Which downtown Iowa City building has the most stories? Iowa City Public Library!

The Iowa City Public Library was established in 1896 and has always served the community from a downtown location. In 2009, the Library celebrated its 5-year anniversary in its newly expanded and renovated building in the heart of downtown.

Collections are the core of the Library's mission. ICPL strives to provide materials for all ages and interests: books, videos, audiocassettes, art prints, compact discs and interactive media. In 2009, ICPL debuted its collection of downloadable eBooks and continued expanding its popular eAudio audiobook collection.

Five meeting rooms are available as well as an ICN facility. More than 1.5 million items were checked out to the more than 745,000 people who visited the Library last year. Public computers and the Library’s wireless Internet service provided access to more than 200,000 users last year.

ICPL serves the public's information needs through well-trained staff at the Reference, Fiction and Children's Desks who answered more than 85,000 patron questions just in the last year.

In 2009, ICPL launched a redesigned Web site, as well as an updated interface for mobile device users for both the Web site and the catalog.

Last year, ICPL hosted 365 programs for children, and many programs for adults and all ages. For more information about the Library, and a full calendar of upcoming events, visit http://www.icpl.org/