The University of Iowa Libraries

Feb 18 2021

UI Libraries launches a new podcast series

Posted on February 18, 2021February 18, 2021 by The University of Iowa Libraries

A library is a building, right? Or is it collection of books? What about all the other sources of information available in libraries? Loud in the Libraries takes you behind the scenes to help you make sense of the University of Iowa Libraries so you can make the best use of all the Libraries have to offer. Episodes feature librarians, staff, and student employees who are passionate about sharing the breadth and depth of the University of Iowa’s research libraries. Let them tell you how to save yourself time getting the information you need.

The podcast is available through multiple platforms, including Spotify and Google. You can also add it to your RSS feed.

Stay tuned for new episodes!

Dec 03 2020

Course reserves for spring 2021

Posted on December 3, 2020January 8, 2021 by The University of Iowa Libraries

UI Libraries are now accepting course reserve lists for the upcoming Spring semester at the Main Library, Hardin Library, and branch libraries. Please note the following changes. Not all libraries are offering to place print books on Course Reserve for spring 2021. Online access to books through HathiTrust’s Emergency Temporary Access Service (ETAS) ends December 28, 2020. If a title was used in the Fall semester, you will need to contact your library to verify access for the Spring semester.

Requesting Materials for Course Reserve

Physical access to books is projected to resume by January 25, 2021. Access to library collections for in-person check-outs will vary by library.
E-books. Library staff will search for a requested eBook title; if an eBook is unavailable the instructor will be notified.
ILL service. When no eBook is available, instructors may request chapters for posting on ICON from our ILL department. The amount of individual book chapters requested is determined through the Fair Use checklist.
Streaming video. Library staff will search for a streaming video option. If unavailable, then the instructor will be notified.
Journal articles. If you need a PDF of a journal article or book chapter, please submit a request through Interlibrary Loan. Instructions on how to upload a PDF to ICON are available here.
HATHI Trust (ETAS) will be discontinued December 28, 2020.

If you have questions, please contact your library before placing requests for reserve material. Useful links, online request forms, and contact information: http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/services/courseres/

Sep 22 2020

Call for Nominations for Libraries’ Excellence Award

Posted on September 22, 2020January 8, 2021 by The University of Iowa Libraries

The University Libraries is seeking nominations for the Arthur Benton University Librarian’s Award for Excellence. Funded by a generous endowment, this award acknowledges a library staff member’s professional contributions in the practice of librarianship, service to the profession, scholarship, or leadership which has had a significant impact or innovation to the operations of the Libraries or the University of Iowa. The library staff member will receive $2,000 to be used for professional development activities.

Criteria for the award and the nomination form are available at: http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/admin/bentonaward/ Nominations are due by Wednesday, October 28.

*The University Libraries includes the Main Library, Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, and the Art, Business, Engineering, Music, and Science libraries. (Professional staff in the Law Library and other campus departmental library staff are not eligible.)

Aug 21 2020

First Annual Ray Bradbury Read-A-Thon

Posted on August 21, 2020August 21, 2020 by The University of Iowa Libraries

On Saturday, August 22, 2020, the University of Iowa Libraries will partner with national organizations to present the first annual Ray Bradbury Read-A-Thon. During this four-hour online event, a diverse group of celebrities and Bradbury experts, including Peter Balestrieri, curator of science fiction and popular culture collections at the University of Iowa Libraries Special Collections & Archives, will present a virtual reading of Bradbury’s classic novel Fahrenheit 451 streamed over YouTube beginning at 3:30 pm CDT.

The read-a-thon, which celebrates the centennial of Bradbury’s birth, is hosted by the Library of Congress, the Los Angeles Public Library, and the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers (presenter of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards). Event partners are public and university libraries nationwide, including the University of Iowa Libraries, with its robust collections of primary source materials on science fiction writers, including Ray Bradbury.

The Read-A-Thon’s on-camera readers will be as diverse as America itself. Some 40 people, including Balestrieri, will pre-record a short segment of Fahrenheit 451. Those segments, and a few from celebrity guests, will be edited into one continuous reading of the entire book, creating four hours of thought-provoking entertainment.

Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, will provide the introduction to the reading. Additional introductions and readings will be given by John Szabo (Los Angeles Public Library), General Charles Bolden, Jr. (NASA), Ann Druyan (writer/producer/director), William Shatner (actor), Neil Gaiman (author), Marlon James (author), Marjorie Liu (author), P. Djèlí Clark (author), Brenda Greene (author), Alley Mills Bean (actress), James Reynolds (actor), Tananarive Due (author), Steven Barnes (author), and Rachel Bloom (actress).

