Content Standards and Model Curriculum Guide Documents

For questions about these standards and documents email opicsi@mt.gov
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Announcements

Montana State Library Concludes Successful Hot Spot Lending Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                             Contact: Jennie Stapp  July 10, 2025                                                                              (406) 444-3116 

Montana State Library Concludes Successful Hot Spot Lending Program 

(HELENA)The Montana State Library’s hot spot lending program sprang to life in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that Montanans had more means to navigate school and business closures and stay-at-home orders.  Just prior to the pandemic, the State Library was considering a pilot to study how libraries might lend mobile-wifi hot spots to those who lack internet access at home.  With no time to study and an immediate need, the State Library, and libraries around Montana, launched head-long into a new service that quickly became a lifeline for many Montanans.

Mobile wi-fi hot spots allow people to access the internet through home computers and other devices by making use of cellular data.  With COVID relief funds appropriated through the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the State Library purchased hot spots and cellular data plans and then provided the hot spots to participating libraries to lend to their patrons. 

“Libraries have been providing patrons access to the internet through public access computers since the late 1990s,” said State Librarian, Jennie Stapp. “We knew libraries in other states lent hot spots, so we were confident we could fill an important need.”  At the height of the pandemic, libraries were circulating more than 1000 hot spots in 54 Montana counties. 

The State Library asked library patrons to voluntarily report about their experience using hot spots.  49% of patrons reported using hot spots for work or school related tasks. Others used hot spots to stay connected with family and friends, to attend telehealth appointments, and to fill out government forms. 

“We were blown away when a minister told us she used hot spots to livestream funerals to family members who could not travel.  We also know that hot spots were used at COVID-19 vaccination clinics where the internet was not available,” Stapp said.

Demand for hot spots has declined somewhat, but the need for the service remains, especially in areas not well served by broadband internet today.  37 libraries serving 33 counties are choosing to continue to offer this service to their communities with local funds after the State Library fully expended the federal and state monies used to fund the program. These libraries serve approximately 30,000 Montana households without current internet service.

“My library board feels we need to offer hot spots to serve people who have a need for internet connectivity,” said Jacque Scott, Director of the Carnegie Public Library in Big Timber. “Our Friends of the Library is willing to fund this need for our community.”

Looking back on the last five years, the State Library is proud to know it made difference when it mattered most and that through its work with local libraries, many Montanans continue to benefit from the hot spot lending program.  Visit Montana State Library Hot Spot Lending Program to learn more of the history of hot spot use in Montana and which libraries will continue to lend hot spots. The website will be updated once the data from the prior fiscal year is finalized, and local transitions are completed.

The Montana State Library (MSL) provides information, resources, and guidance to organizations, communities, and residents of Montana to help them expand their knowledge and empower their decisions. Our leading-edge data and applications help those seeking answers about Montana’s government, natural resources, heritage, land ownership, and more while our vital services improve public libraries and provide reading materials to those with disabilities. For more information, visit www.msl.mt.gov.

K-16 Library Work Group 

 

TRAILS is seeking to form a work group focused on developing a more collaborative relationship with the academic, special, technical and public libraries throughout the state to better serve students K-16, with the goal of beginning the group in June!

The goals for this work group are to: 

  1. Provide a more structured delivery of information media literacy standards for K-12 through post-secondary education in order to prepare Montana students for the rigorous expectations of accessing, using, and creating information at the college level; and

  2. Improve the access to and use of shared resources throughout the state for K-16 students. 

If you’re interested in joining this work group, please contact Helena High School Librarian Joanne Didriksen at jdidriksen@helenaschools.org.

Access the 2021 Montana Content Standards for Library Media and Information Literacy (Satchel) 

Access the 2021 Montana Content Standards for Library Media and Information Literacy (Excel) 

Access the 2021 Montana Content Standards for Library Media and Information Literacy (Official PDF)

Webinar: New Standards for 2021: Overview and Planning for Implementation (February 8, 2021)

Model curriculum guides, professional development, and resources will be added throughout 2021.

Tech Directors: To access a machine readable version of the official Montana Information Literacy/Library Media Content Standards, please visit the IMS Global CASE Network site.  Create a free login, select Montana Office of Public Instruction, and view or download the standards.  The CASE version of the standards can be uploaded to student information systems, curriculum mapping programs, and a variety of other uses. Learn more about the CASE Network CASE Network FAQ

Featured Opportunities

2025 AASL National Conference

The 2025 American Association of School Librarians National Conference will take place October 16-18, 2025 at the St. Louis Convention Center in St. Louis, MO. Learn more and register here.

American Library Association 

Read the latest issue of American Libraries from the American Library Association. 

Browse AASL webinars and slidecasts from AASL's National Conferences on the ALA web portal, a digital collection of professional development for library professionals. The portal includes both paid and free webinars. Topics include collaboration, co-teaching, collection development, makerspaces, technology, coding, STEM/STEAM, social justice, media literacy, diversity, research, and more. 


Humanities Montana

Although Humanities Montana was canceling the Speakers in the Schools program due to the National Endowment for the Humanities loss of funding, Montana poet laureate Chris La Tray said he planned on continuing presenting across the state.

Chris La Tray has two programs: Montana's Poet Laureate and The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians: Métis Buffalo Hunters of the Northern Plains

If your school has IEFA money available, you can use it to fund his appearance, and he is happy to help you with the logistics and reporting. This is also an option if you want to bring in other Native speakers, including ones who have been working through Humanities Montana, available on their website.

Chris is also actively pursuing alternative funding, so if you don't have IEFA money available, contact him and he will see what he can do. 
 

Check the OPI Professional Learning Opportunities Portal for additional courses and workshops.

Standards Revision Information

New standards adopted November 5, 2020.  Effective date is July 1, 2021.

Adoption Timeline and Meetings

The Board of Public Education (BPE) approved the Library Media and Information Literacy Standards at their November 5, 2020 meeting. Please check the BPE website for further details.  The implementation date for the new standards is July 1, 2021.

 

10-55-136

(Board of Public Education) Notice of Public Hearing on Proposed Adoption, Amendment, and Repeal - Library Media Content Standards.

 

Standards Revision

Revision Information

2017 - 2027 COMPLETE REVISION SCHEDULE - This schedule may change based on resource availability or other factors.

  • To learn about the process and how to get involved, take the Montana Content Standards 101 course on the Teacher Learning Hub (1 renewal unit)

Please send any public comment or feedback to Colet Bartow, cbartow@mt.gov

Drafts

Negotiated Rulemaking Meetings

Economic Impact Surveys