Ladd Library prepares to open

By Sarah Binder

CEDAR RAPIDS—Consider it a sneak peek at what’s ahead.

The Cedar Rapids Public Library’s new Ladd Library, a 21,000 square-foot branch at 3750 Williams Boulevard SW, will celebrate a grand opening Feb. 23. More than 60,000 items were moved in just one week to prepare for the opening.

“This is a big preview of downtown,” said Bob Pasicznyuk, the library’s director. The $21 million, 94,000 square-foot main library building is scheduled to open late summer.

Volunteers made boutonnieres from recycled pages for a fundraising event.
Volunteers made boutonnieres from recycled pages for a fundraising event.
Stools for the children's computers feature a whimsical shape.
Stools for the children’s computers feature a whimsical shape.
Although the interior is ready to open, the facade won't be completed until mid-March.
Although the interior is ready to open, the facade won’t be completed until mid-March.
The Ladd Library features the same interior finishes, including lighting, carpet, and seating, as the main Downtown Librarry will.
The Ladd Library features the same interior finishes, including lighting, carpet, and seating, as the main Downtown Librarry will.

The Ladd library includes the same interior finishes as the downtown library will, and some new technology in a testing stage that will be implemented fully downtown. For example, library patrons will be able to use iPads to browse the collection. Amber Mussman, the library’s public information officer, said they believe Cedar Rapids is the first library in the country to use iPads in this way.

The library also includes 20 new desktop computers, three children’s computers, small study rooms, a community room that can hold more than 50 people, and a variety of new furniture, from study tables to relaxed soft seating.

For the staff, it’s the little things that make it feel like home. For example, Ms. Mussman pointed out that the library’s shelves have not been labeled with end panels since the flood.

“You can operate without them, but it’s just not the same,” she said. “It’s really symbolic for us. It’s a sign that we’re not in a temporary location anymore.”

A proper storefront and big windows are also improvements from the library’s former temporary home inside Westdale Mall. Part of the $2.1 million renovation budget went to opening up the walls of the former Target to let in the light.

The renovation was funded in large part by the new branch’s namesake, Marilyn Ladd. Ms. Ladd was a lifelong Cedar Rapids resident who left her estate to the library, the largest gift from a single individual the library had ever received.

Mr. Pasicznyuk said the larger funding challenge will be explaining to citizens why it is important to fund the ongoing operating expenses. The west side branch costs about $600,000 per year to operate.

In spite of changing reading trends nationally, the west branch of the library has maintained a very high rate of checkouts per square foot, meaning it is very efficient. In the last fiscal year, the west side branch circulated more than 858,000 items, making it one of the busiest libraries in the state.