Some readers, like Balestrieri, will record from their homes, others from their hometown libraries—or from the places where Bradbury himself lived, worked, and explored. Locations will include the historic rooms of the Los Angeles Public Library, the Library of Congress, and the former Carnegie Library building in Waukegan where Bradbury spent much of his childhood lost in books.

Ray Bradbury’s contribution to the literary landscape and our collective imagination made him one of the best-known writers of our time. His books now sit on library shelves alongside the works of authors he read in his youth at the Carnegie Library in Waukegan, Illinois. After his family moved to Los Angeles during the Great Depression, he discovered the stacks of the Venice library and many others: no matter where he lived, the library was his school. As Bradbury would later say: “I’m completely library educated. Libraries are absolutely at the center of my life. Since I couldn’t afford to go to college, I attended the library three or four days a week from the age of eighteen on, and graduated from the library when I was twenty-eight.”

Fahrenheit 451, a cautionary dystopian tale about the cost of apathy and the power of curiosity, is one of the most checked-out books at libraries throughout the United States. Viewers of the Read-A-Thon will discover–or rediscover–this redemptive story that is as powerful today as it was when it was first written. www.raybradbury.com

After the initial broadcast, the Read-A-Thon will be available until September 5, 2020.

The Participating Partners: Library of Congress, Los Angeles Public Library, and Alliance for Young Artists & Writers and the Contributing Libraries and Institutions are: Anchorage Public Library (Alaska), Athens Regional Library System (Georgia), Boston Public Library (Massachusetts), Broward County Library (Florida), Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY (New York), Center for Ray Bradbury Studies (Indiana), Central Arkansas Library System (Arkansas), Charlotte Mecklenburg Library (North Carolina), Columbus Metropolitan Library (Ohio), Cushing Memorial Library & Archives, Texas A&M University (Texas), Des Moines Public Library and Library Foundation (Ohio), Indian Valley Public Library (Pennsylvania), Pima County Public Library (Arizona), San Francisco Public Library (California), South Pasadena Library (California), The Friends of the Venice Library (California), The Seattle Public Library (Washington), University of Alaska Anchorage Consortium Library (Alaska), University of Iowa Libraries (Iowa), University of Kansas Libraries (Kansas), University of Pittsburgh Library System (Pennsylvania), and the Waukegan Parks District and Library (Illinois)

RAY BRADBURY
In a career that spanned more than seventy years, Ray Bradbury inspired generations of readers in a wide variety of genres to dream, think, and create. A prolific author of more than four hundred published short stories and close to fifty books, as well as numerous essays, plays, operas, teleplays, and screenplays, Bradbury is one of the most widely translated authors in the world and one of the most celebrated writers of our time. His enduring novels and short story collections include The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, The Golden Apples of the Sun, Fahrenheit 451, The October Country, Dandelion Wine, A Medicine for Melancholy, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. RayBradbury.com

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on- site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.

LOS ANGELES PUBLIC LIBRARY
The Los Angeles Public Library system, with 72 branches, serves the residents of the City of Los Angeles. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with over 18 million residents in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area, it serves the largest population of any publicly funded library system in the United States. lapl.org

THE ALLIANCE FOR YOUNG ARTISTS AND WRITERS
The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, presenter of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, identifies teenagers with exceptional artistic and literary talent and brings their remarkable work to a national audience. Established in 1923 by Maurice R. Robinson, the founder of Scholastic Inc., the Awards are the longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teenagers across America and one of the largest sources of scholarships for young artists and writers. The Awards have an impressive roster of notable Alumni, including Tshabalala Self, Stephen King, Kay Walking Stick, Charles White, Joyce Carol Oates, and Andy Warhol. This past year, the Alliance received 320,000 submissions from 112,000 students, grades 7-12 (ages 13 and up) from across the nation. The Alliance is proud to partner with the Ray Bradbury Foundation to launch the Ray Bradbury Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy as part of its 2021 Awards offerings. artandwriting.org

UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
The University of Iowa Libraries’ Special Collections and Archives holds a wealth of rare and unique materials related to Ray Bradbury—from amateur writing and artwork found in science fiction fanzines to his first professional work that appeared in pulp magazines. Our collections include special editions of his books, early photographs, an anti-fascism statement he signed as a teenager, and much more. For more information, please visit www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc, email lib-spec@uiowa.edu, or contact Peter Balestrieri, curator of science fiction and popular culture, at peter-balestrieri@uiowa.edu.

