Lincoln County Libraries receive new vehicle for interlibrary loan program

This month is National Library Lovers month, and the local libraries are celebrating more than just books.

The Lincoln County Public Libraries recently received a vehicle for their inter-library loan program.

While the loan program isn’t new, they now have their very own county vehicle through the county that they can use to transport books to the local libraries in Libby, Troy and Eureka.

“When library users in Lincoln County request materials that we don’t have on our shelves, partner libraries from across Montana send those items to Kalispell where we pick them up and then deliver them to our libraries in Eureka, Libby and Troy,” Rick Ball wrote in an email.

This month alone, the library has transported approximately 4,760 items between Eureka, Kalispell, Libby and Troy.

In 2008, Lincoln County Public Libraries joined the Montana Shared Catalog. This partner organization of Montana libraries allows its members to share resources. “This partner organization is vital for libraries such as ours that operate on razor thin budgets and lack the space to hold large and varied collections,” Ball said.

In order to help facilitate library operations, the commissioners authorized a vehicle for library use. The Imagine If library in Kalispell serves as the delivery hub for NW Montana libraries.