At Home with the Iowa City Public Library

Last month Iowa City Public Library served 45 different patrons exclusively through the At Home Program. This wonderful service brings library materials to home-bound patrons via the US Postal Service. Each day, staff members in Community & Access Services bundle books, DVDs, and more for our group of active At Home patrons. We will send out anything small enough to fit in our postage-paid green mailers. (Sorry - no art prints!) Residents of Iowa City, Hills, University Heights, Lone Tree, and Rural Johnson County are eligible for this FREE service!

We love our At Home patrons, and they seem to appreciate the service too! One woman wrote to me that our books make her 102-year-old life great. (She's very proud of her age and her library.) Another woman wrote to tell us that by sending Audiobooks to her husband, we brought him happiness after he went blind and was no longer able to read the books he loved.

Since taking over as the main point person for At Home a month ago, it's been interesting to me how many different ways people use the service. Some people prefer calling in their requests by phone, and others solely communicate with me through email. Some people manage their accounts almost 100% on their own by placing holds online, allowing them to get a constant stream of materials from us as their holds slowly come in. Still others prefer sending their requests in writing when they send their items back to us in the mail - the good old-fashioned way! This service is designed to accommodate everyone, no matter how they prefer communicating with us.

To sign up for this service or get more information, you can call me at 319-887-6038 or write an email to athome@icpl.org.