An example from the collections at the University of Iowa Libraries: above is an image of Ray Bradbury (right in glasses) at the age of 19 at the First World Science Fiction Convention in New York, New York, 1939. This image is found in the 1942 “Nycon Report” fanzine, edited by Julius Unger and found in the Hevelin Collection of Science Fiction Materials (MsC0936). See the complete fanzine in the Iowa Digital Library: https://digital.lib.uiowa.edu

Aug 05 2020

Changes in Libraries’ services and hours

Posted on August 5, 2020August 17, 2020 by The University of Iowa Libraries

When campus libraries reopen on Aug. 17, services will resume in phases. To begin the semester, the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, the Main Library, and the Sciences Library will allow building access only to University of Iowa members with a valid Iowa One Card or UI Health Care Badge. Also, all campus libraries will have shorter hours, closed book stacks, and some study areas will be unavailable.

These measures allow for appropriate quarantine of returned materials, reduce concerns about cleaning, and support social distancing due to COVID-19. Access will vary by location. For example, the Music Library and Art Library will limit occupancy by restricting access to service desks only. At the Main Library, access to the fourth and fifth floors will be limited to staff only, thus reducing impact on custodians.

“The Libraries staff understand users will be disappointed that they will be unable to browse the book stacks and fully utilize library study areas,” says John Culshaw, university librarian. “We hope conditions will shift soon, enabling us to restore access and hours. In the meantime, our plan reflects those at other libraries, including our Big Ten peers.”

In addition to limiting the risk of exposure to COVID-19 in the facility, closed stacks keep the Libraries in compliance with copyright agreements with HathiTrust Emergency Access Service (ETAS), which supplies emergency online access to a large portion of our collection. The ETAS service gives the Libraries access to nearly 50% of its print volumes. Find step-by-step access instructions for HathiTrust here. The ETAS service can remain available only while our stacks are closed.

Users can still borrow books by requesting book retrieval from the stacks at any campus library. Users are encouraged to request books in advance through Infohawk+. After requesting a book, users can choose from several ways to get the book. Faculty and staff can opt for delivery to campus offices. All borrowers, including community members, can request delivery by mail. Books borrowed from the Main Library’s collections can be picked up through a contactless service at the south entrance of the Main Library. Procedures vary by location; please check with your campus library for instructions.

As the semester unfolds, the Libraries will continue to monitor the situation. When deemed safe, the Libraries will consider extending hours and opening stacks for browsing.

Thank you for your patience as we navigate changing circumstances. Please contact us at any of our campus locations with questions regarding book access. Visit our fall 2020 FAQ for complete information about changes in library services.

Jul 08 2020

Archiving the movement

Posted on July 8, 2020July 8, 2020 by The University of Iowa Libraries

Black Lives Matter protest at Old Capitol — Protesters speak during a rally in front of the Old Capitol as protests for racial justice entered their eighth day in Iowa City on Saturday, June 6, 2020. Photo by Nick Rohlman for The Press Citizen

We’re living in unprecedented times. Protesters are speaking out against the murder of George Floyd, police brutality, and systemic racism. The UI Libraries’ Special Collections plans to pursue a careful approach toward archiving the protests in our community. We recognize potential pitfalls in a white institution rushing to collect materials about marginalized communities of color, problems such as collecting to “check the box” or collections that hurt or mischaracterize communities of color. We also recognize the problems with archival silence. Our efforts will be a three-tiered approach designed to expand authentically and ethically over time:

Gather photos.We are both taking and collecting photographs of graffiti around town and campus. These are photos of protest evidence that do not include people. We are not soliciting photographs of protests or protesters out of concern for protecting their identities.
Listen by reaching out to existing relationships within communities of color.We are working with pre-existing institutional and individual connections through three staff members who have long-established relationships with individuals in our community.

- Erik Henderson, a student worker in Iowa Women’s Archives (IWA) and Special Collections, is reaching out to his connections, including campus and community groups.
- David McCartney, the UI Libraries’ University Archivist, is reaching out to several connections.
- Janet Weaver, assistant curator in IWA is reaching out to LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens).

