The ICPL Board of Trustees: A Great Way to Get Involved with Your Library!

The Iowa City Public Library is governed by a semi-autonomous, nine-member board of trustees.  State law and City ordinances empower the board to create library policy, establish library goals and objectives, and oversee resource stewardship.  Trustees serve terms of six years, and are asked to participate in monthly board meetings, which are held the fourth Thursday of each month (third Thursday in November and December) at 5.00pm. 

There are three trustee positions opening in July.  These include two seats that require Iowa City residency (applications due to the City of Iowa City by 5.00pm on Tuesday, May 30) and one that is held for a resident of unincorporated Johnson County (applications due to the Johnson County Board Office by 4.30pm on Tuesday, June 20).  Applications for both types of position can be accessed through the library’s website (https://www.icpl.org/about/board). 

Applicants need to be at least 18 years old, have an interest in public library governance, and the ability to work as part of a team, but there are no specific educational, volunteer, or work experience requirements.  Previous meeting packets (including minutes) are available on the library’s website and recordings of meetings can be viewed on ICPL’s The Library Channel via YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@thelibrarychannel) if you’d like to see how the board works.         

BIPOC, LGBTQAI+, and members of other historically underrepresented groups are especially needed to ensure the board reflects our full community.

For more information, please consider attending an upcoming board meeting, emailing a current trustee with questions, or contacting me to talk about board service in more detail (elsworth-carman@icpl.org or 319.356.5241).