Research Requests

Custer's camp during the Black Hills Expedition on French Creek. LIBI_00019_00490

Courtesy of the National Park Service, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.

The park's museum, archival, and library collections reflect the multiple perspectives of the battlefield's significance. At present, the park does not have public internet access to the entire library and museum collections, but continue to work on many different projects in order to make collections more accessible to researchers. These projects include digitization and copyright analysis of historic photographs, photography of collection items, and development of finding aids and indexes to the collection. Visit our multimedia pages to see some of the items that are currently available online.

 

How do I start my request?

Please read our Research Request and Cost Recovery document for more information and a description of our processes. Researchers may request information from or access to materials in the park's library and museum collections via regular mail, e­mail, telephone or in person. Researchers are encouraged to complete their preliminary research at other museums, archives, and libraries before approaching the collections of the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument (LIBI). Due to limited facilities and staff, we recommend that researchers conduct preliminary research in other collections. Once the preliminary research is complete, please submit a research request form and the Restrictions and Privacy Form.


Email them to us at [e-mail] or send them to us via U.S. mail:

Research Requests, Little Bighorn Battlefield NM, P.O. Box 39, Crow Agency, MT 59022.

In order to facilitate the management of staff and materials, researchers should outline their project by topic, expected use of collections, and project deadlines on the form. The National Park Service is not responsible for meeting research or publication deadlines. For the above reasons, walk­-in, unscheduled researchers, browsers, and tours will not be accommodated.

Once the form is received, the request will be evaluated. For simple requests such as a known photograph, this could be a fairly quick turnaround. However, for requests that are more extensive complicated requests may increase delivery time as they will be completed on staff availability. No rush orders are accepted. The park will try to provide interim responses if the request is large or complicated.

 

How do I access the library and collections?

As a result of funding and personnel constraints access to both the library and museum collections is by appointment only. Appointments need to be scheduled well in advance, and may not be guaranteed. The approval of on­-site visit requests to the library is based on the availability of staff to accommodate the research party, and, as a result, is approved on a case-­by-­case basis. In some cases, after the preliminary scoping, the park may determine that it would be more conducive for the researcher to arrange an on­-site visit to either the park or Western Archeological Conservation Center (WACC). These visits need to be arranged far in advance through the park. Please do not contact WACC directly; they will direct inquiries about the collection back to the park.

What restrictions might I encounter?

Many of the items in the collections have use restrictions and may not be available for research purposes. Some materials in the collections are considered sensitive and not available for research purposes. This could include, but is not limited to items classified as archeological, paleontological, or ethnographic. Items classified under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) are also sensitive and not available. Certain materials in the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument's collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.), or restricted by one or more of the following: NPS gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks, FOIA exemptions, among others.

Does it cost anything to conduct research?

A cost recovery charge may apply to the fulfillment of the request. These costs take into account the time and cost of furnishing materials to the researcher.

How do I contact you?

To schedule an appointment or for any research questions, please contact us at [e-mail];(406) 638­-3230;or by mail: Research Requests, Little Bighorn Battlefield NM, P.O. Box 39, Crow Agency, MT 59022.