Working with Digital Public Library of America and Mountain West Digital Library service hubs to develop a curriculum and support for new collections from public libraries was a large focus of MWDL work for the past several months. It is great to celebrate the work that went in to creating these wonderful new collections, now available in the MWDL!

Here are new collections from the Montana Memory Project cohort of the Public Library Partnerships Project.

From the Hobson Community Library, Early Agriculture and Homesteading in Judith Basin County (MT)

As you would expect from the name of the collection, there are some great photos of agricultural work and homesteading families in this collection. Here is my favorite photo from the collection, because the description on the back of it is so wonderful:

Child Riding On Calf

 The description for the photo is,  “Jamie rides every calf we have regardless of how many times they throw him.”

The Roundup School-Community Library partnered with the Musselshell Valley Historical Museum to curate a collection of historic photos that cover the range of activities for people living in the Musselshell Valley area. Browse photos of mining, ranching, and farming, as well as photos of local schools and events in the Musselshell Valley Historical Museum Photographs collection.

Oxen drawn Wagon in Parade on Main Street

The third collection from Montana that we have to highlight is from the Judith Basin County Free Library. This collection focuses on sheep ranching in the Judith Basin area.

Lambs Grazing in the Little Belt Mountains