Archives director reports rising use, volunteer support in 2025 annual review

Aubrey Jap, director of the Butte Silver Bow archives, told the Council Committee of the Whole that the archives saw steady growth in 2025, reporting 2,326 in‑house research patrons and 449 remote research requests as staff expanded programming and public access.

Jap, joined by assistant director Lindsay Mulcahy, said the archives manages noncurrent records for nearly every county department and supports public family‑history research, planning and permit requests. "Our main mission is to manage the noncurrent record," Jap said, adding that the facility hosts researchers, students and community groups.

The archives logged 3,187 volunteer hours last year from almost 50 volunteers who help with front‑desk operations, transcribing oral histories and organizing collections. "We have almost 50 volunteers that help us every day," Jap said. She reported 241 events in the archives auditorium attended by about 4,500 people, and receipt of 202 public collections ranging from single photographs to large donations.

Mulcahy highlighted outreach and professional engagement, including a cemetery‑preservation presentation at the Montana History Conference and partnerships with Bozeman field schools and local organizations. Mulcahy also described the brown‑bag lecture series held the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month and a recent artist residency with the nonprofit Open Air.

The archives received outside recognition in 2025: Jap said the program won the Montana State Genealogical Society's Al Huntsman award for outstanding service in genealogy. Jap also described the Friends of the Archives nonprofit, which funds exhibits and fellowships; 2025 fellows were Jim Walsh (research on Irish‑era miners) and Willa Zong (research on Butte's Chinese community). Jap said one fellowship project resulted in a PBS film by Crystal Alegria.

Commissioners uniformly praised the archives. Commissioner Shea thanked staff for preserving local history; Commissioner Callahan asked whether some Hike Through History events could be scheduled in the evening to accommodate working residents. Jap said staff have tried after‑hours tours but evening attendance varies and noted that evening cemetery tours are offered. Commissioner Callahan also asked about improved signage for the Marcus Daly statue; Jap said staff had discussed installing supplementary, sidewalk‑accessible signage rather than attaching changes directly to the statue.

Commissioner O'Leary asked about storage capacity. "We have been doing a review of what we have and how it's housed," Jap said, describing efforts to box and consolidate items to maximize space and noting the archives has more budgetary capacity for supplies than in prior decades.

The chair and Chief Executive Gallagher also thanked the archives staff for programming that draws local and international visitors. The council placed the archives presentation communication on file following the report.