The Iowa City Public Library and the North Liberty Library have reported increases in the number of rural patrons. Staff attribute this growth to a variety of services and outreach projects implemented both at individual locations and statewide.
Sam Helmick, community and access services coordinator at the Iowa City Public Library, shared that the library has seen a 3.5 percent annual increase in library card sign-ups since last year in rural areas such as Hills and Lone Tree, which have populations of approximately 911 and 1,341, respectively.
Helmick highlighted the rural services provided by the library, which include book delivery services for residents unable to travel to library locations and a bookmobile that travels to various spots across Johnson County.
Jennie Garner, director of the North Liberty Library for over 10 years and past president of the Association for Rural and Small Libraries, noted that since she started as director in 2014, rural circulation has more than doubled.
**Increased Visibility Through Outreach**
Garner attributes much of this increase to the enhanced visibility of library services within the county. Library staff have worked diligently to achieve this by attending outreach events. One such event the North Liberty Library frequently attends is City Slate in North Liberty—a series of community events hosted by city staff where the library participates and promotes its offerings.
“The library is almost always at those events in some shape or form. Our staff is there helping make those happen because we think that being in the community is really important,” Garner said.
She also emphasized the issue of loneliness, especially in rural areas, stating, “The idea of loneliness was significant in the country, and it was important for the library to find ways to listen to what people need.”
Garner added, “We want to make sure that we can be a place where people can connect with each other and develop lasting relationships. We know that there’s isolation going on in our communities, but also in the rural communities, that it can be even more prevalent.”
**The Vital Role of Outreach Services**
Cathy Zimmerman, Executive Director of the Association for Bookmobile and Outreach Services, has 17 years of experience working in library outreach. She emphasized that outreach services are critical for residents who cannot access traditional library buildings.
“The main function of an outreach vehicle, whether it’s a full-size bookmobile, a van full of books, or a car with bags of books and carts, is to bring library access to those people who cannot get to a brick-and-mortar building,” Zimmerman explained.
She stated that rural outreach is “100 percent” at the heart of these services. Zimmerman echoed similar sentiments as Garner and Helmick regarding the increase in outreach usage.
“[Libraries] are getting more involved with making sure the patrons are getting the kind of materials and help that they want,” she said. “We’re becoming more educated on what our rural population needs and wants.”
**Building Community Connections**
Helmick also noted an increase in rural readership at the Iowa City Public Library.
“I think it’s because of how we’ve dedicated our outreach services,” he said. “It’s a very Iowan thing, right? From that movie ‘Field of Dreams,’ ‘If you build it, they will come.’”
“We are seeing that rural support,” Helmick continued. “And it’s because we are becoming that third place. However the library looks, it’s that one third place where you and I can connect with anybody else in our community without having to pay to be there, without becoming an algorithm, without becoming a product.”
According to the University of Chicago, third places are “places outside of the home (the first place) and the workplace (the second place) where people go to converse with others and connect with their community.” However, third places can be hard for people to access due to transportation challenges and varying levels of access—issues that rural outreach programs actively work to address.
“Community can, at times, be scarce in rural Iowa, and we are glad to continue reaching out a hand to rural Iowans,” Helmick said. “It’s really amazing to me to see outreach services go into rural America because we are that third place. And sometimes that third place is just two human beings, two library workers, on a bookmobile welcoming you inside.”
https://dailyiowan.com/2026/02/03/johnson-county-libraries-see-increase-in-rural-patrons-as-outreach-services-evolve/