Cedar Rapids downtown library opens lobby for returns and hold pickup

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Cedar Rapids Downtown Library has opened part of the lobby for returns and hold pickup after a small fire in July caused the library to close.

The library entrance that faces Fifth Avenue — the side nearest the parking lot — is open during regular hours for people to pick up holds, return materials, and browse a very small collection of materials, according to the Amber McNamara, the library’s community relations manager.

The book drop outside the library is also open.

The rest of the building remains closed, and cleaning and restoration continue daily, McNamara said. Reopening is planned by September.

The library was closed after a fire broke out in a light fixture on July 27. The fire was quickly put out by sprinklers and fire extinguishers, but it left smoke soot throughout the library.

In the meantime, the Ladd Library on the west side of Cedar Rapids remains open, and a cooling and computer center was opened at Waypoint in the Madge Phillips Center Shelter, 520 Fourth Ave. SE, in Cedar Rapids.

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