Missoula Public Library is One of the Four Best Libraries of the Year

Now, THIS is a high honor - we're not just talking on the city level, or the state level, or even about the entire country here... we're going global with this one.

According to the Missoulian, the Missoula Public Library has been shortlisted by the International Federation of Library Associations for their prestigious Library of the Year Award.

What is the Library of the Year Award?

The Library of the Year award highlights newly-built libraries that quickly become community staples, and the Missoula Public Library is the only American library to make the list. The other three shortlisted libraries are from Denmark, Latvia, and Saudi Arabia.

Of course, it's been a long journey for the Missoula Public Library - their new building was under construction for a long time, and then COVID happened and it ended up taking even longer. But when the building officially opened to the public last year, Missoula was wowed by its variety of services, programs, and events that were being held in the new building.

So to say all that hard work pay off with this kind of recognition - to be one of only four libraries around the world to be nominated - must be extremely gratifying.

Finally, we proved Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation wrong about libraries. I assume that was the end goal this entire time.

The winner will be announced at a conference in Dublin, Ireland on July 29th. Let's hope Missoula Public Library wins this thing!