Digital Collections
The Mansfield Library is continually digitizing unique and rare items from its collections, including photographs, maps, letters, diaries, meeting minutes, pamphlets, gray literature, University of Montana publications, and audio and visual materials. The Archives and Special Collections also has a growing number of exclusively digital collections and mixed collections containing both paper-based and born-digital material. Mansfield Library digital content is hosted by two free and open-access platforms: the Montana History Portal, a hub for digital collections reflecting Montana's cultural heritage, and ScholarWorks, a repository for research, scholarship, and unique resources produced and curated by University of Montana faculty, students, and staff.
Photographs
Archival Photographs from the University of Montana
The Mansfield Library's largest collection of historic images is hosted by the Montana History Portal under the collection name "Archival Photographs from the University of Montana." The majority of these photographs document people, places, and activities in Western Montana, including the Missoula area and the University of Montana campus. Digitization and addition of images to this collection is on-going.
Bud Moore Photographs and Sound Recordings
William Robert 'Bud' Moore (1917-2010) was a well-known Montana forester, trapper, conservationist, and author. This collection contains Moore's photographs and audio recordings he made providing additional context to the images.
Jack L. Demmons' Photographs of Bonner, Montana
Assembled in the mid-1970s by Bonner School Superintendent Jack L. Demmons (1930-2022), this collection of approximately 1,600 photographs depicts life in and around Bonner, Montana, from the late 1800s through the 1950s.
United States Forest Service, Region One Photographs
This collection contains photographs used by the United States Forest Service Northern Region (also known as Region One) in publications, to illustrate policy decisions, record scientific experiments, and document natural disasters. Digitization and addition of images to this collection is on-going.
Manuscript Collections and Record Groups
Boone and Crockett Club Records
The Boone and Crockett Club was the United States' first hunting and big-game conservation organization. It was founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887 and continues to this day, headquartered in Missoula, Montana. This online collection contains scans of correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, and other materials dedicated to big-game conservation history.
Chippewa Cree Tribe Water Rights Settlement Records
This collection includes files used by the Chippewa Cree Tribe, and in particular the Tribal Water Resources Department, during their negotiations with the Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission and the Federal Negotiating Team for the Rocky Boy's Reservation to settle the Tribe's water rights claims.
Natives of Montana Archival Project
The Natives of Montana Archival Project (NOMAP) includes over 65,000 pages of Indian Affairs Records held at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Scanned from the Central Classified Files (CCF), 1907-1939, this collection includes letters, reports, photographs, petitions, leases, bonds, wills, and other legal documents. The NOMAP project focused specifically on that portion of the CCF which are organized according to individual field units or jurisdictions within Montana, such as the Blackfeet Agency.
University of Montana History and Publications
University of Montana Publications
These publications were produced from 1895 to the present by University of Montana offices and student organizations. They document student life, campus activities, and departmental and programmatic changes.
Associated Students of the University of Montana Documents
This collection includes digitized documents from the Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM) Records, including meeting minutes, agendas, roll calls, resolutions, and votes from 1919-2007.
University of Montana Artifacts
This collection contains images of artwork, objects, and artifacts created by or for University of Montana offices and student organizations beginning in 1898 and continuing to the present.
University of Montana Campus Buildings and Grounds
This collection includes maps, drawings and plans which help to document the design, development and growth of the University of Montana campus over the course of the 20th century.
University of Montana Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes
This collection consists of the minutes of University of Montana faculty meetings from 1895 to 2019.
University of Montana Local Executive Board Minutes
These ledgers contain the meeting minutes of the University Local Executive Board, a governing body of the University of Montana in Missoula from 1909-1943. The formation of the Local Executive Board was a legislative mandate put in place by Governor Edwin L Norris in 1909 to restructure the higher education governance of the four schools in the State.
Political Papers
Mike Mansfield Papers
Mike Mansfield (1903-2001) was a miner and educator from Butte, Montana, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1943-1952), the U.S. Senate (1953-1977), and as the Ambassador to Japan (1977-1988). Digitized material includes speeches, statements and interviews, along with select Mansfield family photographs and photographs of art objects from his collection. The vast majority of the Mike Mansfield Papers have not been digitized.
Max S. Baucus Papers
Max Sieben Baucus (1941- ) is a lawyer from Helena, Montana who served in the Montana House of Representatives (1973-1974), the U.S. House of Representatives (1975-1978), and the U.S. Senate (1978-2014), in addition to serving as the U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China (2014-2017). This collection consists of selected press, legislative, and photographic material from the Max S. Baucus Papers.
Maps
Mapping Montana and the West
This collection highlights the changing landscapes of Montana, featuring a wide variety of cartography from territorial maps to present day topographic maps. This online collection contains joint contributions from both the Mansfield Library and the Montana Historical Society.
Diaries and Ledgers
Diaries, Letters, and Ledgers from the University of Montana
The diaries, letters, and other unpublished materials in this collection represent a variety of subject areas and share lives, events and experiences from Montana’s past. The Civil War diary of Amos W. Avery and the diaries of Japanese-born laborer and community leader Henry K. Hashitani as well as the cloth-bound ledger of colored pencil and India ink drawings of Brule Lakota artist Walter Bone Shirt are present.
Oral Histories
Mansfield Library Oral History Collections
These collections include audio files and transcripts from a selection of oral history interviews. Project topics include: women and feminists in Montana; forestry, land use and conservation, and the environment; Montana politics and politicians; smokejumping; homesteading and fur trapping in Montana; and University of Montana history. Some projects contain only the audio or the transcript.
Books, Pamphlets and Ephemera
Books, Pamphlets and Ephemera from the University of Montana
The books, pamphlets, serials and other materials in this collection represent a variety of subject areas documenting Montana and the region including Glacier National Park, homesteading, and mining. Each item is full-text searchable. The digitization and addition of items to this collection is ongoing.
Early Montana Histories
This collection of books examines topics such as the exploration and occupation of Montana, Indian history, wars, trading and military posts, mining, newspapers, churches, and societies from 1735 to 1885. These works generally include treatments of Montana counties as well as personal "reminiscences" from notable Montanans. Illustrations of people, buildings, farms, ranches, and natural features of the era can be found in these titles.
Albums and Scrapbooks
Photograph Albums and Scrapbooks from the University of Montana
The photograph albums, scrapbooks, and other unpublished materials in this collection represent a variety of subject areas and share images, events, and experiences from Montana’s past. Digitization and addition of materials to this digital collection is ongoing.
Government Documents and Gray Literature
Mountain-Plains Native Americans
This collection contains a broad array of reference materials related to the Native American tribes Montana, including government documents, reports, photographs, and other materials.
United States Forest Service Northern Region Newsletters
The Northern Region District 1 newsletters were printed for District 1 forest service members and other members of the US Forest Service from 1920 to 1930. Some of the topics covered in the newsletters include personnel changes, public outreach and instruction, hunting and conservation, forest management, national park data, methodology and tools, and more.