The Montana Library Association on April 22 named the Billings Public Library the 2025 Library of the Year for its Library Express Locker Program.
Through the express locker program, users can request items through the library website, select one of four locker pickup sites around the city and retrieve the materials 24/7 using their library card and a PIN number. Each one of these lockers includes a book return, allowing for easy returns.
There are four locker sites: outside the Billings Public Library (510 N. Broadway); the Children’s Clinic on the city’s west end (3401 Ave. E); and at two Intermountain Health Clinic locations-- in the Heights (32 Wicks Lane) and in Lockwood (2504 US Highway 87 E).
Library officials report the lockers are popular, with locations on the west end and in the Heights consistently operating at over 75 % capacity the past several months, which they say reflect high demand and strong community engagement.
Billings Public Library staff is planning a celebration of the statewide recognition this summer, with an outdoor story time at the Children’s Clinic Locker on June 20, 10:30am., 3401 Ave. E, with ice cream and a story time of “Stethoscopes and Stories.”