MSL Home > For Librarians > Pilot Projects > Pilot Projects
Pilot ProjectsIntroduction The Montana State Library continually seeks opportunities for potential statewide library pilot projects. Improving Montana library services is the focus, from better delivery of materials to direct consortial borrowing to improved technology and bandwidth capabilities; just to name a few. As the State Librarian says: "the best statewide project may be the project we don't even know about yet". |
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This pilot project utilizes the Digital Library Reserve's "Overdrive" product to offer library patrons a collection of downloadable e-content. Overdrive contains more than 13,000 audio book titles, 5,000 music titles and a growing selection of over 4,000 movie titles. Titles are available for download on MP3 players. Participating libraries plan on a variety of options for their patrons. Some will provide in-library downloading and offer patrons players for checkout. Others are planning on patrons downloading the titles at home or work, onto their own MP3 players. (pdf) This summer, the Digital Library Reserve will add iPod and Mac compatibility to the Overdrive features.
An initial collection budget of $45,000 kicks off the pilot. LSTA in the amount of $40,000 will go toward this opening collection. Phase One participants share the initial platform and hosting costs. This pilot begins in July. A Phase Two is expected next fall.
The following libraries are part of Phase One:
- Missoula Public Library
- Parmly Billings Library
- Polson City Library
- Miles Community College Library
- Hearst Free Library Library
- Lewistown Public Library
- Big Horn County Library
- Flathead County Library
- Miles City Public Library
- William K. Kohrs Memorial Library
- Roosevelt County Library
- Glendive Public Library
- Sidney-Richland County Library
- Choteau Teton Public Library
- Dillon City Library
The Montana Memory Project is an online source for digital collections relating to Montana's cultural heritage. In part, these collections document the Montana experience. Access is free and open through the Internet. Many of these items are digitized copies of historic material, some items are contemporary. All serve as a resource for education, business, pleasure, and lifelong learning.
Many Montana libraries, museums, archives, and cultural institutions add materials to this collection. Over time, contents may include digital newspapers, maps, copies of photographs, rare books, historic documents, diaries, oral histories, audio and video clips, paintings, illustrations and art.
