of 16,049 pages (minutes plus addenda). This introduction gives guidance on the best way to view and search the collection. ZIP file downloads of the collection are included to help in this process.