Sean Batura APG Media
Apr 9, 2025
BELGRADE — Belgrade’s new public library staged its grand opening Saturday, drawing droves of residents and people from surrounding areas, including U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy and his family.
The $22 million facility at 205 E. Main St. is more than a book depository — it’s also a community center intended to fill a void that’s existed for years with the area experiencing significant growth, said Mark Browning, treasurer of the Belgrade Community Library Foundation.
“What a great new institution for the community,” Browning said. “Belgrade hasn’t really had a community center.”
The library is 27,000 square feet, about three times the size of the previous facility at 106 North Broadway, which closed Feb. 1.
The facility’s community room is about 2,970 square feet and includes a large door that opens onto a concrete area adjacent to the park. It’s outfitted with a large screen and speaker system inside and outside.
Once the city obtains sufficient staffing, the community room will be available for use by the public for parties, concerts, conferences and more, officials said. For now, the City Council and other city officials/department will use the large community room for meeting space, according to Browning.
The library also has a large basement the city will use as storage space, he said.
The library was built with public and private funds, including a $14 million bond issuance voters approved in 2021. The Sheehy family donated $1 million for construction of the library and adjacent park.
“Carmen and I believe strongly in giving back to the community that helped us succeed and have proudly supported the Belgrade Library and Park over the past few years as the launch donors for this amazing community development,” Sheehy said in a written statement to the Belgrade News. “When we envisioned this project five years ago, we hoped it would help redefine the experience of downtown Belgrade, and seeing this vision brought to reality is truly touching. The realization of this vision is due to the hard work and vision of former Belgrade library director Gale Bacon, the city leadership of Belgrade, and most importantly, the people of our community who supported this project. It is amazing to see it in action.”
“This was a tremendously ambitious dream for the people in the city of Belgrade, and it’s been accomplished, but it took years to get there,” Bacon said. “I had the privilege of being one of many, many people.”
The initial seed money for the project came from the Milesnick family, according to Bacon and Browning. The Milesnicks have been among other large donors over the years who contributed between $100,000 and $999,999, including Jim and Bea Taylor, the Yellowstone Club Community Foundation, Dave Walling and Marcia Anderson. Many other donors have contributed from $25,000 to $99,000 and amounts up to $25,000.
The new facility has effectively become “Belgrade’s new front door” and has been sorely needed, Browning said, because the community is one of the fastest growing areas in the state. Belgrade has the only high school in Montana history to compete athletically in all four classes — from Class C to Class AA — all in just a few years.
Over her career as librarian of the middle school, 43-year Belgrade resident Diane Shearer saw about a doubling in the number of seventh- and eighth-graders, she said. She retired about 10 years ago and now volunteers at the public library. She was at the grand opening with her 7-year-old granddaughter, Kylaina.
Shearer and other visitors Saturday remarked approvingly that the new library includes spaces for different age groups of children, rather than one space where they’ll all expected to mingle.
“There are so many community rooms and study rooms that people can use,” Shearer marveled.
Also at the opening was Belgrade resident Andrea Cotten, along with her children, 3-year-old Danny and 7-year-old Annie. Cotten said her family didn’t visit the old library much because it was too small. The old library could fit inside of just the children’s section of the new library, she said.
“We’re really excited for it to be open now,” Cotten said. “So we’ll be at this one a lot more.”
Library volunteer Phyllis Santa noted how libraries have changed over the decades.
“There was nothing except books,” Santa said. “They weren’t geared toward children.”
When she was a child, libraries were places where everyone had to be quiet, and the focus was on picking out books and reading on site. They’ve since become community centers that offer activities for kids and families such as games, clubs, storytelling and more.
“It’s just completely different,” Santa said.
Although the library/community center is finished, some elements remain missing, such as equipment for the Makerspace and accompanying maker stations. On Saturday, library staff offered surveys to determine the public’s desire for equipment related to 3D printing, sewing and textiles, robotics and electronics, laser cutting, woodworking, audio/video recording, graphic design and digital art, virtual reality, coding and programming, knitting and crocheting, and more.
The library also has a need for volunteers. To learn more about how to be a volunteer or to apply, visit https://www.belgrademt.gov/482/Volunteer-Application.