Missoula Public Library director highlights culture‑house model, bookmobile and relaxed card rules

Slaven Lee, director of the Missoula Public Library, told the Missoula County Commissioners podcast that the downtown library was built on a Swedish "culture house" model that colocates museums, nonprofits and library services to share resources and amplify community impact. "We're the first library in North America to adopt this model," Lee said.

Lee said the building houses Spectrum Discovery Area, Families First, the University of Montana Living Lab and MCAT Media Resource under agreements that prioritize shared programming and staffing. The arrangement has enabled joint grant work, including a federally funded "Changing of the Brain" project that will recruit teens into a cohort to learn about brain‑science and then deliver outreach programs back into the community.

The director described a broad branch network—Swan Valley/Condon, Seeley Lake, Potomac, Lolo, Frenchtown and Big Sky—and an expanded bookmobile program intended to reach geographically isolated residents. Lee said the bookmobile, funded by roughly 150 donors and organizations, made about 4,000 visits countywide in its first year and circulated about 7,500 books and other materials while delivering story times and science programming in outlying communities.

"It's a fancy sprinter van" outfitted with Wi‑Fi and tech interfaces, Lee said, adding that staff use it to provide direct services—everything from story time to Resource Access Day programming—outside Missoula city.

Lee also described changes to card‑issue policies meant to remove barriers to access. Under new rules adopted with the board of trustees, patrons who forget photo ID can receive a temporary card and later verify identity to obtain full borrowing privileges. "It's absolutely free to get a library card," Lee said, and the Missoula library participates in a statewide consortium called The Partnership that shares materials with roughly 40 libraries in Montana.

On digital access, Lee criticized current ebook licensing models used by publishers and distribution services such as Libby. "The publishers kind of scam libraries a little bit," he said, explaining that some ebooks are sold with a limited number of simultaneous licenses (he cited five) that expire after a small number of checkouts—unlike physical books. He said libraries are exploring collective and statewide approaches to improve purchasing power and affordability.

Lee reviewed other library offerings that aim to broaden service and skills development: a makerspace with 3‑D printers and sewing machines where patrons can earn certifications, genealogy resources, demo kitchen cooking classes, Read with Dogs therapy reading sessions, and large community festivals (he cited Indigipalooza and author readings drawing hundreds of attendees).

He said a 2023 strategic planning process identified priority populations—Indigenous community members, teens, refugees and immigrants, and geographically isolated rural residents—and led to investments such as the bookmobile. Community polling cited by Lee found strong support for library staff and an emphasis among respondents on "freedom to read" and nonjudgmental access to materials.

Lee also discussed the library's interest in media and AI literacy and in projects related to data sovereignty, noting he had been invited to an AI‑focused conference in South Korea to present the library’s sustainability work. He said work on those topics is exploratory but that public libraries can play a role teaching communities how to evaluate and use emerging technologies.

The hosts closed by noting where listeners can find event calendars and resources: missoulapubliclibrary.org for programs and missoula.co/countyupdates for county information, and by thanking Lee and library staff for their work.

The most immediate next steps Lee identified were continuing bookmobile outreach, implementing the strategic plan priorities, and pursuing collaborative approaches to address ebook licensing costs.