St. Anthony's Church and School · Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainCedar Rapids’ library lends 6.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Cedar Rapids Public Library serves Cedar Rapids’s 377 residents. Last year it lent 2,402 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,836 visits.
The short version on Cedar Rapids’s library
Open only about 15 hours a week
Cedar Rapids Public Library keeps short hours: about 15 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Cedar Rapids Public Library serves 377 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Cedar Rapids City Hall and Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1994. Today’s library there has 1,500 square feet. The building ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Cedar Rapids’ civic life grade
Cedar Rapids isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
A National Register landmark since 1994
Cedar Rapids Public Library, 423 West Main Street, Cedar Rapids.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Cedar Rapids? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Cedar Rapids City Hall and Library
Cedar Rapids City Hall and Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jul 1, 1994. It is significant for its architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Renaissance.
The Cedar Rapids City Hall and Library, in Cedar Rapids in Boone County, Nebraska, was built in 1913. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. It is a multi-function municipal hall featuring Italian Renaissance Revival architecture.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Cedar Rapids Public Library serves 377 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2,402 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
15 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Cedar Rapids last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.97 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cedar Rapids cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $20K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $39K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $20K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 147 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Cedar Rapids
Does Cedar Rapids have a public library?
Yes. Cedar Rapids Public Library, 423 West Main Street, serves Cedar Rapids’ 377 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 15 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cedar Rapids Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Cedar Rapids’ library?
It logged 4.9 visits and lent 6.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Cedar Rapids’ civic life grade?
Cedar Rapids isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Cedar Rapids.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.