Cedar Rapids Public Library Foundation

THE FOUNDATION MOBILIZES RESOURCES AND RELATIONSHIPS THAT EMPOWER OUR LIBRARY.

THE CEDAR RAPIDS PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION SUPPORTED OUR LIBRARY'S EFFORTS TO PROMOTE ACCESS, LITERACY, AND INCLUSION FOR ALL AGES. DOLLY PARTON'S IMAGINATION LIBRARY ENTERED ITS FIFTH YEAR OF SENDING FREE, AGE-APPROPRIATE BOOKS TO CHILDREN UNDER 5 IN CEDAR RAPIDS. AS OF JUNE 30, 2023, WE HAVE MAILED MORE THAN 330,000 BOOKS TO CHILDREN IN CEDAR RAPIDS, AND ENROLLMENT IS OVER 5,500 CHILDREN UNDER FIVE. OUR LIBRARY'S PARTNERSHIP WITH CARGILL ENTERED ITS 32ND YEAR AND CONTINUES TO FUND OUTREACH PROGRAMS FOR PRESCHOOLS SERVING AT-RISK CHILDREN. DURING THE 2022-23 SCHOOL YEAR, LIBRARY STAFF PROVIDED SIX CLASSROOM VISITS PER MONTH (45 VISITS THIS YEAR) REACHING A TOTAL OF 113 PRESCHOOLERS AGES TWO TO FIVE. THEY ALSO DELIVERED 1,017 BOOKS AND CUSTOMIZED ACTIVITY SHEETS FOR EACH BOOK.

THE CEDAR RAPIDS PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION CONTINUES TO SUPPORT OUR LIBRARY'S EFFORTS TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO ROBUST MATERIALS THROUGH THEIR PRINT AND ONLINE COLLECTIONS. TWO YEARS AGO, THE LIBRARY FOUNDATION BEGAN FUNDING AN ONLINE RESOURCE FOR DIGITAL MATERIALS CALLED HOOPLA. THIS PLATFORM INCREASED OUR DIGITAL COLLECTION OFFERINGS TO INCLUDE COMIC BOOKS, POPULAR MOVIES, SOUNDTRACKS, AND MORE. THIS FISCAL YEAR, THE LIBRARY ASKED THE FOUNDATION TO FUND PRESSREADER. THIS DIGITAL RESOURCE OFFERS UNLIMITED ACCESS TO OVER 7,000 OF THE WORLD'S TOP NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES. SUPPORTING ACCESS AND INCLUSION, THIS RESOURCE OFFERS PUBLICATIONS FROM COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD. TITLES OUR PATRONS CAN ACCESS INCLUDE THE GUARDIAN, LOS ANGELES TIMES, NEWSWEEK, DAILY MAIL, L'EQUIPE, DER TAGGESSPIEGEL, LIBERATION, CHINA DAILY, AND LARAZON, ALONG WITH THOUSANDS OF OTHERS. IN FY23, 282 UNIQUE USERS VIEWED MORE THAN 48,000 ITEMS. THE LANGUAGES ACCESSED INCLUDE ENGLISH, SPANISH, GERMAN, FRENCH, CHINESE, NORWEGIAN, ITALIAN, PORTUGUESE, POLISH, GUJARATI, TAGALOG, THAI AND TURKISH.

AN INNOVATIVE ADDITION TO THE LIBRARY'S PROGRAMS AND OUTREACH IN 2021 WAS A MOBILE TECHNOLOGY LAB. IN FY23, IT CONTINUED OFFERING TECH TO GO PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY. THIS YEAR, THE VAN MADE 63 PARK VISITS AND SERVED MORE THAN 2,200 PEOPLE. ADDITIONALLY, THEY HOSTED 106 OUTREACH VISITS SERVING MORE THAN 5,400 INDIVIDUALS. OUR LIBRARY'S INTERGENERATIONAL READING PROGRAM KNOWN AS THE SUMMER DARE RETURNED TO IN-PERSON PROGRAMS IN 2022, AND BROUGHT BACK LARGE SCALE PROGRAMMING EVENTS IN 2023. THERE WERE 2,108 READERS REGISTERED AND COLLECTIVELY, THEY READ MORE THAN 1.1 MILLION MINUTES IN JUNE AND JULY. THE LIBRARY STAFF CONDUCTED OVER 330 PROGRAMS WITH ATTENDANCE OF NEARLY 16,000 PEOPLE.