News & Updates

Dec. 1, 2025 – The Metro Library Network – which includes the Cedar Rapids, Marion, and Hiawatha public libraries – will be discontinuing CloudLibrary beginning Jan. 1.  

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. 24, 2025 – The holiday season is here, and that means a season of cooking, sharing meals, and celebrating with loved ones. So we decided to highlight 10 cookbooks that came out this year to help you find a little inspiration.

Nov. 19, 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.

Nov. 13, 2025 – Murder mysteries are one of the most popular genres of books - and many put books themselves at the center of story.

Nov. 5, 2025 – November is Native American Heritage Month. We've curated a list of recently published books by and about the diverse Native peoples in the United States.

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.

Nov. 3, 2025 – When Missa Coffman and Marios Liolios were planning a class on Japanese stab binding, a form of book binding, they needed to cut very precise holes in dozens of book covers, plus the paper to go inside each book.

Oct. 30, 2025 – With the potential for SNAP benefits to not be renewed in November due to the federal government shutdown, many people in our community are looking for ways to find resources, as well as ways to help.

Oct. 28, 2025 – Halloween is around the corner - what better time to dive into a scary story? Horror is hot right now, and these new novels are sure to send shivers up your spine.

Oct. 27, 2025 – Maxine Valenta, 93, has lived a life worthy of stories.

Oct. 21, 2025 – October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the Gazette asked the library to contribute a list of books for their October issue of HER Magazine.

Oct. 20, 2025 – In September 2024, the library launched a new reading challenge, 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten – and participating pre-K children have read almost 54,000 books since then.

Oct. 15, 2025 – This month, after more than 200 years in business, library book distributor Baker & Taylor announced they would close. The Cedar Rapids Public Library has utilized Baker & Taylor as a book supplier for many years.

Oct. 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.