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Montana State University Library records, 1893-2025

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Montana State University (Bozeman, Mont.). Library; Montana State College. Library
Title
Montana State University Library records
Dates
1893-2025 (inclusive)
Quantity
55 linear feet
Collection Number
MSU.00029, Accession 00029 (accession)
Summary
The MSU Library is located on the Bozeman, Montana, campus of Montana State University. The Library serves the students, faculty, and staff of MSU, and the residents of the state of Montana. The records encompass the library administration records, department records, and other materials relating to library operations from its establishment to the early 21st century.
Repository
Montana State University Library, Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections
Montana State University-Bozeman Library
Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections
P.O. Box 173320
Bozeman, MT
59717-3320
Telephone: 4069944242
Fax: 4069942851
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
Collection materials are in English.
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Biographical Note

The first mention of Montana State University Library was in the Montana State University Local Executive Board Minutes for September 8, 1893. In the minutes, under the Estimate of Expenditures that were submitted to the State Board for 1893-1894, the library was allotted $2,000. On January 5, 1894, University President Ryon was authorized to order books for the library, the amount not to exceed $2,000.

According to a report compiled by Leslie M. Heathcote (former Director of the Libraries), the first collection of books was likely kept in either the Bozeman Academy building or the high school until it was moved into the first floor of Montana Hall in 1897. In 1907, the library became a government documents repository which resulted in significant growth in the collections. As the collection expanded, the Library was moved to the second floor of Montana Hall. When shelving reached capacity and further remodeling of Montana Hall could not accommodate additional shelving, off-site storage was acquired in the form of a Quonset hut. At this time campus departments also began developing departmental libraries. By 1949 when the Library moved into a building of its own, books had to be moved from ten different locations on campus, including the department libraries, Quonset hut, and the horse barn. The new building opened to students and the public in 1950. At that time, the new building was already at capacity, so plans were made for an addition to be constructed when funds were available. Construction on that addition began in 1960 and in the first phase just the outer shell and the first floor were completed. In 1965, funds were acquired to complete the second and third floors and during the 1969/1970 school year, the fourth floor was added. On October 14, 1978, the Roland R. Renne Library was dedicated for former University President Roland R. Renne.

In the fall of 1974, the Creative Arts Library (CAL) was established. It was the only official branch library on the MSU campus, as the previous departmental libraries had been managed by the departments instead of by the MSU Library. The CAL was housed in Cheever Hall, Room 207 as a part of the Creative Arts Complex which opened the same year. The library housed art and architecture resource materials. The first Librarian of the CAL was Mrs. Nora Asano. The Creative Arts Library ceased to be a branch library and moved into the main library building in 2011. At the time, it held nearly 21,000 volumes and over 200 periodicals of art and design materials.

In 1987, the library introduced CatTrac, the first computer catalog of MSU library materials. At the time, the Card Catalog continued to be available to patrons and was searchable by both author-title and by subject. By 1997, the CatTrac catalog was available online through the telnet, but the card catalog continued to be available as an access point (to books added prior to 1988) as late as 2001. As of 2025, there is still one archival collection (the university Print Archive) that is only accessible by searching the remaining card catalog housed in the Archives and Special Collections.

In 1993 Montana State University celebrated its centennial, during which the library commemorated its own history and began plans for future building and service updates. Between 2000 and 2004, the Renne Library underwent significant renovations impacting both the original building (opened in 1950) and the 1960's addition. During this process, the third floor (which previously had an open floor view of the atrium) was filled in and a fountain was added. The study area and the third floor of the old building were renovated into a finished space and two dormer windows were added. Additionally, the first-floor atrium was replaced with a coffee shop (Brewed Awakening) and additional reading space. The update also included building code upgrades, structural seismic upgrades, asbestos abatement, a new fire sprinkler system and fire alarm, HVAC upgrades, lighting updates, and in 2004, updates to windows. This renovation project is sometimes referred to internally as the "Renne-vation."

In 2025, the library celebrated 75 years since the opening of the 1950 library building. As a part of the anniversary celebrations, this collection of Library records was reviewed to uncover library history, and to process additional Library records that had previously not been inventoried. Celebrations included themed events like the annual Open House (started in 2014 by Librarian Janelle (Jan) Zauha), and an October Birthday Party.

Library Leadership:

Miss Hilma Sundell, a student in the "Ladies Course" sophomore class, served as the Library's first Assistant Librarian 1894-1895. University President Ryon recommended to the Local Executive Board on March 2, 1894, that Miss Sundell care for the library and prepare the catalogue. She was followed in 1895-1896 by Sadie Shaw, who was also registered in the "Ladies Course." Miss Mabel Ruth Owens served as the first Librarian 1897-1898. Owens was followed by Mrs. Mary Kay Winter from 1898-1914. In 1915, Elizabeth Forrest was hired as the library's first Librarian with a professional library degree and served until 1929. Library leadership (with the title of Librarian) followed: Elizabeth T. Stout (1929-1933), Lois B. Payson (1933-1939, 1940-1947), and Winifred Fieger (1940). Payson was instrumental in advocating for the first dedicated library building.

