We’re excited to have kicked off the 2025 Legislative session – MLA expects this to be a busy one, and an important one for Montana’s Libraries. You likely already know about our legislative priorities and our legislative proposal to address the unfunded mandate for resource-sharing. We will update you throughout the session on the status of this work, as well as on other key issues impacting your libraries. Those updates will begin in the coming weeks, so get signed up for our mailing list!
But first, a bit of fun – On January 9th, MLA hosted our Legislative Day in the Capitol rotunda in Helena, MT. It was a bit earlier in the session than usual, and it was great to see so many legislators, library staff, and library lovers at the Capitol to learn about and promote the work of libraries. This year, in addition to learning about MLA’s legislative priorities, we also invited Montana’s elected officials to have their photo taken with their favorite Montana book. This was a popular attraction, and as a result, we will print more than 60 posters and distribute them in the coming weeks to each representative’s home library. In total, we had nearly 100 legislators and dozens more library supporters stop by throughout the afternoon and into the evening!
Earlier that day, we hosted a learning session at the beautiful Lewis & Clark Library in downtown Helena. During that time, library professionals from across the state got an introduction to the Montana Legislative session from our friends at Central House Strategies, did a deep-dive on parliamentary procedure with Morgan Ray from the FVCC Library, and even learned about some new legal support opportunities that are available to them through MLA – more news on that coming soon!
We are so grateful for everyone who made this very busy week a very successful week – Special thanks to Beth Boyson, Jo Flick, John Finn, Jodi Smiley, Kris Goss, Morgan Ray, MLA’s ED Kirk Vriesman, our outstanding Board of Directors and planning committees, and to Montana’s legislative delegation.