The Bozeman Public Library is the

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

Bozeman, Montana Bozeman ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. The 2020 United States census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it Montana's fourth-largest city. It is the principal city of the Bozeman, Montan ...

. The library provides free resources for residents of

Gallatin County, Montana Gallatin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. With its county seat in Bozeman, it is the second-most populous county in Montana, with a population of 118,960 in the 2020 Census. The county's prominent geographical featur ...

Description

There were several small libraries serving Bozeman beginning with the Young Men's Library Association in 1872, which was housed above a drug store on East Main Street. A tax-supported city library opened in 1891 on the second floor of the City Hall and Opera House. In 1903-1904, the Bozeman Carnegie Library was built on North Bozeman Avenue, also downtown. That building served as a library until 1980, when a new building was constructed several blocks away on East Lamme Street. This building was then renovated for use as one of the several city government office buildings in Bozeman. The current building on East Main Street was made possible after taxpayers passed a four million dollar bond

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

in 2001. With this funding, 14.3 acres that had belonged to the

Milwaukee Railroad The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986. The company experienced financi ...

("Milwaukee Road") was purchased, and construction began in April 2005. The current site of the library is the former location of the old Bozeman "Milwaukee Road" passenger and partial freight terminal. This railroad was electrified (3,000 volts DC) from Harlowton, Montana, through Butte, Missoula, and Spokane, to Seattle-Tacoma; and so, it is fitting that the current library is notably eco-friendly. The new building of the Bozeman Public Library was opened in November, 2006 and is well-known locally, nationally, and internationally for its use of "green" architecture. It has 53,000 square feet of space and is the first public building in Montana to have Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver level certification. Some of the "green" architectural features include the use of natural light, reduced waste in construction, and the use of local building materials. Views from the windows of the building include the local Bridger Mountain Range. The library offers a full range of services including computer access, an extensive newspaper and periodical section, a young reader area, and comfortable reading chairs and work tables. The library is one of several full-size libraries in the Gallatin Valley, which also include the

Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana, United States. It enrolls more students than any other college or university in the state. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's d ...

Renne Library, Montana State University Art Library, and Montana State University Educational Resources Library.

Awards and honors

In 2003, the

Institute of Museum and Library Services The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States federal government established in 1996. It is the main source of federal support for librar ...

honored the Bozeman Public Library with the National Award for Library Service.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Bozeman, Montana Public libraries in Montana

Description

Awards and honors

See also

References

Further reading

External links