Digital Collections
The Mansfield Library’s Digital Collections consist primarily of rare or unique materials such as photographs, letters, diaries, maps, oral histories, meeting minutes, pamphlets, grey literature and University of Montana publications. The majority of these materials provide information about the people, places and events of Montana and the region.
Alpine Wildflowers of Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Park
Published and written by former Glacier National Park ranger Jerry DeSanto in 1989, this book covers history and dispersal of alpine flora, ecology of alpines plants, distribution of alpine flora, and flower identification with color photos of plants found in both Glacier and Waterton Parks.
Archival Photographs from the University of Montana
Images in this collection include UM campus students, buildings and events, and scenes from around Missoula, Montana, and the region. They were selected from Archives and Special Collections and represent only a fraction of what is available onsite. The digitization and addition of images to this collection is ongoing.
Books, Pamphlets, and Ephemera from the University of Montana
The books, pamphlets, serials and other materials in this collection were selected from Archives & Special Collections and 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 images to this collection is ongoing.
Boone and Crockett Club Records
Founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887, the Boone and Crockett Club was the United States' first hunting and big-game conservation organization. This collection contains scans of content held at the University of Montana's Archives and Special Collections.
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 photographs Moore took and stories he recorded about those photos.
Char-Koosta News
Published by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation, started in November 1956 and continued through five decades. With the exception of a ten-year hiatus from December 1961 through May 1971, the paper continues to publish a weekly issue.
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.
Early Montana Histories
A collection of books exploring topics such as the exploration and occupation of Montana, Indian history, wars, trading and military posts, mining, newspapers, churches, and societies during the time between 1735 and 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.
Edith Reneau Diary, 1917
The Edith Reneau Diary consists of a woman's documentation of her life on a homestead located in Big Hole in Beaverhead County in southwest Montana. Each day's entry begins with a description of the weather, and continues with brief descriptions of her activities for the day. The original diary is housed in Archives & Special Collections.
Fort Missoula Alien Detention Camp Collection
This collection includes correspondence, telegrams, memoranda and maps documenting the creation of the Fort Missoula Detention Camp between 1941 and 1942.
Harold Wave Whicker Collection
In 1938, Harold Wave Whicker (1895-1955) donated a collection of rare books and manuscripts to The University of Montana, where he had been a faculty member in the English Department. The collection emphasizes literature of the nineteenth century. Represented authors include Edgar Allen Poe, Walt Whitman, Thomas Carlyle, and others.
Helena, Montana City Council Minutes, 1881-1970
In April 1881, the Helena City Council began meeting after the public approval of a charter incorporating the City of Helena. Minutes were created after each meeting and they detailed the actions of the mayor and aldermen in establishing the framework and continuance of their municipal government.
Jack L. Demmons' Photographs of Bonner, Montana
Assembled in the mid-1970's by Bonner School Superintendent Jack L. Demmons, this collection of approximately 1,600 photographs depicts life in and around Bonner, Montana, from the late 1800s through the 1950s. These photos were digitized at the University of Montana's Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library in 2007.
James Ball Diaries, 1906-1933
The James Ball Diaries consist of three volumes written by sheep rancher James Ball. The diaries contain day-to-day observations of the ranch, weather, Ball's travels around Montana, visits from neighbors, work exchanged with neighbors, and other small community events. Original diaries are housed in Archives and Special Collections.
Joseph H. Jones Manuscript "The Rock Creek Massacre"
The Joseph H. Jones Manuscript consists of a typescript first-person account of Jones's encounter with and escape from a band of Nez Perca^e attempting a return from Canada to Idaho one year after the Battle of the Big Hole (1877). The original manuscript is in Archives and Special Collections.
Mapping Montana and the West
These maps were selected from the Library's Regional and Historic Map collection and represent Montana and the greater northwest. The digitization and addition of images to this collection is ongoing.
Mike Mansfield Collection
This digital collection highlights Mike Mansfield's legacy of leadership in public service as represented through his speeches and interviews. Mansfield served Montana in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1942-1952 and in the U.S. Senate from 1952-1977, and was Ambassador to Japan from 1977-1988. The content in this collection represents a fraction of the extensive Mike Mansfield archival collection held in Archives & Special Collections.
Mountain-Plains Native Americans
A broad and growing collection of reference materials related to the Native American tribes Montana. The collection will ultimately contain government documents, archival documents, photographs, and other materials.
Natives of Montana Archival Project (NOMAP)
The Natives of Montana Archival Project (NOMAP) contains over 65,700 documents from holdings in the National Archives Record Group 75. These documents have been indexed and are hosted on the Montana Memory Project. Funding for this project was provided by Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, UM's Native American Studies Department, and the Smithsonian.
Patricia Goedicke and Leonard Wallace Robinson Collection
In 2007, Archives and Special Collections acquired the literary manuscripts of Patricia Goedicke and her husband, Leonard Wallace Robinson. This digital collection features excerpts from those papers, providing insight into the writing process and careers of both authors, and includes drafts of works, journal entries, and correspondence.
Steffen Heinrich Aggens Diary, 1852-1868
The Steffen Heinrich Aggens Diary consists of a single volume written in German. The diary begins with Aggens' departure from Germany in 1852 and charts his travels to New York and San Francisco and then through the goldfields of California, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana through 1868. The original diary is housed in Archives & Special Collections.
Thula Hardenbrook Diary, 1887
The Thula Hardenbrook Diary describes a trip through Yellowstone National Park that Hardenbrook took in the summer of 1887. The original diary is housed in Archives and Special Collections.
University of Montana Electronic Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers
The University of Montana Electronic Thesis, Dissertation and Professional Paper Project (ETDP) is a collaborative effort between the Graduate School, the Mansfield Library, graduate degree granting departments, and graduate students. Beginning in 2007, graduate student theses, dissertations, and professional papers have been published electronically. Additionally, all UM doctoral dissertations were retrospectively digitized and are available electronically.
University of Montana Web Archives
The University of Montana Web Archive captures, preserves and provides access to web sites produced by administrative offices, schools, departments, service units, institutes, centers, programs, and faculty, student, and alumni organizations at the University of Montana. Through the capture and preservation of the university’s evolving online presence, the Web Archive assists in documenting the people, activities, and impact of the University of Montana over time.
Walter Bone Shirt Ledger
The sixteen drawings in this ledger were created by Brulé Lakota artist Never Misses (also known as Walter Bone Shirt) in the early 1890s. The ledger was donated to the University's library in 1962 by Genevieve Prochnow and is held by Archives and Special Collections.
William H.H. and Emma Dickinson Papers
The William H.H. and Emma Dickinson papers include a Dickinson family genealogy, William Dickinson's Civil War diaries and Emma Dickinson's reminiscence of early Missoula. Original materials are housed in Archives and Special Collections.