In 1947, Leslie M Heathcote took over as Librarian. During her tenure, which lasted until 1970, her title transitioned to Director of Libraries. Heathcote oversaw significant changes at the library. During her leadership, the university's first library building was constructed and opened its doors (1950), and in the 1960's the library addition was constructed and completed floor by floor. In 1967, she compiled a history of the Library which is included in this collection. Today the Heathcote Classroom in the Library is named in her honor.

Leslie Heathcote was followed by Allice McClain (1970-1980) as Director of Libraries. In 1981, Noreen S. Alldredge became the first Dean of Libraries and served until 1993. She was followed by Bruce Morton (1993-2007) who oversaw the 2000 renovation of the library. In 2007 Tamara Miller was appointed Dean of the Library and served until 2012. She was followed by Kenning Arlitsch (2012-2023). In 2023, Doralyn Rossman was named the Dean of the Library.

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Content Description

The Montana State University Library records comprise multiple accessions conferred to or created by Special Collections over the course of many years. The materials encompass administrative records for the library, including correspondence, annual reports, budgets, instructional materials, employee training materials, policy documents, faculty and staff committee reports, materials for professional organizations that the library (or specific staff members) participated in, materials acquisition files, files from library departments, subject files, building plans, architectural concept art, library display files, and physical objects used in library operations.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[Creator Name], [Date of Creation], [Brief Description of Object], Folder [#], Box [#], [Collection Name], [Collection #], Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Files within each series are predominantly arranged alphabetically, and then chronologically. The different series contain the files of specific library departments. However, the Administration series contains files that were not associated with any specific department or group.

Acquisition Information

The Montana State University Library Records encompass many accessions of administrative records that were donated periodically throughout the library's operations. In 2016 the first round of accessions were processed. Those accessions include:

00011, 00029, 71016, 71048, 72037, 74002X, 74010, 75011, 75040, 76009, 76031, 77010, 78005, 81029, 81052x, 82010, 82022, 82030, 83006, 83027, 83051, 83055, 84003, 84009, 84043, 84045, 84047x, 85002, 85004, 85009, 85014, 85016, 85017, 85021x, 86040, 87035, 87037, 88006, 88007, 88025, 89001, 89006, 89023, 90001, 90006, 90012, 90018, 90023, 90030, 90041, 90044, 90047, 90061, 90064, 91010, 91022, 92011, 92063, 93015, 93016, 93017, 93029, 93036, 94043, 94056x, 95013, 96021, 97019, 98020, 98021, 98022, and 99018.

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, additional accessions connected to the library were reviewed and added to the collection. Those added accessions include:

00029-1, 00029-2, 00029-3, 00029-4, 2690, 81029, 92044x, 93023, 94021, 96007, 98022, 2025.020, 2023.053.

Some accessions identified in the FY 2025 process were not located (00029-2 and 00029-3), but were assumed, based on their descriptions, to have been relabeled as additional (unprocessed at the time) boxes 68-71 of the established collection.

The FY 2025 review of Archives and Special Collections storage areas also uncovered some materials and artifacts connected to the library that had not been assigned accession numbers. These items include binders relating to the 2000-2004 renovation of the library, binders connected to system updates, architectural concept art (some of which was cataloged in the MSU Print Archive collection), and a library book plate. All of these items have been added to the collection.

Processing Note

This collection was initially processed 2016 August 31.

From 2024 to 2025, in preparation for the 75th anniversary of the Renne Library building, additional accessions connected to library history were reviewed. Some accessions were identified as mislabeled, others were identified as removed and destroyed as a part of a 2021-2023 decommissioning of the campus Records Center, and the remaining accessions that were identified were added to the collection. The original, alphabetical organization of the collection was retained. However, some files from the 2016 processing were renamed and intellectually moved to improve discoverability of similar items. Most of these changes were files connected to the library building (building plans, floor plans, funding and campaigns specific to improving the building). As a part of the collection review in 2024-2025 some files were identified as accession files and donor files. These items were transfered out of the collection to the Archives and Special Collections adminstrative records, leaving some gaps in folder numbers through the Special Collections series.

Related Materials

Accession MSU-83055 "MSU Films" contains one film (Film 4, "Invitation to the MSU Library") connected to the MSU Library.

Separated Materials

In 2022, with the approval of MSU Human Resources and Library administration, the personnel files in the collection (which were restricted until 2091) were removed and destroyed. These files documented students, staff, and faculty employed at the library in the 1970's through early 2000s.

In 2021, as part of the decommissioning of the campus Records Building, a quantity of library records were discarded after review and determination that they were not of long-term research value.

From 2024 to 2025, while processing associated accessions, additional restricted materials were removed both from the additional accessions and the established collection. These materials include personnel files, materials relating to personnel performance, review, retirement, legal counsel documents relating to employee misconduct, and materials containing personally identifiable information (PII), such as social security numbers and checking accounts.

In addition to restricted materials, during the 2024-2025 review, duplicated items, items that are preserved in other collections, and items that were deemed not connected to the collection were removed. Some of those items include: card catalog cards that were already preserved as entries in the Montana History Bibliography, Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) Flyers and other publications from the Association of Research Libraries, Commission on Preservation and Access publications, and a Long Term Evaluation/Assessment of an MSU Core Course Speech Communication 110: Introduction to Public Communication.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Libraries

Occupations

  • Library administrators

Kim Allen Scott, 2016, Jodi Allison-Bunnell, 2022, Mel Pomeroy.
2025

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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