Wait for material to come in down the road.This is a tried-and-true measure for us that allows us to expand our collections organically as we build connections with individuals and with organizations over time, not overnight.

Jul 02 2020

UI Libraries awards 12 OpenHawks grants

Posted on July 2, 2020July 2, 2020 by The University of Iowa Libraries

The University of Iowa Libraries has awarded 12 grants for Open Educational Resource (OER) projects for the 2020-2021 academic year. OpenHawks is a campus-wide grant program that funds faculty efforts to replace current textbooks with OERs for enhanced student success.

OpenHawks is funded by the annual Provost Investment Fund (PIF) from the UI Office of the Provost. This year, two projects are jointly funded with the Office of Teaching, Learning, & Technology.

The funded OER projects, which were selected through a competitive application process, will benefit students in a wide range of disciplines, including fine arts, English as a second language, neurobiology, political science, foreign languages, communication sciences and disorders, education, communications, and biostatistics.

OER (such as textbooks, videos, assessment tools, lab books, research materials, or interactive course modules) are free for students to use. The 2020-2021 OER projects will save UI students $171,000 in the first year alone. Removing cost barriers to course materials opens student access and positively impacts learning.

The value of OER extends to the wider academic community, since they carry legal permission for open use. The open licenses under which these items are released allow any user at any institution to create, reuse, and redistribute copies of the resources.

OER provide further benefit when faculty fully integrate free resources into their curricula by “remixing” or tailoring materials to enhance specific learning objectives.

The next call for proposals will be in the spring of 2021. For more information, visit www.lib.uiowa.edu/openhawks

Stephanie Dowda DeMer
OER creation grant: $4,700.
Title: Material Encounters.

Material Encounters is a textbook that will fill significant gaps in the research and presentation of alternative photography processes and theory. It achieves this by bringing together traditionally siloed information regarding process, theory, and interdisciplinary practice into one text to serve student research and faculty pedagogy. The textbook will include interviews with female-identifying and queer artists who innovate alternative processes and use their practices to address social, environmental, or personal issues.

Craig Dresser
OER creation grant: $8,200.
Title: Elements of Academic Writing

This text will help ESL students understand the purposes of writing assignments and their common component. This approach relies heavily on decision-making, informed by consideration of the context around the assignment. It aims to increase the students’ understanding and efficacy in the ways in which they communicate with their teachers through academic writing. In the end, students should be empowered to take on any manner of writing assignment, confident in their ability to communicate effectively.

Mei-Ling Joiner and Jason Hardie
OER creation grant: $8,200.
Title: A Centralized Online OER for Introduction to Neurobiology

Joiner and Hardie are developing a neurobiology OER to better align with the course as it is currently taught and to save students significant money on textbook costs. Existing textbooks for this course almost exclusively follow a molecule to whole organism approach, but the course begins with whole organism, then later addresses molecular level mechanisms, which invites the interest of students newly encountering neurobiology.

Courtney Juelich
OER creation grant: $3,000.
Title: Online Videos for Introduction to American Politics

By developing an online lecture system, students will replace the current $200 textbook with online video lectures and come to class ready to show comprehension and critical thinking through a discussion-based class. Teaching students of all majors about the basis of the United States government’s innerworkings, and the history of its laws is essential for our students’ growth and for our democracy.

Irene Lottini, Lucia Gemmani, Claudia Sartini-Rideout
Course redesign grant: $2,000.
Title: E-textbook and Workbook for Elementary Italian

The authors are planning to redesign this sequence to better help our students achieve the CLAS GE Program Outcomes and be prepared for programs abroad. The goal is to create an e-textbook and a workbook that will fulfill the two main objectives of redesigned courses: supporting students’ acquisition of the grammar and vocabulary that ensure meaningful communication and enhancing students’ familiarity with Italian culture. This project is co-funded by OTLT.

Stewart McCauley and Jean Gordon
Course redesign grant: $2,000.
Title: OER Redesign of Basic Neuroscience for Speech and Hearing

The authors will design a textbook that integrates topics in communication disorders with foundational concepts in neuroscience. This can best be achieved by using OER materials from a variety of domains—especially taking advantage of the wealth of freely available online audiovisual case illustrations—to better interweave normal and disordered processes. This project is co-funded by OTLT.

