The Davenport Public Library is a public library located in Davenport, Iowa. With a history dating back to 1839, the Davenport Public Library's Main Library is currently housed in a 1960s building designed by Kennedy Center architect Edward Durell Stone. The Davenport Public Library system is made up of three libraries—the Main Library at 321 Main Street; the Fairmount Branch Library at 3000 N. Fairmount Street; and the Eastern Avenue Branch Library at 6000 Eastern Avenue.
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.
The Fayette County Courthouse in West Union, Iowa, United States was built in 1923. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 as a part of the County Courthouses in Iowa Thematic Resource. In 2015 it was included as a contributing property in the West Union Commercial Historic District. The current courthouse is the third facility to house court functions and county administration.
Alden Public Library is located in Alden, Iowa, United States. The community's first library association was formed in 1882, and they acquired 225 books. The annual membership fee to use the library was $1. It was discontinued within two years, and Alden's second library association was formed in 1885 by women in the community. In time they were able to build their own building in 1892 and convince the city government to take over its support. Shortly after the city took over they contacted the Carnegie Foundation, who funded the construction of a new building with a $9,000 grant. It was designed by the Des Moines architectural firm of Wetherell & Gage, and shows Beaux Arts styling. The new building was dedicated on August 26, 1914. It is believed to be one of the smallest Carnegie libraries ever built. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.
The Bedford Public Library in Bedford, Iowa was built in 1916. It was designed by Wetherell & Gage with Colonial Revival and Renaissance Revival features. The Carnegie Corporation of New York had accepted Bedford's application for a grant for $10,000 on April 8, 1907. The library is a brick, side gable structure with a projecting entrance on the long side of the building. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Emmetsburg Public Library was at a historic building located in Emmetsburg, Iowa, United States. A former Carnegie library, it sits on the square behind the Palo Alto County Courthouse. Andrew Carnegie had accepted Emmetsburg's application for a grant for $10,000 on February 20, 1911. The building is significant for its architecture. It was designed by Bloomington, Illinois architect A.T. Simmons and completed in 1912. The brick, side gable structure has a projecting entrance on the long side of the building. A string course encircles the building, engaging the lintels of the windows. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The Clarinda Carnegie Library, now known as the Clarinda Carnegie Art Museum, is a historic building located in Clarinda, Iowa, United States. The Clarinda Public Library was organized in 1905. The library board applied for a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York for $15,000 on February 21, 1907. W.W. Welch was the architect of the Carnegie library building that was dedicated on April 15, 1909. In time the building became too small. The Lied Foundation of Las Vegas donated $1 million towards a new facility, and a special election held in October 2002 allowed the city to borrow the same amount for a new building. Groundbreaking for the new building took place on May 28, 2003, and the new Lied Public Library was opened on October 11, 2004. The old library building has been transformed into an art museum, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.
The Maquoketa Public Library is located in Maquoketa, Iowa, United States. The Maquoketa Literary Society was organized as early as 1851, and the Boardman Library Institute was founded in 1885. The community applied to the Carnegie Corporation of New York for a grant to build a free public library, and on March 14, 1902 they were awarded $12,500. The total cost of acquiring the property and constructing the building was $15,000, which they raised by public contributions and entertainments. Independence, Iowa architect Harry Netcott designed the Neoclassical building. It is a single-story brick structure that rests on a raised limestone basement. Bedford stone was used for the trim. It features a symmetrical facade, with columns in the Ionic order that frame the portico. The interior features a columned rotunda. It was dedicated on January 19, 1904. The Boardman Library Institute merged with the Free Public Library after the new building was completed. The roofline was altered slightly when a new roof was added around the middle of the 20th century.
Chariton Public Library is located in Chariton, Iowa, United States. The Library and Reading Room Association was formed in Chariton in 1879, but it was short-lived. The county superintendent of schools started a teachers' library in the courthouse sometime afterward. By this time the community had a library of 800 volumes. There was an effort by study clubs in town in 1898 to raise money and establish a free public library. The Chariton Federation of Women's Clubs took the lead and opened a library with the books from the courthouse in two rooms above Gibbons Drug Store on the town square. Citizens approved a local tax to support the library the following year.
Onawa Public Library is located in Onawa, Iowa, United States. The public library began in 1902 when Judge Addison Oliver offered to buy the former Congregational Church for a library building, and funds to buy books and fixtures. His offer was accepted by the community, which also promised to maintain the facility as a free library. The library soon outgrew the old church and in November 1906 the board of directors approached the Carnegie Corporation of New York for a grant to build a library building. A $10,000 grant was approved on December 13, 1907. Judge Oliver donated another $10,000 for the building, and an additional $10,000 for an endowment fund. The Chicago architectural firm of Patton & Miller designed the Prairie School building, which was dedicated on October 22, 1909. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Woodbine Public Library, also known as Carnegie Public Library, is located in Woodbine, Iowa, United States. The library was organized in 1907, and it was initially housed in the jail section of city hall. If there was inmate in the jail the public had no access to the library. The city council appointed a board of trustees in 1908 and they applied to the Andrew Carnegie for a grant to build a library building. They received a grant on April 28, 1909 for $7,500. Eisentraut and Company, a Sioux City architectural firm designed the Prairie School building. F.X. White of Eldora, Iowa was the contractor. The building was completed in February 1909, and it was dedicated on March 9 of the same year. This was the first library built in Harrison County.
