The Cedar Falls Public Library Building and Community Center will be CLOSED until at least May 15, 2020.
>Click here to head to our Coronavirus Page
>Click here to head to our Remote Services Page
>Click here to head to the City of Cedar Falls COVID-19 Info Page
Cedar Falls City Hall will be closed to the public from March 17 until at least May 15. The Public Library, Hearst Center for the Arts, Community Center, Recreation & Fitness Center, and Visitors Center & Tourism Office will all be closed to the public. The Cedar Falls Public Safety and Public Works buildings will have limited public access. >More Information
>Click for the PDF: City Buildings Extend Closure Until At Least May 15: Released April 28, 2020
The Cedar Falls Public Library Building and Community Center will be CLOSED until at least April 30, 2020.
>Click here to head to our Coronavirus Page
>Click here to head to our Remote Services Page
>Click here for a PDF of this Notice
From the City of Cedar Falls:
For Immediate Release:
April 7, 2020
Cedar Falls – As the state of Iowa continues to work to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the City of Cedar Falls will be extending the closure of City facilities to the public until at least April 30, 2020.
The facilities affected by this will be:
- Cedar Falls City Hall
- Cedar Falls Public Library
- Community Center
- The Hearst Center for the Arts
- Cedar Falls Recreation and Fitness Center
- Cedar Falls Visitors and Tourism Center
The Cedar Falls Public Works and Cedar Falls Public Safety buildings will continue to have limited public access during this time.
If an individual has business with the city or questions, they can call or contact the city electronically. Visit www.cedarfalls.com for department contact information or call City Hall at (319) 273-8600 during business hours (Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM).
The City encourages both residents and businesses to operate within the CDC guidelines of staying home when possible, practicing strong personal hygiene and social distancing, as well as finding ways to work remotely to minimize the spread of COVID-19.
City staff will continue to work with the Iowa Department of Health and Black Hawk County Health Department to keep the community safe and informed. Stay updated by following the City of Cedar Falls on Facebook and Twitter (@citycf) and online at www.cedarfalls.com/prepare. To learn more about the virus, please visit www.cdc.gov/covid19.
>Click Here for a PDF of this Notice
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Cedar Falls Public Library will be CLOSED until at least April 10, 2020
Visit our >Coronavirus page for more information.
From the City of Cedar Falls, 03/16/2020:
The City of Cedar Falls will be closing facilities to the public effective March 17, 2020, until at least April 10, 2020, in an effort to proactively lessen the exposure opportunities of COVID-19 to the community.
The facilities affected by this will be:
- Cedar Falls City Hall
- Cedar Falls Public Library
- Community Center
- Hearst Center for the Arts
- Cedar Falls Recreation and Fitness Center
- Cedar Falls Tourism & Visitors Bureau
During this time, Cedar Falls Public Works and Public Safety will have limited public access as well.
City staff will still be working at the facilities during this time but will focus their efforts on maintenance, administrative work, and other non-public-facing activities. If an individual has business with the city or questions, they can call or contact the city electronically. Visit >www.cedarfalls.com for department contact information or call City Hall at (319) 273-8600.
The City encourages both residents and businesses to operate within the CDC guidelines of limiting travel, practicing strong personal hygiene and social distancing, as well as finding ways to work remotely to minimize the spread of COVID-19.
City staff will continue to work with the Iowa Department of Health and Black Hawk County Health Department to keep the community informed. Stay updated by following the >City of Cedar Falls on Facebook and Twitter (@citycf). To learn more about the coronavirus, please visit >www.cdc.gov/covid19. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
New updates current as of 4:20pm Friday, March 13, 2020
All Youth Programs Are Cancelled March 16 - 20, 2020
Cedar Falls Public Library and Community Center to Close to the Public March 21 - April 3, 2020
Please see our >Coronavirus Page for more information about COVID-19.
From Mayor Robert Green, City of Cedar Falls:
City Facility Status for COVID-19
Neighbors,
During next week’s Spring Break, I do not intend to restrict access to city facilities. I’ve made this decision after consulting with the Black Hawk County Public Health Director and from evaluating the city’s exposure risk (which is currently low). City staff and I will be monitoring the national and regional situation closely; if coronavirus cases are confirmed in Black Hawk County, I will reevaluate this decision. Many working parents and guardians rely on the city’s Spring Break to keep their children active during work hours. Given the current low risk of exposure, I do not believe it is necessary to end these activities.
That said, the weeks following Spring Break may increase exposure opportunities, after residents have returned from their Spring Break travels at the end of next week. For this reason, at the end of business on Friday, March 20th, the Cedar Falls Public Library, the Hearst Center for the Arts, Community Center, and Recreation and Fitness Center will be closed to the public until the morning of Saturday, April 4th unless an extended closure is warranted. During this time, staff will still be working in these facilities, but will focus their efforts on maintenance, administrative work, and other non-public-facing activities. My closure decision and timing is based on the absence of community transmission of the COVID-19 virus at this time. For most of us, catching the coronavirus will just be an unpleasant annoyance; my primary goal is to limit exposure to a level and rate that can be managed by the local health care system and its dedicated professionals.
Apart from the above listed facilities, all other city facilities and functions will remain open and operational. If you have business with the city, I encourage you to use online forms, e-mail, phone calls, and similar channels to limit in-person contact. Strong personal hygiene (vigorous hand washing, especially), social distancing, and limiting travel are also key to minimizing the spread of COVID-19.
Again, city staff and I are closely monitoring the national and regional situation, and the city will take additional measures as warranted. Additional information and resources will be posted to the city website (www.cedarfalls.com) as needed, as well as traditional and social media outlets.
