Great Falls Public Library to Host Legislative Road Show

The Montana Library Association and Trust for Montana Libraries will be embarking on a road show across Montana to share information about upcoming legislation in September and October.  

The Great Falls Public Library will host "Montana's Libraries: Unprecedented Times, Unprecedented Opportunities" on October 20, at 5:30pm.

This session is intended to share details of critical library funding legislation that will be taken up during the 2023 Montana Legislative Session.  On the legislative agenda are 2 bills:

A bill to continue funding for existing Montana law that provides $0.40 per capita in state aid to local libraries.  This year’s appropriations bill requests an increase to $0.50 per capita to all public and tribal libraries across Montana.  Total cost of this legislation is $542,112.50.

A bill to fund collaborative library services, including the Montana Shared Catalog, the Statewide Courier Alliance, Montana Library2Go, Hot Spot Lending Programs, and expanded digital content.  These projects are some of the most cost-effective programs for local libraries, and among the most popular among library users.  The total cost for this legislation is $4.85 million.

These bills are an investment in library services for all Montanans. The goal of these information-sharing sessions is to ensure that libraries and library users are informed about these legislative priorities, and to answer any outstanding questions about statewide library funding.

“These bills represent a tremendous opportunity for Montana libraries, and have the potential to utterly transform the way that they work,” says Bruce Newell, of the Trust for Montana Libraries.  “We want to share this potential with Montanans, and demonstrate the value of their investment in Library infrastructure.”

This community conversation is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. 

For detailed information about 2023 library legislation, please visit https://bit.ly/FundingForMTLibraries 
For more information about the Trust for Montana Libraries, please visit https://www.mtlibrarytrust.org. 
For press inquiries, please contact Bruce Newell at bruce.newell@gmail.com