Join the Iowa City Public Library’s 2025 Summer Reading Program, running from May 27 to August 9, with the theme “Color Our World This Summer.” The program is free, fun, and open to all ages—from infants to adults.
Kickoff Events
Browsing Party for Adults and Teens: Friday, May 30 | 5–7 p.m. at the LibraryEnjoy exclusive evening browsing, refreshments, and reading recommendations.
ABC Day: Arts, Books, Children: Saturday, June 7 | 11 a.m.–3 p.m.Join us on the Ped Mall during the Iowa Arts Festival for crafts, stories, music, and more!
Participants can sign up in person at the Library or Bookmobile, online through Beanstack, or by submitting a printable reading log from icpl.org/summer.
As readers reach their goals, they can earn exciting prizes:
A free prize book for all who complete the program, courtesy of the Iowa City Public Library Friends Foundation
Children ages 2–12 will receive a free admission to Blank Park Zoo, The Iowa Children’s Museum, and a free kids meal to the Iowa City location of Raising Cane’s (while supplies last)
Prizes can be picked up at the Downtown Library or on the Bookmobile beginning Monday, June 9
ICPL welcomes readers of all abilities and backgrounds. We’re happy to customize reading programs and activities to meet individual needs.
For more information, visit icpl.org/summer or call 319-356-5200.
Let’s color our world together—one book, one reader, one story at a time.
Friday, May 30 | 5–7 p.m.
ICPL first and second floors
We’re bringing browsing back!
Start your summer reading during our second annual Browsing Party. Explore fiction and nonfiction books while enjoying refreshments, live music, and reading recommendations from our librarians.
Interactive elements include activities in the teen area, new button designs for those who check out a book, and creative ways to share your favorite reads.
Live music by ICPL’s house band, The 781s, will play from approximately 5:20 to 6:20 p.m.
There will be no shushing during this noisier-than-usual time at the Library. If getting excited about books sounds like your kind of party, we’d love to see you there.
Sunday, June 1 | 12:30–3:30 p.m. Digital Media Lab
For this four-part series of workshops, we will explore tabletop game design! These are no-experience-required workshops that introduce attendees to making games with cards, dice, tokens, boards, or in the mind with plenty of rules!
First in this series is a brainstorming and information session where we will look at the history of some popular board games and the cultural history of a few card games.
We’ll look at comparing the essential parts of our favorite tabletop games and game-making questions like: “Can Monopoly be played without a board?” “Can Yahtzee be played without dice?” or “Does Poker really need cards?”
We’ll hold a brainstorming session thinking about what Player, Tokens, Dice, Ruleset, and Game Board—and other game-making terms—mean when we play games.
Finally, we’ll finish by staging out a simple game design flow process of brainstorming, creating, playtesting, prototyping, and shipping. Participants will leave with a vocabulary for game-making and a graphic organizer for game design flow.
We recommend that participants remember their email logins or bring flash drives to store files over the course of the series.
The Bookmobile will be temporarily closed for seasonal maintenance from Monday, June 2, through Friday, June 6. The bookmobile summer schedule runs from Monday, June 9, through Friday, August 15.
If you have holds scheduled for pickup on the Bookmobile during this break, those items will be available at the Downtown Library through June 6. Ask at the Help Desk for assistance.
All holds requested for Bookmobile pickup will have extended pickup dates through Friday, June 13, to give visitors a chance to retrieve their items at any stop during the first week of summer service.
If you're unsure when or where to find your held items, call us at 319-356-5200 or chat with us at icpl.org.
Haven’t seen the 2025 Summer Bookmobile schedule yet? Visit icpl.org/bookmobileto find a stop that works best for you.
We look forward to seeing you on the road!
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Your voice and involvement can make a difference in promoting intellectual freedom, the freedom to read, access, literacy, learning, and creativity in our community.
Sign up today and help us ensure the Library remains a vibrant resource for everyone.
