Montana has 79 public libraries, 28 public library branches, 6 institutional libraries, 52 special libraries, and 573 school libraries serving 56 counties. The combined book stock of all Montana public libraries is 2,638,000, and their combined circulation is 4,819,000. Distinguished collections include those of the University of Montana (Missoula), with over 850,000 volumes; Montana State University (Bozeman), 597,609; and the Montana State Library and Montana Historical Society Library, both in Helena. Total public library income for 2000 was $16,021,000, including $112,147 in federal grants and $336,441 in state grants.
Among the state's 74 museums are the Montana Historical Society Museum, Helena; World Museum of Mining, Butte; Western Heritage Center, Billings; and Museum of the Plains Indian, Browning. National historic sites include Big Hole and Little Big Horn battlefields and the Grant-Kohrs Ranch at Deer Lodge, west of Helena.