Meet the Cedar Rapids Public Library staff This week we’re introducing Patron Services Specialist Sampurna Ghosh, as part of our series on the employees who make the Library great. Sampurna started at the Library in September 2019, and primarily works downtown. What does your job typically include? I like to think of my role as… View more
People often perceive library summer reading programs as aimed at children, but the staff of the Cedar Rapids Public Library want patrons of all ages to get excited about reading, not just in the summer but year round. So we wanted to share some July new book releases for adults that we hope will get… View more
Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke EmeziPublished June 8, 2021. Biography. The New York Times-bestselling author of “The Death of Vivek Oji” penned this memoir through letters, exploring their life from their childhood in Nigeria to their path to success as an author, all the while diving into spiritual and artistic explorations of… View more
Cedar Rapids fifth grader Reese Olalde is a published author, and she’s loving it. “I’ve always wanted to write a book,” she said. “I’ve been making a lot of stories at home. I really like how I can be creative with them.” She’s one of four students from Cedar River Academy at Taylor Elementary who… View more
When Carl Rush gathered in a room with teens at the Linn County Juvenile Detention Center to discuss books recently, he was encouraged by what he heard. “I read a lot. I read like every night before I go to sleep,” one of the teenagers said. The teen went on to describe one of his… View more
The Mobile Technology Lab is rolling to a Cedar Rapids park near you this summer, and this is not your average library outreach. Instead of a traditional bookmobile, the Cedar Rapids Public Library’s new van is fully loaded with all kinds of technology, from laptops to 3D printers to Ozobots – tiny robots designed to… View more
When the pandemic forced the closure of in-person events last summer, the programming team at the Library had to quickly pivot. They had a summer’s worth of camps planned for teens and kids, and suddenly, they couldn’t hold them as planned. “We were really committed to not canceling those camps,” Programming Manager Kevin Delecki said. … View more
We Dare You! This Summer at the Cedar Rapids Public Library The Cedar Rapids Public Library is daring YOU to reconnect with the community and keep learning all summer long. The 2021 Summer Dare is not your average summer reading program. It is an intergenerational summer learning program that challenges the entire community to get… View more
The Metro Library Network will switch to a new library operating system in June. To ensure a smooth transition, we need you to do a few things. Please make sure that the following steps are completed by the beginning of June so that you can continue to check out library materials during the transition. (Learn about possible library… View more
A letter to our patrons, from Cedar Rapids Public Library Director Dara Schmidt: The CDC has come out with new guidelines to say people who are vaccinated do not need to wear masks or social distance. This is exciting news, and we are so excited to welcome more people to the Library with no restrictions! While we wish we… View more