About The Library: History of the Iowa City Public LibraryHistory of the Iowa City Public Library
The Library has stood in the heart of downtown Iowa City for more than a century. But as the community grew, so did the Library, and there was a need over time to move into progressively larger spaces to house the collections. The photos below show this evolution over the years, and you can click on any photo for a larger view.
1897
The first ICPL was on the second floor of the C.O.D. Steam Laundry building at 211 Iowa Ave. opening its doors on Thursday January 21, 1897.
1901
The second location for the ICPL was at 212 East College Street in the Cannon & Pratt building opening in June of 1901.
1904
The Carnegie Library at 212 South Linn Street opened its doors on Thursday, October 27, 1904.
Read the History
You can learn more about the Library by reading A Century of Stories: The History of the Iowa City Public Library, 1896-1997 by Lolly P. Eggers.
More Iowa City History
The Library has a variety of books and videos about Iowa City History available in the collections. Some select picks are below.
- Iowa City History: A Collection of Columns Appearing in the Iowa City Press Citizen Beginning January 22, 1973 by Irving B. Weber
- An Historical Presentation of Iowa City, Part 1 and Part 2 by Irving B. Weber
- Index to Iowa City History by Irving B. Weber
- Searcher's Aid to Irving Weber's 861 Iowa City Press-Citizen Articles on Iowa City/Johnson County History by Lolly P. Eggers
1963
An addition was built onto the Carnegie building and dedicated on Sunday, November 10, 1963.
1981
The ICPL at 123 South Linn Street opened its doors to the public on June 14, 1981 after hundreds of volunteers moved all of the library materials across the street.
2004
After more than two years of construction the doors opened to the new building June 12, 2004.
Today
The Iowa City Public Library remains at 123 South Linn Street.