Very respectfully,
Mayor Robert M. Green
>Link to PDF version of Mayor Green's Notice
The Cedar Falls Public Library is committed to providing access to resources for lifelong learning. To that end, library staff are monitoring information about COVID-19 from the Center for Disease Control, the Iowa Department of Public Health, Black Hawk County Public Health, and other authoritative health organizations to consider how we can continue to provide access to resources while also protecting the health of our patrons and staff.
Currently, library staff are taking measures to help prevent the spread of illness by following the guidelines of health officials by following handwashing guidelines and disinfecting frequently-touched surfaces such as door handles, railings, keyboards, counters, etc. Toys that cannot be disinfected as frequently as conditions warrant, such as puppets, Lego, and trains, will be stored temporarily. At this time, our scheduled programs will be held as planned, but we will reassess as conditions change.
We strongly encourage individuals who are ill not to attend programs. Library staff are already exploring ways we can deliver programming remotely if conditions necessitate cancelling face-to-face programs in the future.
We also encourage patrons who are ill and those who are concerned about their risk of contracting COVID-19 to take advantage of our electronic resources: Overdrive, Hoopla, Freegal, and our databases provide 24-hour access to books, videos, music, and more from home using your library card number. Concerned patrons may also reduce their exposure to potential risk by placing holds on materials from home using their library cards, reducing their time in the building to retrieving their holds on the holds shelf and going through the self-checkout station.
As another preventive measure to assist concerned patrons, we have also extended the expiration date to June 30th on library cards that have recently expired or are due to expire soon.
Our reference staff have compiled a reference guide of links to reputable health information about COVID-19 that can be accessed here: >https://cedarfallslibrary.org/learn/coronavirus/.
We will continue to monitor the situation and will keep our community informed about any safety measures that will impact our programs and services.
About Strategic Planning
The Cedar Falls Public Library strives to anticipate and respond to the needs of our community. To that end, periodically we go through a strategic planning process to determine the direction of our collections, services, programs, and operations for the next 3-5 years. If our plan is to be relevant to the community, we need the community's input. We want to know both what you'd like to see at the library and what you think we're already doing well. Please access our survey below to provide us with your valuable input.
The Cedar Falls and Waterloo Public Libraries are turning the page on the long-held practice of charging fines for overdue library materials. On January 1, 2020, both libraries will eliminate overdue fines on most library materials and stop collecting previously accrued overdue fines.. “We understand that life happens,” states Cedar Falls Director Kelly Stern, “and that it can be difficult sometimes to return items on time to the library. We also recognize that assessing monetary fines is not the most effective way to manage borrowing periods, nor is it fair to patrons with limited incomes.”
The Cedar Falls and Waterloo Public Libraries are committed to providing equal access to every member of our community and eliminating fines offers our cardholders a fresh start to rediscover all that their library has to offer. By eliminating most fines, the library is removing barriers and making access easy, equitable and enjoyable for everyone. Existing fines for overdue items will be forgiven ensure that everyone can start a new chapter at their now fine-free libraries. Fees for lost or damaged items will remain on the users account.
So how does it work?
Under the new policy, patrons at both libraries are still encouraged to return their materials on time, with each library’s borrowing policy defining what constitutes an item as overdue. As incentive, patrons with overdue items will be blocked from checking out further items until the overdue material is renewed or returned. “These fine free policies will reduce barriers to access, while also including measures to protect library materials,” says Waterloo Director Nick Rossman. “Going fine free will have such an impact on our youngest borrowers as we currently have 30% of our patrons under the age of 18 unable to use the library because of fines. It’s so important that our youngest card holders have access and take full advantage of their library.”
Both directors recognize and endorse the trend in American libraries to go fine free. “This move is a win for everyone,” says Stern. “Current fine-free libraries report increased visits and circulation as well as an increase in the return of long-overdue material. And, it’s the right thing to do!”
Contact:
Kelly Stern - director@cedarfallslibrary.org (319) 268-5541
Nick Rossman - nrossman@waterloopubliclibrary.org (319) 291-4496
The American Library Association promotes removing barriers to access to information and library services, especially overdue fines. The Cedar Falls Public Library staff, Trustees, and Friends of the Library endorse this position, so beginning January 1, 2020, the library will be fine-free for most library materials.
Important details for CFPL library cardholders:
Worried about others keeping items for too long? Libraries that have already gone fine free report that patrons return more items and return them sooner than they did when late fees were assessed. We trust that our library patrons understand that others may be waiting for materials and that they will be considerate of others by returning or renewing materials in a timely manner.
We welcome back patrons who have not returned to the library because of their overdue fines. New Year, fresh start!
Our popular Dinner Theater event is back! On Friday, March 15, The U.N.I. Student Theatre Association will perform "A Prom To Die For!" - a scintillating school dance murder mystery. Audience members enter a grand-prize drawing for a Main Street shopping spree. In the Cedar Falls Community Center. The entire event is FREE to the public! No registration required.
5:30 pm: Dinner
6:30 pm: Performance
One half-hour Dessert Intermission
The Cedar Falls Community Center is located adjacent to the library at 528 Main St. in Cedar Falls.
Tomorrow, February 15, Kelly Stern officially starts her new role as Director at Cedar Falls Public Library! Kelly has worked the past nine years as our Youth Services Librarian and she is excited and ready to move into her new position. Kelly has the experience, education, and qualifications, not to mention a community-centered approach to programs and services, that make her the best choice to lead Cedar Falls Public Library. A reception for our new director will take place in April.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier has published an article about Kelly, which you can read by following this link.
Friday, January 25, 4:00-5:30 pm, CFPL Meeting Room
No job is too big, no pup is too small to have fun at the library! Join us for a paws-itively good time as we celebrate our favorite neighborhood rescue dogs. We will play games and make Paw Patrol-inspired crafts. Families with children up to age 6 are invited to come and save the day with us! Registration is not required. In the meeting room.
