Montana State Library, Natural Resource Information System

The Montana State Library, in partnership with Library Strategies (LS), will create a training framework to enhance the ability of rural libraries to effectively plan within a community engagement framework. Working across Montana, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Arizona, and Idaho, the grant will focus on public and tribal libraries that have service areas of less than 150,000 people. LS will: 1. provide pre-planning and groundwork to energize libraries around the planning process; 2. train staff to recognize implicit bias and identify equity opportunities; 3. lead training institutes for staff to become facilitators of the LS strategic planning process; and 4. provide remote support and counsel to state libraries and participating libraries for a year as participant libraries conduct their own planning processes. As a result of the project, state libraries nationally will have a model to engage staff and communities in planning. Evaluation tools and a detailed documentation of the process will be provided to all participating state libraries and will be shared via state, regional, and national library conferences.