Mark McDermott
OER creation grant: $8,200.
Title: Developing an OER Toolkit for Science Methods Courses

McDermott will work with former students to develop an Open Educational Resource Toolkit that provides background information about the argument-based pedagogical approach the class explores, tools for planning units based on this pedagogical approach, supplemental resources for supporting science conceptual understanding, and sample activity plans for the experiences engaged in during the courses.

Sylvia Mikucki-Enyart
OER creation grant: $8,200
Title: Sexual Communication in Personal Relationships

The primary objective of this project is to create a no-cost, accessible, interactive, and flexible textbook and companion materials (e.g., activities, study guides) that enhance UI students’ theoretical understanding of sexual communication and increase their sexual communication efficacy to engage in sexual communication tasks (e.g., conversations surrounding consent, safe sex practices).

Beatrice Mkenda
OER creation grant: $8,200.
Title: Elementary Swahili Online Course

Swahili teaching and learning materials have relied on traditional textbooks, some of which lack listening materials. Listening is one of the most important skills in foreign language teaching and learning. The Swahili Online Course will be a proficiency-based teaching and learning resource for elementary levels and will provide interactive activities based on listening to native speakers of Swahili. Students will have an opportunity to listen and react to the video and audio in different ways, such as speaking, writing, reading, and identifying culture.

Caitlin Ward and Collin Nolte
OER creation grant: $6,000.
Title: Simulation Based Inference in Introductory Biostatistics

The American Statistical Association (ASA) recommends that introductory statistics education focuses on conceptual understanding, with an emphasis on technology and real data. Statistics education often places priorities on an antiquated view of the former, with symbolic manipulation and contrived examples taking priority over data exploration and statistical thinking, and BIOS:4120 is no different. Both the ASA recommendations and the advances in pedagogical literature on active learning bring to the forefront the need to restructure this course. The authors’ proposal aims to meet this need by developing a new resource, which empowers students to achieve a higher level of understanding through the use of technology and real-world data.

Sang-Seok Yoon and Joung-A Park
OER creation grant: $8,200.
Title: Developing a Textbook for First Year Korean Course

The objective of developing this resource is to make students’ learning experience more active, fun and challenging, and to reduce students’ financial burden of purchasing the textbook used in First Year Korean: First Semester. This textbook is an essential part of the class for self-study in addition to attending lectures and doing exercises in the class.

Giovanni Zimotti and Alexis Jimenez Candia
OER creation grant: $8,200.
Title: Intermediate Spanish II: Spanish for Healthcare

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese is undertaking efforts to redesign the GE CLAS Core sequence of Spanish. The aim is to modernize the curriculum offered to meet the needs of 21st century students and to better prepare them in their future careers. As part of this redesign, it is paramount to develop materials that are meaningful for the specific type of students that will be taking this course. Unfortunately, the commercially available textbook we currently use is very expensive for students and outdated. This project aims to create an OER textbook that is personalized to the educational needs of the students of Spanish Intermediate II: Spanish for Healthcare.

Jun 17 2020

In support of eliminating racism – the ongoing work

Posted on June 17, 2020June 22, 2020 by The University of Iowa Libraries

Anti-racism subject guide

As a research library, we have a responsibility to share and promote public access to important information about anti-racism, which we’ve made available in this anti-racism subject guide. Libraries staff update this guide continually.

Anti-racism resources for action

The University Libraries at Iowa offers anti-racism resources that can be accessed by the entire campus community, including students, faculty, staff, and members of our community. Check this page for anti-racism resources and staff development opportunities designed to aid our organization in making substantial progress toward dismantling and unlearning racism. These resources can supplement the resources offered by the UI’s Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. Libraries staff update this page continually.

Statement issued June 1, 2020

This is not news: a deep divide continues to tear at this country. Injustices widen the gap. COVID-19 has affected more black, Latinx, and Native Americans than any others. People of Asian descent are experiencing heightened racism. The tragic deaths of George Floyd in Minnesota, Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky made the news. And yet, this is not news. This is the daily reality of racism for many in this country.

Most of us live with racism, many suffer because of racism, some die because of racism. A deep divide continues to tear at this country, leaving gaps in the availability of healthcare, housing, jobs, and education. This is unacceptable. Rather than complacently living with racism, those of us who also live with privilege can empower ourselves to stop racism and work to erase its effects.

