News & Updates

Jan. 5, 2026 – Legendary singer-songwriter Dolly Parton's 80th birthday is Jan. 19, and the Cedar Rapids Library Foundation is celebrating with a family-friendly birthday party at the Downtown Library.

Dec. 16, 2025 – It is a truth universally acknowledged that a beloved book in the public domain must be in want of a retelling.

Dec. 1, 2025 – The holiday season is here, and the library has programs to help you embrace the spirit of the season.

Nov. 26, 2025 – Every December, the Commons of the Downtown Library is filled with tubas – nearly 100 of them – for the annual Merry TubaChristmas concert. Well, tubas, sousaphones, baritones, and euphoniums – the brass section is well represented.

Nov. 4, 2025 — The Herbert Hoover Presidential Foundation is bringing history to life at the Cedar Rapids Public Library with the traveling exhibit Hoover on the Road.

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. 11, 2025 – The Downtown Library Urban Plaza will receive an update this fall through a project funded by the Cedar Rapids Public Library Foundation. Beginning Monday, Sept.

Sept. 11, 2025 – Everyone has a story – and we need to listen to each other’s stories.

Aug. 19, 2025 – The public is invited to be part of the Tiny Art project - and have their masterpieces displayed at the library and the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art.   

June 4, 2025 – Everyone is welcome at the library this summer – and everyone is welcome to join us for the Summer Reading Challenge. Summer reading is for kids and families – but it is also for everyone else! 

May 15, 2025 – The Summer Reading Challenge welcomes a series of big performances for kids to the library on Mondays throughout June and July. All performances are first-come, first-serve; wrist bands will be handed out one hour prior to each performance.  

March 26, 2025 – The Cedar Rapids Public Library Foundation and Lion Bridge Brewing Company have partnered to release Library Lager, a specialty limited-release beer, in celebration of the Westside Library project and National Library Week.&nb

March 12, 2025 – The library's second annual Maker Fest is coming up at the Downtown Library on Wednesday, March 19, from 1-3 pm. This open house will feature an afternoon of hands-on, family-friendly STEAM activities with both the library and community partners.

March 6, 2025 – Drop into the Downtown Library on Wednesday, March 19, from 1-3 pm for the second annual Maker Fest.

Jan. 6, 2025 – Iowa author Katie Hopkins writes about Iowa history - and loves diving into the spooky and mysterious side of the state. She wrote "Iowa: Haunted Corridor" with her husband, Josh Hopkins, and on Thursday, Jan.