The Carnegie-Ellsworth Public Library is a historic building located in Iowa Falls, Iowa, United States. Local businessman Eugene Ellsworth donated the property for the library in 1902. The following year the Carnegie Foundation agreed to grant the community $10,000 to build the building. It was dedicated on August 9, 1904. The single-story, brick structure is dominated by an elaborate entrance pavilion. It features a semi-circular window above the cornice, which is supported by two Ionic pillars in antis between rusticated corner piers. The hip roof is capped by a cupola. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The Robert W. Barlow Memorial Library, Iowa Falls' public library, is now housed in a modern building near the Iowa River.
The Former Eldora Public Library is a historic building located in Eldora, Iowa, United States. On December 30, 1901 the Carnegie Foundation agreed to grant the community $10,000 to build a new library building. The Chicago architectural firm of Patton & Miller designed it in the Renaissance Revival style, and it was dedicated on May 11, 1903. The single-story, brick structure is somewhat rare in that its plan is an asymmetrical massing of intersecting gables. The entrance pavilion is located at the intersection of the two masses. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. In 2010 it was included as a contributing property in the Eldora Downtown Historic District in 2010. The library has subsequently moved to a new facility, and this building has been converted for commercial use.
The Waterloo Public Library is a historic building located in Waterloo, Iowa, United States. The public library was established there in 1896. It operated out of two rented rooms, one on the east side of the Cedar River and other on the west side. The Carnegie Foundation agreed to grant the community $21,000 to build this building and a similar amount for the east side branch on April 11, 1902. Waterloo architect J.G. Ralston designed both buildings in the Neoclassical style. They were both dedicated on February 23, 1906. The single-story brick structure has a projecting entrance pavilion capped with a triangular pediment that is supported by Ionic columns. Also noteworthy are the corner piers that feature bands of brick squares set into the stone. In 1977 voters in Waterloo approved a $3,650,000 bond referendum to renovate the city's 1938 post office and federal building to house the library. The post office vacated the building in 1979 when it relocated. The old library building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It now houses law offices.
The Mason City Public Library is located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. The building that was funded by Andrew Carnegie, and is now an office building, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. It was included as a contributing property in the Mason City Downtown Historic District in 2005.
The Sioux City Public Library-North Side Branch, also known as Bruce Meyer Productions, is a historic building located in Sioux City, Iowa, United States. The city received a total of $85,000 in 1911 from Andrew Carnegie to build the main library and the Leeds branch library. It was the only city in Iowa to receive a grant for both a main and branch library. A $100,000 bond issue passed in 1926 to replace the temporary facilities for the other branch libraries throughout the city. The North Side Branch was designed by local architect William L. Steele in the Tudor Revival style, and was completed in 1929. It was used as a branch facility until 1982 when the city closed all of the branch libraries in 1982, except the Morningside branch. A new branch library was created on the north side. The old north branch was sold to Bruce Meyer for his photography studio. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.
The Carnegie-Stout Public Library is located in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. The public library had its beginnings with the Young Men's Literary Association, established in 1859, and their book collection was the basis for the library's collection. The books were housed in a variety of buildings over the years. The community applied for a grant from Andrew Carnegie who on January 12, 1901 contributed $71,500 to build the library building. Local businessman Frank D. Stout donated the property, which was worth $20,000, in honor of his father Henry L. Stout. The two-story Bedford stone and brick building was designed by Chicago architects W. G. Williamson and John Spencer. It is considered one of the finest examples of the Classical tradition of Beaux-Arts architecture in Iowa. The main facade is dominated by a Roman Corinthian portico that was modeled after the Pantheon in Rome. Its fluted columns are matched with pilasters on the wall behind. The building was dedicated on October 17, 1902, and it opened three days later. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, and it was included as a contributing property in the Jackson Park Historic District in 1986. An addition was added to the east side of the building in 1981.
The Former Mount Pleasant Public Library is a historic building located in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, United States. The library here was established in 1875. The community applied to Andrew Carnegie for a grant to build a new building, which was accepted on January 13, 1903. They were initially granted $10,000 and then were given a further $2,500. The Chicago architectural firm Patton & Miller designed the Romanesque Revival structure. They adapted Henry Hobson Richardson's Thomas Crane Public Library (1882) for this building. Unlike the Crane Library, this building is primarily brick with rough stone used for a short tower on the main facade and for the trim. It also features an asymmetrical grouping of intersecting gables. The building opened on Wednesday, February 22, 1905. An addition was built onto the rear of the building in 1926. It was designed by the Des Moines architectural firm of Dougher, Rich & Woodburn. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The library has subsequently moved to another facility and this building now houses a branch of Southeastern Community College.
The Indianola Carnegie Library is a historic building located in Indianola, Iowa, United States. In November 1902 the local library board submitted a grant application to Andrew Carnegie so they could build a new building. The $10,000 grant was approved on January 13, 1903, and $2,000 was added at a later date. The Indianola City Council agreed to allocate $1,000 a year toward its upkeep. They also bought two lots at the corner of Buxton and Boston. One of the lots was owned by the family of Hannah Babb, the city librarian. Local architect Frederick W. Keith designed the brick Neoclassical structure, and it was built by G.W. James. The library eventually outgrew the building and it was replaced in 1984. The Des Moines Metro Opera has their offices in the old Carnegie building. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.
