On March 2, 1896 the city of Cedar Rapids was to make a vote on whether or not they would have a public library. Due largely to the work of a group of women called the City Federation of Ladies Literary Clubs led by Ada Van Vechten, the vote was favorable. On January 15, 1897, the first public library was to open its doors to the citizens of Cedar Rapids. It was located in a small room of the Granby building. After a few years, the library had outgrown the room. It was moved to the Dows auditorium in May 1900.
Andrew Carnegie was contacted in late January 1901 to request money to construct a dedicated library building. He agreed to give $75,000 if the town would pledge $7,500 in taxation annually to support the maintenance. In early 1903, the library chose Ely corner at Third Avenue and Fifth Street as the future site of the
Carnegie library. In 1904, Jacob William Hopp was the general superintendent for the construction. On June 23, 1905, the new library was open. The years to follow were filled with a variety of strategies to expand services within the town and beyond. In 1910, E. Joanna Hagey became the librarian. She was the driving force behind the extension work for nearly three decades. Books were brought to schools, drug stores, and workplaces for extra convenience. Surrounding townships had contracted for library services. By 1928, six library stations were in operation. In 1930 there was a new Kenwood Park station, the first branch building owned by the library. Evelyn also loved children's book illustrations. She started a collection that would grow to over 850 original paintings and drawings. In the early 1950s, two bookmobiles were purchased that had replaced all of the stations. Together they would make twelve stops each week at regular locations. Instead of many rented stations, the library now consisted of the two bookmobiles, the Kenwood Park station, and the main building. Crowding became a pressing issue for the library throughout the '60s. Much of the material had to be stored in the basement. New materials had to be turned away due to the space restrictions. In 1969, the library proposed to expand the current building and to establish a west-side branch. It failed to reach 60% voter approval. In 1971, a branch was established on Edgewood Road NW. The first two of three bookmobiles were retired by 1972. The library would lease space at the Westdale Mall where they had already established a library branch in August 1988. The branch material would be consolidated with the library's surviving collection in the former Osco Drug Store space. In February 2013, the Ladd Library was opened, establishing a permanent west-side location. On May 5, 2012, construction began on the new downtown location, which opened to the public in August 2013. ==Services==