Researching Yellowstone in the MSU Archives

This guide is intended to help connect researchers with resources relating to Yellowstone National Park and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). The GYE is one of the many collecting focuses of the Montana State University Archives and Special Collections (ASC). This guide is intended to help researchers learn about the collections we have, and how to access them both in person and online. 

Digital Collections

Some of our collections have been digitized and made available online. Digital Collections can contain photographs, videos, audio clips, and images of text documents. Some of our digital collections contain the entire contents of a physical collection, but some are only part of a larger physical collection. This guide will provide you a list of collections that are digitally available, a brief description of what they contain, and how to access them. 

Archival Collections

These are collections that are house physically in the ASC. These are one of a kind, unpublished materials like personal papers, diaries, photographs, corporate papers, and letters. These collections are also often referred to as "manuscript collections" by archivists. We have included a list of our archival collections relating to Yellowstone and the GYE on the Archival Collections page.

Archival collections (or manuscript collections) are often described in a "finding aid" and you can learn more about how to use these documents on the What is a Finding Aid page.

Special Collections Books, Periodicals, and Maps

In addition to our archival collections, the ASC also collects published materials relating to the GYE. Some of these books are rare books, others are more recent publications from smaller publishers or cover topics our researchers regularly request. We also collect magazines, newspapers, newsletters, maps, and other periodical publications that relate to the GYE. The Special Collections Books page will give you instructions on how to search for and request access to these materials. 

Other instructional pages

We have also included a few instructional pages on this guide. Finding Archives at MSU is designed to give some instructions on how to search for additional materials in the ASC. How to Access the Archives gives instructions on how to make a reservation and request materials you would like to see. Lastly, What is a Finding Aid gives a brief introduction on how to use the descriptive document known as a finding aid to explore what an archival collection contains.

Visitors are Welcome!

Not an MSU Student, Faculty, or Staff member? No Problem! The MSU Library is open for public use.  

The public is also welcome and has access to the library building, including public computers, during open hours. While our license agreements do not allow us to give visitors off-campus access to our electronic resources (aka databases), all public computers have a guest login which will allow visitors to use most electronic resources while in the building. 

Montana residents may also apply for an MSU Library Courtesy Borrower Card in order to check out materials from the library. Find more information on our Borrowing Policies page.

Asking for help

The ASC staff is more than happy to assist researchers explore what we have to offer so don't hesitate to Ask A Question.