James E. Shanley Tribal Library was named in honor of Dr. James E. Shanley, retired Fort Peck Community College President, who was instrumental in Indian Country Higher Education for 40+ years and a tremendous library advocate.

The Library opened in September 2012 in a brand new facility which has expanded including IT training area, distance learning classrooms and IT department offices. The expanded library computer lab provides word processing and World Wide Web access, as well as subscription databases free of charge to students and the community.

The Library has been designated a Tribal Library by the Tribal government and, as such, serves the whole reservation population as the major resource/research center for students, faculty, community and professionals. As an academic library, the Library will provide services and support for all courses offered at Fort Peck Community College.  The library is an affiliate of Roosevelt County Library and as such, serves all eligible county patrons.

The Library collection includes over 11,000 titles and 123 periodicals with periodical support being added by online databases. Interlibrary loan is provided by a statewide consortium, which has made World Cat available online. World Cat makes library holdings from all over the U.S. available to Fort Peck library patrons. James E. Shanley Tribal Library is a Congressional designated depository for U.S. Government documents. Public access to the government documents collection is guaranteed by public law. (Title 44 United States Code).

Anyone who resides on or near the Fort Peck Reservation or is a student at FPCC can obtain a card at Fort Peck Tribal Library. Children under 18 must have signed permission from a parent or guardian to acquire a library card at James E. Shanley Tribal Library.  Children must be 10 years of age to acquire their own library card.

The Library provides community and family programming.

The Library has received funding and support from various charitable, federal and state resources.  A special thanks to the Institute of Museum and Library Services for the continued support.  The Library has competed for and received federal grants. These grants have assisted the Library in full automation and several collection development projects with other libraries on the reservation and statewide. All these resources, as well as material contributions from individuals and other organizations and a general fund budget continue to enhance the Library resources and service capabilities.