Marion Library to Loan out Nearly One Million Items

Marion Public Library Director, Doug Raber, said some in Marion are skeptical of his claim that 1,000 people enter his library every day.

"It’s true," he said. "We have a door counter. It counts them automatically. We aren’t just sitting here making it up."

That’s a lot of people for a library of Marion’s size, said Raber. In fact, the has one of the largest circulations in the state, beating out Cedar Rapids, which is why Raber said the proposed expansion of the library is necessary.

"We don’t quite have room for the stuff we have," he said. "If every book we have loaned out were in the library they would be spilling over the floor."

By the end of September, the Marion Public Library is expected to  have loaned out 900,000 items.

Why is it so popular?

Raber said there are a few reasons why the Library is used so much more often than other libraries of its size.

1. Marion is a reading community. Marion has a large population of children and families.

2. Location, location, location. The Marion Public Library is much closer to the northeast side of Cedar Rapids than the current Cedar Rapids Public Library, which is on the southwest side in Westdale Mall.

Expansion

Marion City Manger Lon Pluckhahn said plans to expand the library have existed since 2007. He said the city was originally looking to get architectural drawings in 2013 followed by construction in in 2014.

Raber said the Marion Public Library Board is meeting tonight to begin putting together priorities for what they need from the new building.

But city officials aren’t the only ones that would like to see a bigger, grander library. Ronald Raim, a 75-year-old Marion resident, said he voted for the local-option sales tax because he knew it would help fund his favorite library.

"I voted for the tax because I know it would go towards the library," said 75-year-old Marion resident, Ronald Raim. "I use it everyday."