Buffalo Bill Center of the West logo
About Us Firearms Records Careers & Internships Facility Rentals Raptor Experience Plan Your Trip School Programs Shop Our Store Blog Posts Volunteer Contact Us
Get Tickets Museums Plan Your Trip Events Experiences Store Facility Rentals Membership Donate Research School Programs Firearms Records Blog Posts Employment About Us Contact Us

McCracken Research Library

The McCracken Research Library supports inquiry across many disciplines related to the American West.

McCracken Research Library reading room
The library reading room where scholars and visitors with appointments may conduct research.

With extensive collections of original manuscripts, rare books, and historic photographs, the library offers scholars direct contact with the materials of history. Through proper storage and the monitored use of archives, librarians and archivists safeguard the treasures entrusted to their care while making those resources available.

As Dr. Robert Martin, library adviser and former director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, has stated, “It’s all about learning.” We create, in his words “the synergies that facilitate learning.”

CLICK HERE for answers to frequently asked questions about the Library.

CLICK HERE to discover Ten Things You Should Know about the Library.

Our Mission

“The McCracken Research Library advances the understanding, appreciation, and study of the American West and plays an integral role in the creation and dissemination of scholarship on the region.” —Adopted by the McCracken Research Library Advisory Board, September 21, 2006

Chromolithograph from a rare book
Chromolithograph from a rare book.

The McCracken staff collaborates with curators, scholars, students, writers, and filmmakers to reveal the American West in all its human and natural complexity. The last word on the West defines the mission—to preserve the written and visual record. As the stewards of many forms of expression, our professionals understand how language and images have shaped perceptions. What Americans believe about the West is as significant as what actually happened in these storied landscapes.

“The Western history popular culture collection at the McCracken is unmatched anywhere in the world.” —Dr. Paul Hutton, University of New Mexico

Mrs. White Elk. Huffman Collection. MS100
Mrs. White Elk
[P.100.1943]
MS 100, L.A. Huffman Collection.

Holdings

From its beginnings as a reading room in a log building, the library has grown substantially. Holdings include 36,000 books, more than 600 numbered manuscript collections, and over one million photographic images. Professionally trained and certified staff care for our holdings behind the scenes. Collections reside in several large vaults with closely controlled temperature, humidity, and light levels. In the reading room, rare books recount the experiences of early travelers with illustrations that often convey an imaginary version of the West.

Online Finding Guides

Digital Initiative

The library has embarked on a digital program, contributing more than 80,000 image files to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s website. Online visitors can search a suite of collections of digital photographs and documents, conduct research, and submit orders for reproductions.

“The best work I’ve seen.” —Bud Lake, specialist, photography of the Crow Indians, on the Great Plains People collection.

Local Lore with Bob Richard Programs

The 2023 schedule of our “Local Lore with Bob Richard” series of free programs:

  • February 16: Al and Pete Simpson, Old Timers and Early Day Women, part 2
  • April 20: Jeff Rudolph and Other Local Artists
  • June 8: The History of Ranching on Rattlesnake Creek
  • August 17: Buffalo Bill Dam, Shoshone Canyon, Hayden’s Arch
  • October 19: Early Day Western Movies, including The Rider of the Painted Horse
  • December 21: The History of Pahaska Teepee