As a public institution of higher education, one of our many responsibilities is to create effective tools to examine and change injustices in society. We are a research library planted in the heartland, and we are not immune to racism. We are not free of the responsibility to stop it. We have a mission to feed society with open access to information that exposes truth. Free flowing information allows our scholars and community members to shine light on these fractures within our country, these injustices, these deaths. With information, we have opportunities to cultivate justice, advocacy, and right action as allies on behalf of our colleagues who suffer just because they happen to be different in skin color, faith tradition, or sexual orientation.

We are uniquely positioned in the Libraries to be allies and to support anti-racism efforts with resources and expertise on critical thinking that can guide our learning and our grounding in the histories that have fed racism. Our job is to amplify the voices of marginalized people.

At the University Libraries, we must take action. Let’s continue to equip researchers. Let’s continue to create ways for diversity, equity, and inclusion to thrive and grow in our libraries and on this campus. Let’s start small with individual efforts and think big with institutional change. We harvest the information, craft the words, inspire the actions. Most of all, as individuals, we must roll up our sleeves and do the difficult work of anti-racism in every field of study. It’s the Iowa way.

John Culshaw, Jack B. King University Librarian
Paul Soderdahl, Associate University Librarian
Linda Walton, Associate University Librarian

This statement was written by Jennifer Masada and John Culshaw, with input from the Admin Group and other Libraries staff involved in DEI efforts. This statement is an open invitation for dialog, recognizing that the difficult conversations we have and actions we take must happen and must never stop.

Jun 01 2020

In support of eliminating racism

Posted on June 1, 2020June 17, 2020 by The University of Iowa Libraries

Updated as of June 17, 2020

Anti-racism subject guide

Anti-racism resources for action

The University Libraries at Iowa encourages its staff to engage in anti-racism efforts. Check this page for anti-racism resources and staff development opportunities designed to aid our staff in making substantial progress toward dismantling and unlearning racism. The resources on this page are open and available for all, including university students, faculty, staff, and members of our community. Libraries staff update this page continually.

Statement issued June 1, 2020

John Culshaw, Jack B. King University Librarian
Paul Soderdahl, Associate University Librarian
Linda Walton, Associate University Librarian

May 05 2020

How to return materials to the UI Libraries

Posted on May 5, 2020September 30, 2020 by The University of Iowa Libraries

Book return map — University of Iowa Libraries’ regional book return map. Find a location near you to return your UI Libraries books and DVDs. The UI Libraries plans to continue this service while it’s needed.

University of Iowa students can return items to the UI Libraries from afar by dropping off items at one of 47 participating libraries across the state and region. See a map of these locations or the list of locations at the end of this article.

The UI Libraries has spearheaded this special service to help students living far from campus due to the pandemic. With the aid of partnering public and academic libraries, the UI Libraries will continue to offer this service while it’s needed.

This network of libraries is participating in an unprecedented cooperative project to assist library users who are sheltering far from the library from which they borrowed items. Each library in this network will accept items from the other participating libraries and return those items at no cost to the borrower.

Students who have University of Iowa library books to return can check the UI Libraries’ book return map for drop-off locations in the state and region. Students without access to a drop-off library and those living further than 30 miles from Iowa City can request a UPS shipping label.

Students living near campus are encouraged to return books at the Main Library drop box (125 W. Washington Street, return slots available at both the south and north entrances) or the Hardin Library drop box (600 Newton Road, next to the entrance that faces University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics). Students with tools or electronic equipment should schedule a drop off to ensure the security and safety of the items.

- Art Library: Please use the library drop box.
- Business Library: Please use the drop box for books and DVDs. Please return non-book items to the service desk or schedule a time by emailing lib-bus@uiowa.edu
- Engineering Library: Please use the drop box for books and DVDs. Please return non-book items to the service desk.
- Hardin Library: Please use the drop box for books and DVDs. Please return non-book items to the service desk.
- Main Library: Please use the drop box for books and DVDs. Please return non-book items to the service desk.
- Music Library: Please use the hallway book drop on the first floor of the Voxman Music Building.
- Sciences Library: Please return items to the service desk.

Before returning library items, please observe the following safe-handling practices:

Do not clean, disinfect, or microwave library materials before returning them. For example, do not use water, Lysol, or any other cleaner on materials.
If you or your family members are sick or have been sick, seal materials in a zip-lock style bag if possible before returning.
Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer before handling library materials for return and again after you have completed the return.

