News & Updates

Oct. 5, 2025 – Banned Books Week is Oct. 5-11, and the library is celebrating the freedom to read! Join us as we highlight books that have inspired, challenged, and connected readers everywhere. 

Sept. 29, 2025 - The inaugural Cedar Rapids Storytelling Festival, a new event put on by local nonprofit TellersBridge and the Cedar Rapids Public Library, is coming to the Downtown Library Oct. 1-4.

Sept. 26, 2025 – The National Book Foundation has announced the National Book Award longlist of finalists, and the library has many of the books available to borrow - especially in the fiction, nonfiction, and young people's literature categories.

Sept. 18, 2025 – The Cedar Rapids Public Library is made possible by our incredible staff. And we are staffed by book lovers. To celebrate the people who keep our library running, we're highlighting different staff members and books they love.

Sept. 10, 2025 – National Hispanic American Heritage Month, Sept. 15-Oct. 15, celebrates Hispanic and Latino culture and history. 

Sept. 4, 2025 – The 2025-2026 Iowa Children's Choice books have been announced, and the library has them available at both the Downtown and Ladd locations.

Aug. 28, 2025 – For absolutely no reason at all, we decided to curate a list of books this week about the life of a showgirl.

Aug. 21, 2025 – The new semester is here, and we've collected a list of picture books for kids all about heading to school.

We are making some behind-the-scenes improvements to our OverDrive system to streamline the experience and reduce confusion for users. These changes will be implemented on August 19, 2025.

What You Need to Know:

Aug. 11, 2025 – As a new semester approaches, we've curated a list of novels with a dark and magical take on the school experience.

Aug. 4, 2025 – The Cedar Rapids Public Library is made possible by our incredible staff. And we are staffed by book lovers. To celebrate the people who keep our library running, we're highlighting different staff members and books they love.

July 28, 2025 – Looking for a good beach read or a sizzling summer romance? Material Librarian Allison Zordell has curated a list of recently-published books that put love front and center. The best part?

July 14, 2025 – The Cedar Rapids Public Library is made possible by our incredible staff. And we are staffed by book lovers. To celebrate the people who keep our library running, we're highlighting different staff members and books they love.

July 14, 2025 – Six months into 2025, we wanted to know – what has Cedar Rapids been reading this year? With the Summer Reading Challenge underway, we wanted to highlight the most popular books of the year.

July 7, 2025 – July is Disability Pride Month. The Arc's National Council of Self-Advocates announced the 2025 theme as "We Belong Here, and We’re Here to Stay."