MontanaLibrary2Go

MontanaLibrary2Go is a consortium service that offers circulating downloadable digital e-books and audiobooks to patrons at participating libraries. Any public or tribal library may join the MontanaLibrary2Go consortium. 

• MontanaLibrary2Go offers a collection of over 25,000 contemporary, classic, and bestseller downloadable and streaming audiobooks and e-books (books in electronic, or digital, format) to patrons of participating Montana public, tribal, and academic libraries.
• The Montana State Library contracts with a distributor called OverDrive to host the collection and to deliver content to patrons who register for a free account through their libraries.
• Patrons are allowed to check out up to five titles at once, and can download those titles to nearly any mobile device, e-reader, or personal computer; or, they can opt to stream audiobooks or read e-books through their preferred browsers.
• OverDrive hosts content from the top five international book publishers, as well as from a wide variety of smaller publishers and presses. 
• Downloadable and streaming library books and audiobooks are a valuable service in a large and mostly rural state such as Montana, where citizens often live many miles from the nearest public library. Online services such as MontanaLibrary2Go provide Montanans with the convenience of an "anytime, anywhere" collection, while maintaining the quality content and high level of support of traditional library services.
• By joining the statewide consortium, where individual costs are carefully assigned to make sure that all libraries can afford to participate while still meeting financial benchmarks for growth, these libraries are providing their small and rural communities with contemporary library services that they may not otherwise be able to afford on their own.
• A shared collection also means more equitable access to information statewide. Through MontanaLibrary2Go, a resident of Circle, Montana (population 617), for example, has access to the same number and scope of digital library titles as a resident of Billings (population 109,059).
• Residents, particularly rural residents, who cannot physically visit the library now have the option to quickly and easily check out and read or listen to a wide variety of popular books from any location where internet service is available.
• Overall, the number of Montana residents who make use of this statewide service continues to increase across all library locations, indicating that collection development practices and budgets should continue to incorporate plans for increasing access to digital content for the benefit of their on-the-go patrons.
• MontanaLibrary2Go is funded in part with federal Library Services & Technology Act (LSTA) monies administered by the Montana State Library.