List of locations for materials return

Iowa State University Parks Library, 701 Morrill Road, Ames, IA
DMACC Ankeny campus Library Bldg 6, 2006 S. Ankeny Blvd, Ankeny, IA
Scott Community College Library, 500 Belmont Rd, Bettendorf, IA
DMACC Boone campus Library, 1125 Hancock Drive, Boone, IA
Northeast Iowa Community College Library Student Center, 1625 Hwy 150 S., Calmar, IA
DMACC Carroll campus Library, 906 North Grant Rd., Carroll, IA
University of Northern Iowa Rod Library, 1227 W 27th Street, Cedar Falls, IA
Mount Mercy University Busse Library, 1330 Elmhurst Drive NE, Cedar Rapids, IA
Kirkwood Community College Library Benton Hall, 6301 Kirkwood Blvd. SW, Cedar Rapids, IA
Clinton Community College Library, 1000 Lincoln Blvd, Clinton, IA
Coralville Public Library, 1401 5th Street, Coralville, IA
Southwestern Community College Library, 1501 W. Townline Street, Creston, IA
Saint Ambrose University Library, 518 W. Locust Street, Davenport, IA
DMACC Urban/Des Moines campus Library Bldg 1, 1100 7th Street, Des Moines, IA
Drake University Cowles Library, 2725 University Avenue, Des Moines, IA
Grand View University Library, 1350 Morton Avenue, Des Moines, IA
Mercy College of Health Sciences Library Sullivan Center, 928 6th Avenue, Des Moines, IA
Loras College Library, 1450 Alta Vista, Dubuque, IA
University of Dubuque Charles C. Myers Library, 2195 Grace Street, Dubuque, IA
Grinnell College Library, 1111 6th Ave, Grinnell, IA
Simpson College Dunn Library, 508 N C Street, Indianola, IA
Kirkwood Community College Library, 1816 Lower Muscatine Rd, Iowa City, IA
Iowa City Public Library, Iowa City, IA
University of Iowa Hardin Library, 600 Newtown Road, Iowa City, IA
University of Iowa Main Library, 125 W. Washington Street, Iowa City, IA
Southeastern Community College Fred Karre Memorial Library, 335 Messenger Rd, Keokuk, IA
Cornell College Cole Library, 320 3rd Street SW, Mount Vernon, IA
Muscatine Community College Library, 152 Colorado Street, Muscatine, IA
North Liberty Public Library, 520 W. Cherry Street, North Liberty, IA
Northwestern College DeWitt Library, 101 7th Street SW, Orange City, IA
William Penn University Wilcox Library, 201 Trueblood Avenue, Oskaloosa, IA
Indian Hills Community College Library, 525 Grandview Avenue, Ottumwa, IA
Northeast Iowa Community College Library, 8342 NICC Drive, Peosta, IA
Dordt University Hulst Library, 700 7th Street NE, Sioux Center, IA
Briar Cliff University Bishop Mueller Library, 3303 Rebecca Street, Sioux City, IA
Morningside College Library, 1501 Morningside Avenue, Sioux City, IA
Hawkeye Community College Library Main Campus, 1501 East Orange Road, Waterloo, IA
Wartburg College Vogel Library, 100 Wartburg Blvd, Waverly, IA
University of Illinois Main Library, 1408 W Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL
Indiana University Wells Library, 1320 E. Tenth Street, Bloomington, IN
Purdue University Library, West State Street, West Lafayette, IN
University of Michigan Hatcher Graduate Library, 913 S. University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI
Michigan State University Main Library, 366 W. Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI
University of Minnesota Wilson Library, 309 19th Avenue S, Minneapolis, MN
University of Nebraska Love Library, 13th & R Street, Lincoln, NE
University of Wisconsin Memorial Library, 728 State Street, Madison, WI

The University of Iowa Libraries

Library News

Author: The University of Iowa Libraries

UI Libraries launches a new podcast series

Course reserves for spring 2021

Call for Nominations for Libraries’ Excellence Award

First Annual Ray Bradbury Read-A-Thon

Changes in Libraries’ services and hours

Archiving the movement

UI Libraries awards 12 OpenHawks grants

In support of eliminating racism – the ongoing work

Anti-racism subject guide

Anti-racism resources for action

Statement issued June 1, 2020

In support of eliminating racism

Anti-racism subject guide

Anti-racism resources for action

Statement issued June 1, 2020

How to return materials to the UI Libraries

List of locations for materials return