Iowa City Public Library
Encyclopedia
Established in 1896, the Iowa City Public Library has served the people of Iowa City, Iowa
, for over a century. Currently located in a new facility at the intersection of College and Linn Streets on the downtown pedestrian mall, ICPL serves a population 69,000 residents of Iowa City, and through contract, residents of unincorporated Johnson County
, University Heights
and Hills
. ICPL has approximately 67,000 cardholders.
, to provide a room for reading and games for the local young people, came about in 1896, when Iowa City had already existed for fifty-seven years. At this time, there were approximately 7500 residents and 1300 students attending the University of Iowa
. When the Library first opened its doors on January 21, 1897, it contained 1300 book
s and twenty magazine
s and newspaper
s. It was located at 211 Iowa Avenue, and took up two rooms above a steam laundry.
Over the years, the Library would move or modify its location five times: in 1901, to 212 East College Street; in 1904, to a Carnegie library
at 212 South Linn Street; in 1963, when an addition was added to the Carnegie library; and in 1981, to 123 South Linn Street. On June 12, 2004, the Library opened the doors of its new facility, 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 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and built by Knutson Construction. It covers 81276 square feet (7,550.8 m²) on two floors in a building that also contains rental space.
In addition to the items in the collection, the Library offers many other services to its patrons: various types of audiovisual equipment can be checked out, there are five meeting rooms that can be booked by the public, study space for young adults and general-use study rooms, a large children's room with computers and story time area, forty-two internet/database computers, free wireless Internet throughout the building, Channel 10 (ICPL's local Public-access television
cable TV channel that shows recorded programming), and a wide variety of programming for adults and children. Outside of the Library's downtown location, it provides and maintains eighteen outreach collections at various community, youth and senior centers in the area.
In 2009, the Library reached a milestone of 1,500,000 circulations, making it the busiest public library in Iowa.
ICPL employs over 100 full, part-time and hourly workers, and has over 430 volunteers that perform a wide variety of tasks. It is governed by a nine-member Board of Trustees which is appointed by the Iowa City City Council. The Library's Director is Susan Craig.
Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, State of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of about 67,862, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Iowa City is the county seat of Johnson County and home to the University of Iowa...
, for over a century. Currently located in a new facility at the intersection of College and Linn Streets on the downtown pedestrian mall, ICPL serves a population 69,000 residents of Iowa City, and through contract, residents of unincorporated Johnson County
Johnson County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 130,882 in the county, with a population density of . There were 55,967 housing units, of which 52,715 were occupied.-2000 census:...
, University Heights
University Heights, Iowa
University Heights is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It part of the Iowa City, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 987 at the 2000 census. It is completely surrounded by Iowa City, located near the campus of the University of Iowa...
and Hills
Hills, Iowa
Hills is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is part of the Iowa City, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 679 at the 2000 census...
. ICPL has approximately 67,000 cardholders.
History
The idea to establish a LibraryLibrary
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, to provide a room for reading and games for the local young people, came about in 1896, when Iowa City had already existed for fifty-seven years. At this time, there were approximately 7500 residents and 1300 students attending the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
. When the Library first opened its doors on January 21, 1897, it contained 1300 book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s and twenty magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s and newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s. It was located at 211 Iowa Avenue, and took up two rooms above a steam laundry.
Over the years, the Library would move or modify its location five times: in 1901, to 212 East College Street; in 1904, to a Carnegie library
Carnegie library
A Carnegie library is a library built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and 1929, including some belonging to public and university library systems...
at 212 South Linn Street; in 1963, when an addition was added to the Carnegie library; and in 1981, to 123 South Linn Street. On June 12, 2004, the Library opened the doors of its new facility, 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 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and built by Knutson Construction. It covers 81276 square feet (7,550.8 m²) on two floors in a building that also contains rental space.
Collections, services and staff
ICPL maintains a popular collection that spans the entire range of the Dewey Decimal classification system. The Library holds roughly 175,000 circulating print books, 36,000 non-print items, 6700 Reference materials (print and electronic), and 520 newspapers and periodicals. Fiction and nonfiction items are held in many formats besides print, including downloadable eBooks, eAudiobooks, CD and DVD. Popular areas of the collection include children's items, new fiction and mysteries, the movie and TV collection, video games, biographical materials, the Art-to-Go prints, and gardening, cooking and travel books and videos.In addition to the items in the collection, the Library offers many other services to its patrons: various types of audiovisual equipment can be checked out, there are five meeting rooms that can be booked by the public, study space for young adults and general-use study rooms, a large children's room with computers and story time area, forty-two internet/database computers, free wireless Internet throughout the building, Channel 10 (ICPL's local Public-access television
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
cable TV channel that shows recorded programming), and a wide variety of programming for adults and children. Outside of the Library's downtown location, it provides and maintains eighteen outreach collections at various community, youth and senior centers in the area.
In 2009, the Library reached a milestone of 1,500,000 circulations, making it the busiest public library in Iowa.
ICPL employs over 100 full, part-time and hourly workers, and has over 430 volunteers that perform a wide variety of tasks. It is governed by a nine-member Board of Trustees which is appointed by the Iowa City City Council. The Library's Director is Susan Craig.