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SECTION L. PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM
INTRODUCTION
Public libraries play a vital role in educating the
general public, whether it is through books, newspaper, magazines, or
computer; a library is a facility that needs to be supported and supplied
with up-to-date information, material, and equipment. This section will examine the current
services and conditions of the public libraries within Lee County.
Keokuk Public Library
Keokuk Public Library is located at 210 North Fifth Street. The present building was completed in 1962
and a renovation was done to the main portion in February 2001.
The library staff supplies direction and reference
information to Patrons. Keokuk Public
Library has materials that include books, magazines, newspapers, and
genealogical/local history collection, videocassettes, CD's, audio books and
microfilm. Access to the Internet and
to on-line databases is also available at the library to patrons. The library has a community meeting room
available and is part of the Iowa Communications Network which provides distance-learning opportunities. They also proctor tests for community
members participating in continuing education. Equipment found at the library are computers, network printer,
microfilm reader/printers, photocopier and fax machine.
The library offers programs for
children. Pre-school story hours are
held weekly throughout the year. Kids Craft programs scheduled weekly
during the summer. They have a
children's summer reading program that promotes reading and aids in the
retention of reading skills. There
are adult programs too at the Keokuk Public Library, which involves book
discussion groups, speakers and demonstrations of skills or crafts. Displays and exhibits are scheduled in the
library regularly throughout the year.
The Keokuk Public Library as 9
full-time staff and 4 part time employees.
The library is open Monday-Thursday, 9:00 AM to 8:00 pm and on Fridays
and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The library has 8,720 registered library users and a total of 75,740
items in the library collection. There
is also an inter-library loan service provided.
Ft. Madison
Ft. Madison has two
libraries. The oldest library is the
Cattermole Library that is located at 614 7th Street. The newer library is Rashid Library and is
located at 3421 Avenue L.
The Cattermole Library was
built in 1894 and has been in constant use since that time. The building is on the National register
of Historic Places.
Rashid Library was built in
1984 to service the west end of Ft. Madison.
This building is energy efficient and wheelchair accessible with off
street parking. The Local History and
Genealogy materials are located in this library.
Both libraries have Internet
access; slide projectors; screens; and overhead projectors are available for
rent and are part of the Iowa Communications Network. The Libraries serve patrons within a
twenty-mile radius. The libraries can
also access materials that are available through the State of Iowa Libraries
program and a nation wide network.
There is an autonomous
nine-member board, including a voting member from the county that governs the
libraries. The city does provide
funding for the libraries. There is
also a voluntary group, Friends of the Library, which annually holds a book
sale to raise money for the libraries.
The profit of the sale has been used to fund computers, printers, and
microfilm equipment.
West Point
West Point Library is located
in an 1858 brick building on the corner of 4th and Ave. D in West
Point. The library has been housed
there for 27 years.
The library is open Monday
through Thursday from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Friday from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00
p.m., and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The library staff includes a library director, who works 32
hours a week, and two assistants, one works 16 hours and the other one works
10 hours a week. West Point Public
Library currently contains 10,000 items and another 2,000 items on a rotation
basis for its 894 patrons.
The library offers books,
magazines, videos, audiotapes, CDs, cameras and audiocassettes for check out
to any Iowa patrons. The library also
provides the following services to the public: free Internet access, computers for patron use, reference
service, Genealogical information, federal and state income tax information,
Interlibrary loan service, copier service and fax service. The library also offers test proctoring
for individuals taking correspondence courses, and an automated library
system with their library holdings online for easy viewing.
West Point’s Public Library
offers a summer program for preschool to upper elementary age children for 10
weeks during the summer months. The
library also offers weekly children’s program for 10 weeks each fall and
spring for preschool age children.
The library’s foundation is
currently involved in a building project.
A 6,195 square foot building is proposed to house the West Point
Public Library. The estimated cost
for this project is $700,000. The
foundation, staff and interested citizens are currently raising funds for
this new facility; which will extend and enhance library services to the
citizens of the surrounding towns and rural community.
Donnellson
The Donnellson Public Library
has been in operation since 1938. It
has been housed in several locations throughout Donnellson, but now has a
permanent location at 500 Park Street.
The Public Library is open 6
days a week (total of 45 hours per week).
It is also open for two additional hours per week in the summer for
kids’ programming. The library
currently has 5 part-time staff members; which include 1 Library Director, 2
Assistant Directors, 1 on-call substitute librarian, and 1 custodian.
The library is a popular
materials library; which currently has 15,600-catalogued holdings. The library offers the public books,
magazines, music CD’s, and videotapes for checkout. The library has a local and family history room, which houses
the best collection of genealogical materials for its size in the
southeastern region. The library
also offers several services such as a summer reading program for children, a
story hour for preschoolers, an adult book discussion group, and lessons in
genealogy from the library’s volunteers.
The facility has 4 computers
with Internet access, 2 card catalog computers, a photocopy machine, and 2
microfilms readers for patron use.
From the 1,860 registered
patrons, 49 percent reside outside of Donnellson. The City of Donnellson provides approximately $17.50 per patron
each year, for its residents. Lee
County provides only $4.10 per year for the patrons who live in the rural
areas surrounding Donnellson.
Montrose
The Montrose Memorial Library
was built in 1978. The facility has
10,024 volume and 1,381 users. The
library offers videos, audiotapes, a computer, story hour and magazines.
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