The Iowa City Public Library’s Art Advisory Committee is looking for new members.
The Committee is made up of six members and terms run for three years. Candidates must reside in Iowa City or rural Johnson County, and are appointed to the Committee by the Library Board. Library employees are not eligible for appointment. Ideal candidates are individuals involved and interested in the arts community in some way — artists, framers, instructors, students, gallery employees, collectors and serious enthusiasts.
One of the primary responsibilities of the Art Advisory Committee is the judging of artworks submitted to the annual Art Purchase Prize contest, with the winning works being purchased by the Library and added to the Art To Go collection. The framed posters and original works are available for check out. Other tasks include reviewing and deciding upon any gifted works for Art To Go, as well as any proposals for art to be added to the Library’s permanent collection.
ICPL’s children’s, young adult materials now fine-free
The Iowa City Public Library is pleased to announce children’s and young adult materials are now fine-free. This means patrons will not be charged overdue fines for materials checked out from the children’s and young adult collections.
Multiple libraries across the country have stopped the practice of charging overdue fines in recent years, including several in Iowa. A study from the Colorado Library Association found that fines do not motivate patron to return materials on time. Instead, research found that fines are a barrier for Library use.
“Creating financial barriers to public library use is counterproductive and goes against the Library’s mission to encourage more use, not less,” Director Elsworth Carman said. “We want to remove barriers that stop people from using the Library, and we’re pleased to have the support of the City of Iowa City councilmembers and our Library Board of Trustees to do so.”
Under the new policy, it does not matter if children’s and young adult materials are checked out on a minor’s card or an adult’s card; no overdue fees will be charged on materials returned late from the these collections. However, this does not mean materials don’t have to be returned to the Library. A full replacement fee will be charged to the borrower’s account if materials are not returned. For items with a 7-day loan period, there will be a bill at 14 days overdue. For 21-day items, there will be a bill at 21 days overdue.
“Life happens. We don’t want an overdue book to be the reason to not use the Library,” Community and Access Services Coordinator Kara Logsden said. “If you’ve stopped using the Library because of fines, we hope you will come back.”
June is Audiobook Appreciation Month
Did you know June is National Audiobook Appreciation Month?
According to the Audio Publisher’s Association 2018 survey, audiobook listeners read or listened to an average of 15 books in the last year, and 57% of listeners agreed or strongly agreed that “audiobooks help you finish more books.” More than half of audiobook listeners are under the age of 45. The top three activities while listening to audiobooks are: driving (65%), relaxing before going to sleep (52%), and doing housework/chores (45%). Click to edit this placeholder text.
Access the Library's audiobook collection here and start listening today!
