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Image of the Montana State Library Logo
This biweekly digest consolidates and archives events and news from various library directed outreach from the Montana Library Network within the Montana State Library.
- Courier Updates!
- Montana Library2Go - Libby Quick Training
- MontanaLibrary2Go and OCLC FY2027 Cost
- MLN Virtual Programming - Documenting Montana’s Constitutional History: 1867, 1884, 1889, & 1972
- Level All - New Resource for Libraries and Communities
- Keep Kids Reading - Grants for Summer Reading Programs
- Consulting and Learning Resources
- Montana School Library Resource Sharing Survey
- National Volunteer Surveys
- 2026 ServeMontana Awards Open for Nominations
- Montana Reads: The Treasure State's Book Club
- Other News
- Upcoming Events
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New Crates:
We are still waiting for finalization/confirmation with contracting and the crate vendor, but it is in the works and we hope to send them out in April! We plan to send them out in batches over a two week period, with two batches per week.
Note: The old crates can be reused for other programs, donated, or disposed.
Invoice Upcoming Changes:
We have some good news to share about invoicing moving forward! After several discussions and an effort to streamline invoices and payments, WPL is making a change to monthly invoicing.
Starting with your April invoice/April billing cycle, WPL will be able to send out separate/individualized invoices to each Library. Once in place, each library will receive its own invoice reflecting only the charges applicable to that library for the billing period, eliminating the need to reference a combined invoice. This first invoice will be sent out around May 5th.
***Backend changes/transfer: Libraries will NOT be able to make any orders after 6:00pm on Tuesday, March 31st. Orders should be able to resume the morning of Wednesday, April 1st. If you run into any issues on April 1st- Please . We will work with WPL right away to fix any issues. There has been some testing done and we feel like this transfer can be done with very little to no interruption to the libraries! All log-in/tracking ability should remain the same.
March Invoice:
This will still be the combined invoice, and it will be sent out from Savanna Sill (MSL) around April 6th / 7th, 2026.
Note- Please remember that orders are not applied to an invoice until it’s officially been delivered. Crates that were sent out from March 27th-31st, but were not delivered by the 31st, will be applied to your April invoice.
This Knowledge Base Article will have instructions on what is needed for Billing/Making payments moving forward.
has also been updated with this information.
WPL Contact Info -
For questions or small issues please reach out WPL's Billings Dispatch team.
Email:
Phone: 406-245-8622
Repeated Issues or Serious Issue -
Please make
Common Libby Trainings:
Highlighted Training - Manage Notifications
Finetune your Libby App notification preferences.
More Libby/OverDrive trainings can be found on MSL's MontanaLibrary2Go website under Help Guides and Support.
OCLC Group Services:
FY2027 cost will increase by 2.75% compared to prior year.
MontanaLibrary2Go:
On March 4th, 2026, the MontanaLibrary2Go membership voted to approve a 6% cost-share increase for FY2027.
The invoices for FY2027 will be sent out starting July 1st, 2026 through OverDrive Marketplace. If your library requires an invoice to be created prior to July 1st, please create a support request with Statewide Projects/Montana Library Network, here:
Submit a Library Services support Request.
Visit the ASPeN Event page here to review the FY2027 Membership Meeting minutes and materials:
FY2027 MontanaLibrary2Go Membership Meeting Event Page.
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Did Thomas Francis Meagher take a copy of the 1867 Montana Constitution with him to the grave? Why did statehood take so long? Ever wonder why the 1884 constitution went from viable to liable, and yet laid the groundwork for 1889 and statehood? Constitutional writing in the 20th century, will it stand the test of time?
Join Montana State Archivist Rich Aarstad as he tracks Montana’s constitutional history through the historical records of the Montana Historical Society Library & Archives collections, followed by a presentation by Jennifer Birnel, the Director of the Montana Memory Project where you will learn to search digital archives of Montana's past.
Register to attend this program.
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After receiving the same feedback from so many of you about the need for programming for emerging adults in the form of career planning and building life skills as well as a need for something to offer community members facing mid-life career changes The Montana State Library is partnering with Level All, a free, lifelong college, career, and life-planning platform available to all Montanans.
 The Town Pump Charitable Foundation is once again offering $1,000 grants to public libraries in Montana to help fund summer youth-reading programs.
“The Town Pump Charitable Foundation appreciates the critical role libraries play in our Montana communities,” said Bill McGladdery, director of corporate communications for Town Pump. “Many Montana libraries increase youth-reading programs in the summer months to help prevent the ‘summer slide’ and help children maintain or improve their spelling, vocabulary, and comprehension skills.”
