Oct. 27, 2025 – Maxine Valenta, 93, has lived a life worthy of stories.
Her husband Don passed away three years ago, after 71 years of marriage. They had married at age 20, after dating in secret for years – he was Catholic, and she wasn’t, and their families didn’t approve. Valenta had left her parents and their farmhouse at age 15 and moved into town alone, where she worked as a waitress to support herself while finishing high school.
“My father didn’t want me to go to high school, but my mother insisted,” she said.
The couple had three children, and they ran a restaurant in Traer in the 1960s while he went to college. She later worked as an administrative assistant in different offices and even got her CDL license so she could drive a truck hauling fertilizer.
She moved to Cedar Rapids in 2019 from Traer to be closer to her daughter. Living with macular degeneration, she has been slowly losing her sight since 2001.
“But I’m not complaining about anything at all,” she said. “I can’t travel, but the library has kept me involved.”
That’s because she gets regular visits from Cedar Rapids Public Library Books by Delivery volunteers. The program matches homebound library patrons with volunteers, who bring them books and other materials on a regular basis. The library also has a Books by Mail program, which sends books to homebound patrons via the mail.
“At its core, the Books By Delivery program facilitates access to the library and fosters meaningful community connections,” said Patron Services Specialist Michele Prostine, who coordinates the Books by Mail and Books by Delivery programs. “It’s a two-way exchange — volunteers give their time and compassion, and in return gain a strong sense of purpose. Patrons not only reconnect with library services, but also with the community around them. It’s about mutual support, shared experience, and building relationships that might not happen otherwise.”
The Books by Delivery program started as a pilot with five patrons and four volunteers. This year, it grew to 12 active patrons and seven volunteers, with more coming on board soon. One of the newest volunteers is Valenta’s housekeeper and friend, LaDonna Jacobson, who told Library Volunteer Coordinator Jessica Link she was so moved by the impact she saw the program making that she wanted to get involved.
“It’s a win-win-win,” Link said. “The volunteers really get a lot of personal satisfaction from participating, the patrons feel connected to the library and the community, and the library is able to overcome barriers for members of our community we wouldn’t be able to reach otherwise.”
Books by Delivery visits also bring social interactions and camaraderie. Volunteers Martha McClurg and her two daughters deliver audiobooks to Maxine’s house. She often has treats set aside for their visits.
“They’re so sweet, and I just love them,” Valenta said. “Books by Delivery keeps me involved in the community.”
She has kept active even as her eyesight has worsened. She still makes her own bread and cooks as much from scratch as she can, and she makes a point to go on regular walks around her neighborhood with her walker, up to 2.5 miles a day.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Maxine was in four book clubs – two at the Traer Public Library, one in her Cedar Rapids neighborhood, and one at Ladd Library.
Since she can’t drive anymore, she has relied on books to expand her world. And they do – she said she often reads and listens to audiobooks four or five hours a day.
She listens to audiobooks on Libby with her library card, gets audiobooks from the Iowa Library for the Blind and Print Disabled, and gets Playaway audiobooks from the Cedar Rapids Public Library via Books by Delivery.
“My books are mostly what I do. I’m reading pretty much all the time,” she said. “I read a lot of books. I always have. I love libraries.”
Get involved:
Learn more about Books by Delivery and Books by Mail at CRLibrary.org/books-by-mail
Learn more about volunteering at the library at CRLibrary.org/volunteer
FY 2025 Annual Report
This story is from the library's FY 2025 Annual Report.