From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Iowa City Public Library
Iowa City Public Library
Coordinates: 41°39′33″N 91°31′56″W / 41.6593°N tion and nonfiction items are held in many formats be-
91.5323°W / 41.6593; -91.5323 Established in 1896, the sides print, including downloadable eBooks, eAudio-
Iowa City Public Library has served the people of Iowa Ci- books, CD and DVD. Popular areas of the collection in-
ty, Iowa, for over a century. Currently located in a new clude children’s items, new fiction and mysteries, the
facility at the intersection of College and Linn Streets movie and TV collection, video games, biographical ma-
on the downtown pedestrian mall, ICPL serves a popula- terials, the Art-to-Go prints, and gardening, cooking and
tion 69,000 residents of Iowa City, and through contract, travel books and videos.
residents of unincorporated Johnson County, University In addition to the items in the collection, the Library
Heights and Hills. ICPL has approximately 67,000 card- offers many other services to its patrons: various types of
holders. audiovisual equipment can be checked out, there are five
meeting rooms that can be booked by the public, study
History space for young adults and general-use study rooms, a
large children’s room with computers and story time
The idea to establish a Library, to provide a room for area, forty-two internet/database computers, free wire-
reading and games for the local young people, came less Internet throughout the building, Channel 10 (ICPL’s
about in 1896, when Iowa City had already existed for local Public-access television cable TV channel that
fifty-seven years. At this time, there were approximately shows recorded programming), and a wide variety of
7500 residents and 1300 students attending the Univer- programming for adults and children. Outside of the Li-
sity of Iowa. When the Library first opened its doors on brary’s downtown location, it provides and maintains
January 21, 1897, it contained 1300 books and twenty eighteen outreach collections at various community,
magazines and newspapers. It was located at 211 Iowa youth and senior centers in the area.
Avenue, and took up two rooms above a steam laundry. In 2009, the Library reached a milestone of 1,500,000
Over the years, the Library would move or modify its circulations, making it the busiest public library in Iowa.
location five times: in 1901, to 212 East College Street; ICPL employs over 100 full, part-time and hourly
in 1904, to a Carnegie library at 212 South Linn Street; workers, and has over 430 volunteers that perform a wide
in 1963, when an addition was added to the Carnegie li- variety of tasks. It is governed by a nine-member Board
brary; and in 1981, to 123 South Linn Street. On June 12, of Trustees which is appointed by the Iowa City City
2004, the Library opened the doors of its new facility, Council. The Library’s Director is Susan Craig.
built at the same location but nearly double the size of
the previous building. The new Library was designed by
Engberg Anderson Design Partnership, located in Mil-
References
waukee, Wisconsin, and built by Knutson Construction. It • Eggers, Lolly. A Century of Stories: the History of the Iowa
covers 81,276 square feet (7,550.8 m2) on two floors in a City Public Library, 1896-1997. Iowa City, IA: Iowa City
building that also contains rental space. Public Library Friends Foundation, 1997.
Collections, services and staff External links
ICPL maintains a popular collection that spans the entire • Iowa City Public Library
range of the Dewey Decimal classification system. The • ICPL catalog
Library holds roughly 175,000 circulating print books, • City of Iowa City
36,000 non-print items, 6700 Reference materials (print
and electronic), and 520 newspapers and periodicals. Fic-
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Iowa_City_Public_Library&oldid=438750894"
Categories:
• Iowa City, Iowa
• Public libraries in Iowa
• Buildings and structures in Iowa City, Iowa
• Education in Johnson County, Iowa
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Iowa City Public Library
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