Snapshot: Montana

Montana State Library — Connect @ Your Library

The Montana State Library is collaborating with multiple program partners to enhance the vital role libraries already play as community anchors by providing additional computing resources, technical training for library staff, funding for minor construction, and increased broadband capacity. Montana's rural nature makes the delivery of services from both the public and private sectors very difficult. Montana can overcome many of these challenges by leveraging libraries as key distribution points for information and services.

The rural nature of the state is the underlying cause for many of the challenges faced by local communities. These challenges include lack of broadband service, lack of adequate educational and health service resources, lack of proper legal defense, and lack of access to job resources. Low population density often makes broadband service uneconomical or prohibitively expensive.

Many libraries currently have slow connection speeds, often sharing a single DSL connection across several workstations. As part of our project we will work toward augmenting broadband speeds at libraries by providing funding for the often expensive upfront installation and equipment costs associated with service upgrades. We also plan to cover two years' worth of the increase in monthly service revenue, giving local librarians time to learn, apply, and derive the most benefit from the E-Rate program. By providing rural Montanans with access to leading-edge computing centers with high-speed broadband access, and by providing them training from library staff, they can begin to access the Internet in ways that most of us take for granted.