Council Bluffs Public Library

Council Bluffs Public Library
Country United StatesUnited States
Type Public
Established 1866
Location 400 Willow Ave.
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Coordinates 41°15′32.3″N 95°50′58.8″W / 41.258972°N 95.849667°W / 41.258972; -95.849667
Collection
Size 186,970
Access and use
Circulation 550,000 (2015)
Other information
Director Kathy Rieger
Website www.councilbluffslibrary.org

References: [1]

Council Bluffs Free Public Library

The former Council Bluffs Public Library building, now the Union Pacific Railroad Museum.
Location 200 Pearl St.
Burlington, Iowa
Coordinates 41°15′29.4″N 95°51′05.3″W / 41.258167°N 95.851472°W / 41.258167; -95.851472Coordinates: 41°15′29.4″N 95°51′05.3″W / 41.258167°N 95.851472°W / 41.258167; -95.851472
Area less than one acre
Built 1905
Architect Patton and Miller
Architectural style Beaux-Arts
NRHP Reference # 99000048[2]
Added to NRHP January 27, 1999

The Council Bluffs Public Library serves the residents of Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States along with unincorporated and rural areas of Pottawattamie County. Several cities also contract with the library to provide services. It dates back to 1866. The library is currently located on Willow Avenue. The previous library building on Pearl Street was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

History

The public library in Council Bluffs had its beginnings in 1866, when a subscription library was established for males over the age of 12.[1] The Council Bluffs Library Association was formed in 1878. The Free Public Library was created in 1882, and it operated out of rented space. W. S. Baird, a library trustee, contacted the Carnegie Foundation who agreed to fund a new building at $50,000 if the city agreed to provide a site and institute an annual tax of $5,000 to operate the facility.[3] The foundation was persuaded to raise its grant to $70,000 if the yearly tax was raised to $7,000. The grant was awarded on January 6, 1903, and the new building was dedicated on September 12, 1905.[4] It was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Patton & Miller in the Beaux-Arts-style. It was the largest Carnegie library built in the state.[3]

The library building became inadequate. The present library was completed in 1998 for $13.5 million dollars. It contains 67,500 square feet (6,270 m2) of space.[1] The Carnegie-funded building has been converted into the Union Pacific Railroad Museum, which opened in 2013. The city retains ownership of the old building, the Union Pacific Railroad pays for the operating costs, and the library maintains the collection.[5]

List of Contract Cities

References

  1. 1 2 3 "About Us". Council Bluffs Public Library. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  2. ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  3. 1 2 Donald D. Gross. "Council Bluffs Free Public Library" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-11-15. with photos
  4. ↑ "Carnegie Libraries of Iowa Project-Council Bluffs Public Library". University of Iowa. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  5. ↑ "Museum History". Union Pacific Railroad Museum. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
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