The State Library of Iowa is a

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

service in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

state of

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

. Founded in around 1840, it is based in

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines ...

and is run by the

Iowa Department of Education The Iowa Department of Education sets the standards for all public institutions of education in Iowa and accredits private as well as public schools. It is headquartered in Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in ...

. The State Library supports local libraries in the state and it itself acts as a resource for the state government and its citizens. It is funded from local taxation.

History

The first legislative assembly of the

Territory of Iowa The Territory of Iowa was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1838, until December 28, 1846, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Iowa. The remain ...

convened at Burlington on November 12, 1838. In his first message to this assembly on November 12, 1838, Governor Robert Lucas referred to a library, reporting that prior to leaving

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, and with the assistance of several library friends, he had made a catalogue of standard works he deemed as most important as the foundation of a library, and had commissioned an agent in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

to purchase the books. This having been done and the books expected in a short time, he recommended to the assembly the appointment of a

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...

, defining his duties, who should be custodian of the library. The second legislative assembly of 1840 passed an Act for the appointment of a librarian and defined his duties. The library was open every day during the sessions of the legislature and

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

and for four hours on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons the remainder of the year. The library was moved to the new Capitol in

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

in 1857. In January 1894, the library was moved to its new quarters in the west wing of the new capitol building in

. The new library was an addition of true architectural beauty to the new capitol. Its four galleries were reached by winding stairs at either end of the room. It was furnished in ash and chestnut, with

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

wainscoting and pilasters, and had an encaustic tile floor. This original state library is still occupied by the state

law library A law library is a special library used by law students, lawyers, judges and their law clerks, historians and other scholars of legal history in order to research the law. Law libraries are also used by people who draft or advocate for new la ...

and its architectural beauty is admired by thousands of tourists each year. While the legal materials remained in the capitol, in 1857 the rest of the state library’s collections were moved to the west wing of the new State Historical, Memorial and Art Building. The State Library moved to the east wing of the building in 1912 where it remains today. A total

renovation Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, ...

of the building meant to bring back the original colors and design features began in 1999 and ended in 2001. The original mission of the State Library was to provide services to

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...

. Over the years, this mission grew to include the planning and development of library services on a statewide basis. Today, the State Library, a division of the

, offers a multitude of services and programs to the libraries and citizens of Iowa.

Support for local libraries

Public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants. There are five fundamen ...

standards and accreditation program * Public library annual survey and statistics * Ideas for library services and programs for adults * Resources for implementing a successful library building project * Resources for providing the best possible library services to children * Continuing education opportunities in all areas of library service * Active discounts and pricing specials on products * Iowa Certification Program for Public Librarians * Access to FirstSearch and EBSCOhost * Library directories * Information for libraries applying for the federal

e-rate E-Rate is the commonly used name for the Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund, which is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) under the direction of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). ...

program * Program coordinator for the Enrich Iowa Program which includes Direct State Aid (for public libraries), Open Access and Interlibrary Loan Reimbursement * Information for libraries about grants and other funding sources * Resources on helping people find, evaluate and use information * A list of job openings in Iowa libraries * Resources for libraries helping job seekers * Resources to help library trustees be effective * Resources for and about librarians including the value of librarians,

pay equity Equal pay for equal work is the concept of labour rights that individuals in the same workplace be given equal pay. It is most commonly used in the context of sexual discrimination, in relation to the gender pay gap. Equal pay relates to the full ...

, entering the library profession * Resources on planning for public libraries * Sample public library policies * Training on how to develop a Web site * help with medical or legal questions * Public library standards and accreditation program * Information on the value of school libraries to students * Public library statistics used to evaluate and enhance library service at the local, state, and national levels * Resources for providing the best possible library services to teens * Public relations resources to help libraries tell their stories

Support for Iowa government and Iowans

* A.J. Small Special Collections - Iowa's seminal legal documents * Iowa Collections - Books and journals with an Iowa connection * Iowa Publications Online – Digital state documents * Government and Management Library * Research library for Iowa state government employees who are seeking information for job related activities. All areas of government operation and related topics are covered including: ** budgeting ** organizational management ** customer service and quality improvement ** social policy ** economic issues ** statistics ** legislative "hot topics" ** state and federal income tax forms The law library provides Iowa

lawmaker A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...

s, government employees, the Iowa legal community and the general public with a highly specialized legal collection of

treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions."Treat ...

s and both state and federal statutory, regulatory and case law. The collection also contains the abstracts and arguments of the

Iowa Supreme Court The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 E ...

and

Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

, legal periodicals, and materials produced by the

Iowa Legislature The Iowa General Assembly is the legislative branch of the state government of Iowa. Like the federal United States Congress, the General Assembly is a bicameral body, composed of the upper house Iowa Senate and the lower Iowa House of Repres ...

. The State Data Center of Iowa is the source for population, housing, business and government statistics about Iowa, including data from the

US Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, Iowa state agencies, and other state and federal sources. * Databases - Online articles, newspapers, maps, etc. (EBSCOhost and First Search) * Iowa Inventor's Database 1843-2009 * Digital Sanborn

fire insurance Property insurance provides protection against most risks to property, such as fire, theft and some weather damage. This includes specialized forms of insurance such as fire insurance, flood insurance, earthquake insurance, home insurance, or bo ...

maps are a very useful tool for local historians, demographers, city planners, genealogists, and anyone studying the history of an urban area. The maps were developed by the Sanborn Company in the latter part of the 19th century for the purpose of showing

fire hazard Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce the destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the development and eff ...

s for each building in a town. Maps cover over 360 Iowa towns from the 1870s to the 1920s. * Iowa Heritage Digital Collections enables users to explore Iowa history and culture by viewing pictures from the collections of Iowa libraries and museums. * Iowa Locator helps users to find books in Iowa's libraries.

Publications

* Footnotes - Quarterly State Library newsletter * State Library Update - Newsletter for the State Library card holders

External links

State Library of Iowa
{{coord, 41.5928, -93.6027, type:landmark, display=title 1840 establishments in Iowa Territory Buildings and structures in Des Moines, Iowa Education in Des Moines, Iowa Libraries in Iowa

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

Tourist attractions in Des Moines, Iowa Public libraries in Iowa Libraries established in 1840 Government agencies established in 1840 State agencies of Iowa