What is this Wiki for?

The purpose of this wiki is to experiment with an alternative form of delivery of the Research Center's information.

How do I use the wiki?

There are a couple of different ways to read the wiki

• Browsing: You can start by browsing the categories on the Main Page. The main categories will link to a number of subcategories. You will find cited information and resources about your topic in each of the subcategories.
• Searching: The search button will search the entire full text of Montana History Wiki. For example, if you wanted to information about electricity in Montana by typing in Electricity in the search box, the database will retrieve two results.

Using the right search terms

The Montana History Wiki uses a fairly simple database structure, so the search interface may not be as powerful as you are used to. You do not need to add the word "and" between terms when combining terms. Also, there is not a way to only perform phrase searches in the Montana History Wiki.

Understanding the Montana History Wiki's Organization

Limitations of the Wiki

In order to maintain credibility of the historical information the Montana History Wiki is not opening for editing by the public. Due to limited storage size, the Montana History Wiki is not able to display digital content. The Montana History Wiki is not designed to provide a comprehensive examination of topics, instead it is designed as a reference tool to guide researchers to resources available through the Montana Historical Society Research Center.

Project Descriptions:

Indexes

The various indexes included in the wiki are used to get information quickly. They are meant to be a pointer to the different collections that they cover. The access to the indexes allows the staff to save time when answering patron questions on whether or not we have information on a person or topic.

Subject Guides

Subject guides are meant to act as bibliographies of materials within the Research Center collection related to a particular topic (i.e. mining, labor history, women, etc.). Each subject guide should have a uniting theme and be bibliography of related materials. These pages are meant to guide patrons to groups of related materials.

Montana Facts

The Montana History Wiki Montana Facts section is designed to supply patrons with "quick," but reliable information. The topics chosen reflect both popular public interests as well as questions consistently directed to the Montana Historical Society Research Center Staff. Each entry offers an overview of the topic and includes citations as a means of maintaining credibility.

Collaborative Projects:

Lewis and Clark County History Project

The Lewis and Clark County History Project is a collaborative effort between the Montana Historical Society Research Center and the Lewis and Clark Public Library. The information gathered together for this project is meant to act as a guide for finding primary and secondary resources about people, places, and topics in Lewis and Clark County. This project is not meant to provide all of the available information on a particular topic. Rather, users can use the citations provided here to guide them in their research when they visit the Montana Historical Society Research Center or the Lewis and Clark County Public Library.

Montana County History Initiative

The County History Initiative Section is designed to be a clearinghouse for reference information about county history in Montana. The centerpiece of this section is the series of County History Maps which show the development of political boundaries within the State of Montana. These maps also impart useful reference information about the counties. This section also provides access to reference information valuable in researching county history, whether it’s pointing researchers to books and published material, maps, archives collections, or photo archives material.

How can I get more help?

This wiki was designed to get you started with your research, but odds are, somewhere along the way you might get stumped. When this happens, you can contact Roberta Gebhardt, a contributing creator of the Montana History Wiki at rgebhardt@mt.gov.