Summer youth programs also introduce local citizens to all the library has to offer children and families for free.
Check out the latest resources for your library from your Consulting and Learning team! We Should Probably Write This Down is an informational guide for memorandums of understanding and interlocal agreements. Find it on our webpage for Connecting with Local Government!
The Montana State Library has a brief survey that will help us better understand what services school libraries are currently offering and what sharing services you might be interested in adding- including subscriptions (like SORA, EBSCO, or ILS system)! Please take a moment to complete this survey when you can. It will take about 10-15 minutes.
The Montana State Legislature is conducting a Library Shared Services Study this year and we would like to hear from our schools to make sure the outcome of that study reflects your needs. We would also like to hear more from our Class B and Class C Schools. This survey will be very useful and will help us paint a better picture of what School Libraries currently look like and the tools utilized, and also what would be most helpful as an additional educational resources to your students. In addition to supporting the study, this information will also be helpful to the State Library on gathering the needs of school libraries and their students.
If you are a Public Librarian: Please feel free to pass this along to your local school librarians.
We hope to better understand your current services, wish list, and the challenges our school libraries face. We highly appreciate your input!
Reimagining Service 2035 is a bold effort to reinvigorate volunteering in America. Aiming to bring the benefits of volunteering—stronger connections, increased empathy and trust, and bridge building—to individuals, communities and societies, we’ll double the number of people who volunteer by the year 2035.
Points of Light is conducting two national surveys to understand how people and organizations engage in service. These surveys will increase understanding in how individuals serve communities, how organizations recruit and support volunteers, what drives participation, and what barriers stand in the way.
Ultimately, they will influence the National Volunteer Strategy.
Please take the survey that fits you best and share it with your networks. Broad participation ensures the strategy reflects the realities of people and organizations nationwide.
- One survey is for individuals who volunteer, formally or informally. The other is for organizations or practitioners who manage volunteers.
To learn more about Points of Light, and the Reimagining Service Project which includes this survey visit,
Do you have library volunteers who deserve recognition?
The Governor’s Office of Community Service (GOCS) announced today that nominations for the annual ServeMontana Awards are now open.
This award has recognized Montanans from across the state for over 10 years. This year nominations are open until March 31st, 2026. The public is encouraged to nominate individuals and groups of all ages and backgrounds for their outstanding volunteerism and leadership. All service must be performed in Montana or by Montanans. The ServeMontana Awards are presented in partnership with Montana’s Credit Unions.
“We encourage Montanans to nominate outstanding community volunteers from every corner of our great state” said Sarah R. Sadowski, Director of GOCS. “The individuals and groups who volunteer are essential to communities and preserve our Montana way of life. We look forward to honoring the people who make positive impacts through volunteer service.”
To learn more and submit a nomination, visit serve.mt.gov or go to
This Survey. Selected awardees will be notified in May and honored at a ceremony in June.
 Montana library community, please let your communities know about the following ongoing book discussion/book club - Montana Reads: The Treasure State's Book Club, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence next year.
The Montana 250th Commission recently launched a year-long series of virtual events designed to build excitement around the United States’ 250th birthday in 2026. “Montana Reads: The Treasure State's Book Club” is a monthly online book discussion that will cover exciting topics and figures from United States, Montana, and Tribal history.
Each month, a member of the Montana 250th Commission will lead a presentation and discussion on books that explore myriad aspects of our shared history - from the Founding Fathers to Montana statesmen and women, cultural traditions to amazing innovation. These monthly discussions will feature conversations around the books’ central themes, seeking applications to current challenges and initiatives facing our state and nation. Montanans are encouraged to participate in any and all of these events that they find interesting, and where possible to read the book in advance.
All “Montana Reads” events will be held by Zoom on the second Thursday of each month, from 6:30 – 7:30pm MT. The Montana 250th Commission is excited to share these stories with all Montanans and will be bringing in special guests where possible to further bring this history to life.
Thurs., April 9 – Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Matters, by Edward J. Larson
Thurs., May 14 – One Vast Winter Count: The Native American West before Lewis and Clark, by Colin G. Calloway
Thurs., June 11 - The Minutemen and Their World, by Robert A. Gross
Sign up here on the Montana Historical Society webpage.
For further information on the Montana 250th Commission, please visit Montana 250 or email mt250@mt.gov.
Ideas on how to get involved, visit the Get Involved page here.
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