The Ladd Library is currently in a leased space located at 3750 Williams Blvd SW. In 2020, the Cedar Rapids Public Library Foundation received a significant gift from the estate of Nadine Sandberg which will lead the way toward establishing this permanent location on the city’s west side. The Library, City of Cedar Rapids, and Linn… View more
When the derecho roared through Cedar Rapids a year ago, Ladd Library Branch Manager Stephanie Hall wasn’t at the library on Cedar Rapids’ west side. But she could see how bad things were, and she called Branch Supervisor Tina Pipkin to check in. The building had only been reopened on a limited basis for computer… View more
Meet the Cedar Rapids Public Library staff One of the newest Library staff members is Programming Librarian Linden Galloway. He started at the Library at the end of July, and we wanted to introduce him as part of our ongoing series profiling Library staff. What does your job typically include? I just started, so mostly… View more
Last week, the CDC issued new guidance to protect communities from the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant. The CDC recommends those in an area of substantial or high transmission wear a mask indoors in public, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated. As of Monday, August 2, the Linn County area is coded as ‘red,’ signifying a… View more
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
The 2000s Made Me Gay: Essays on Pop Culture by Grace PerryPublished June 1, 2021. Social Science. A longtime contributor to The Onion and The Reductress, Perry turns her pen to the 2000s pop culture she grew up on. In a time when queer representation was largely missing from mainstream media, she recounts finding it… 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