Consultants: No need for Iowa City library branch

IOWA CITY – The Iowa City Public Library's single downtown building serves the community well and a branch library is not needed, a report released Thursday concluded.

Two firms, the Durrant Group Inc. and Himmel & Wilson, Library Consultants, were brought in to study two questions: whether a branch should open and whether improvements were needed at the existing library.

The Iowa City Public Library opened at its current location, 123 Linn St., in 2004 and has had more than 4.6 million visitors since then, according to library Director Susan Craig.

The consultants reviewed documents and data and interviewed library staff and other city officials and representatives from the community as part of their study.

Staff and community members thought the single library building served the residents well, but some felt the southeast side of town was underserved. By mapping where library patrons lived, it was found that people from throughout the community used the library and that use of the library's public-access computers by southeast side residents was high.

Also, the majority of library staff worried a branch location would stretch library resources and manpower thin and favored keeping a single building and maintaining aggressive outreach activities.

The report said that while there may eventually be a need for a branch, one likely won't be necessary for more than a decade.

There could be a use in the meantime for a limited-purpose facility that has computers and allows for materials to be dropped off and picked up, but that needs to be explored further, according to the report.

The report recommended improvements to the existing facility to improve its efficiency and enable it to meet increased demands. Those include: relocating the teen area to an enclosed section on the second floor, possibly with a gaming area; adding stand-up computer towers on the first floor for people wanting to briefly use a computer; and moving around various library features.