'I hope they like it': Montana Heritage Center research library and archives nears reopening

The Montana Heritage Center is getting ready to reopen its research library and archives after more than three years of being shuttered, bringing back a vital tool for those enamored with Treasure State history.

“We’re very excited. We can’t wait,” said Roberta Gebhardt, library and archive program manager for The Montana Historical Society, as workers continued unpacking materials.

The Montana Heritage Center opened Dec. 3 after a $107 million project that included a 95,000-square-foot renovated building alongside 70,000 square feet of new space to the existing Veteran’s and Pioneer’s Memorial Building at 225 N. Roberts St. in Helena. Ground was broken in September 2020 and the archives closed in December 2022 during construction. Officials said at the time that many of the items are available online.

However, while the exhibit hall is open, finishing touches continue on the library, now known as the Larry Len and LeAnne Peterson Library and Archives, which has moved from the second floor to a larger space on the first floor. There are two new microfilm readers.

While an opening date has not been set for the library and archives, officials said they expect it to occur sometime this spring.

Hours will be 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1-4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

Colton Tash, communications and public information officer for the Montana Historical Society, said the library and archives team is hard at work cleaning and unpacking “our massive archival collection of historic photos, film reels, newspapers, journals, and more.”

Tash said the library and archives boasts:

• Over 1.25 million photographs
• Over 10,600 moving images (films/videos)
• Over 470 manuscript collections
• Over 2,800 small collections
• Thousands of governmental records and published materials
• Over 2,000 oral histories
• An overhead scanner
• And hundreds of additional collections still awaiting processing

One frequent user of the library and archives is Ken Robison, a historian who now sits on the Montana Historical Society board.

“I’m anxious for it to reopen,” he said, adding those who used the archives have been very tolerant.

He said the impact of the closure depends on what the researchers were writing about.

“There are certainly subjects that are going to suffer or in most cases, delayed,” Robison said. “A lot of researchers on subjects that didn’t depend on collections moved ahead.”

But he noted it did not stop progress altogether. His book, “Hidden History of Great Falls,” comes out Feb. 24.

“Books are continuing to come out. Historians and authors have survived but my gosh it will be wonderful to have it open again,” he said.

Jon Axline, historian/cultural resources specialist with the Montana Department of Transportation, says he is a frequent user as not all the information he generally uses is available online.

“There have been some projects where I didn’t include as much information as I’d like to have,” he said in an email. “I was more excited about the archives and library reopening than I was the exhibit hall. From what I’ve heard from colleagues, I’m not the only one that feels that way.”

(But Axline stresses the new exhibits are great.)

He suspects there is going to be a long line of historians and other researchers waiting to get in.

Gebhardt noted that the new facility will have security measures to protect materials.

No pens or bags will be allowed in the room, as well as no food or drink. The research space is more open, giving staff a direct view of those poring over materials. She added there are a lot of new staff members who will not know how the rules used to be as measures have been increased.

It comes in the wake of Brian Anthony D'Ambrosio, who was found guilty of illegally selling Montana Historical Society artifacts on eBay.

He was sentenced Dec. 16, 2024, to six months in federal prison followed by one year of supervised release, a $4,000 fine and $22,508 in restitution.

A museum official said at the time that closing during the construction of the Montana Heritage Center has “given us an opportunity to review our security practices that were in place and implement enhancements to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

“It’s a tough situation when we have people like Brian D’Ambrosio stealing from Montanans” Robison said. “It’s such a shame that we have to increase security because of characters like him. Thank goodness he got some jail time as a warning to others …”

Gebhardt is hopeful the public will applaud the new digs.

“I hope they like it,” she said. “It’s bigger and provides more space for them to do their research.”

And she said the staff is excited to have the public back.

“To give people access to materials is very rewarding,” Gebhardt said.