Elementary-age kids are invited to join us each Tuesday at 1:00 to learn a little bit about a fun skill or hobby that maybe they haven’t tried before! We have experts from the community here to teach you the basics! Learn a few easy stitches that...
Summer Reading Program

Color our world this summer
May 27 - August 9, 2025
Stay busy this summer reading and attending events!
Available to readers of all ages and abilities, babies through adults. Participants will receive a gamecard to track their summer reading goals.
Prizes available starting Monday, June 9, 2025. Children's prizes include gift certificates for Blank Park Zoo and the Iowa Children's Museum as well as a free book! Adults and teens can get a coupon for a free book at The Book End bookstore and be entered into the grand prize drawings for a downtown gift card.
If you have time for a quick question, let us know how did you hear about the summer reading program?
Downloads
Resources
- Watch past programs on The Library Channel
- Learn how to log books with Beanstack's mobile app
Sponsors
A big thank you to the Iowa City Public Library Friends Foundation for sponsoring the prizes!

Color your world!
Upcoming Events
All library patrons, regardless of age or neurodiversity can participate in our Summer Reading Programs. We will be happy to customize reading programs and activities to meet the individual needs of our patrons. Please contact Angela Pilkington for more information.
Upcoming events
Tuesday, July 22, 2025 - 1:00pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Tuesday, July 22, 2025 - 7:00pm
Zoom
Reading a book that has been translated from its original langue gives the reader a way to experience places we may never go and introduce us to stories, cultural perspectives, traditions, and styles of storytelling that are new and unique. Check...
Wednesday, July 23, 2025 - 10:30am
Children's Room
Join us in the Storytime Room for Summer Storytime on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings at 10:30am. The Storytime librarian will vary each week, and every day is open to all ages! Catch the all-ages Thrilling Thursday programs...
Wednesday, July 23, 2025 - 1:00pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Color our world, and celebrate diverse cultures from around the globe! Every Wednesday during our Summer Reading Program, elementary-age kids are invited to join us for a new event where they can explore and experience unique cultures and traditions...
Wednesday, July 23, 2025 - 1:00pm
Teen Center
As part of our Next Gen Land Steward program, participants will learn all about the art of flower pressing All are welcome to this program, but you must attend four Bur Oak programs to gain a certification.
Wednesday, July 23, 2025 - 2:30pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Get hands-on with exciting science experiments led by the UI Science Booster Club! All Abilities Club programs are designed for those who are neurodivergent, or who experience intellectual or developmental disabilities, offering an inclusive, lower-...
Wednesday, July 23, 2025 - 3:00pm
Teen Center
We’ve pressed flowers and now we pound them turning their beautiful pigments into art.
Thursday, July 24, 2025 - 10:00am
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Get up close and hands-on with a variety of exotic animals with Wild Times Exotics. Wild Times Exotics is a fully licensed and insured Zoo to You program visiting ICPL for the first time! Zoo expert Lacey offers a hands on approach to animal...
Thursday, July 24, 2025 - 1:00pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Get up close and hands-on with a variety of exotic animals with Wild Times Exotics. Wild Times Exotics is a fully licensed and insured Zoo to You program visiting ICPL for the first time! Zoo expert Lacey offers a hands on approach to animal...
Thursday, July 24, 2025 - 1:00pm
Teen Center
YES interns through the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County will put on a reptile demonstration using knowledge they've learned from their time at Johnson County Conservation.
Tuesday, July 22, 2025 - 1:00pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Elementary-age kids are invited to join us each Tuesday at 1:00 to learn a little bit about a fun skill or hobby that maybe they haven’t tried before! We have experts from the community here to teach you the basics! Learn a few easy stitches that...
Tuesday, July 22, 2025 - 7:00pm
Zoom
Reading a book that has been translated from its original langue gives the reader a way to experience places we may never go and introduce us to stories, cultural perspectives, traditions, and styles of storytelling that are new and unique. Check...
Wednesday, July 23, 2025 - 10:30am
Children's Room
Join us in the Storytime Room for Summer Storytime on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings at 10:30am. The Storytime librarian will vary each week, and every day is open to all ages! Catch the all-ages Thrilling Thursday programs...
Wednesday, July 23, 2025 - 1:00pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Color our world, and celebrate diverse cultures from around the globe! Every Wednesday during our Summer Reading Program, elementary-age kids are invited to join us for a new event where they can explore and experience unique cultures and traditions...
Wednesday, July 23, 2025 - 1:00pm
Teen Center
As part of our Next Gen Land Steward program, participants will learn all about the art of flower pressing All are welcome to this program, but you must attend four Bur Oak programs to gain a certification.
Wednesday, July 23, 2025 - 2:30pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Get hands-on with exciting science experiments led by the UI Science Booster Club! All Abilities Club programs are designed for those who are neurodivergent, or who experience intellectual or developmental disabilities, offering an inclusive, lower-...
Wednesday, July 23, 2025 - 3:00pm
Teen Center
We’ve pressed flowers and now we pound them turning their beautiful pigments into art.
Thursday, July 24, 2025 - 10:00am
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Get up close and hands-on with a variety of exotic animals with Wild Times Exotics. Wild Times Exotics is a fully licensed and insured Zoo to You program visiting ICPL for the first time! Zoo expert Lacey offers a hands on approach to animal...
Thursday, July 24, 2025 - 1:00pm
Meeting Room A, Meeting Room B, Meeting Room C
Get up close and hands-on with a variety of exotic animals with Wild Times Exotics. Wild Times Exotics is a fully licensed and insured Zoo to You program visiting ICPL for the first time! Zoo expert Lacey offers a hands on approach to animal...
Thursday, July 24, 2025 - 1:00pm
Teen Center
YES interns through the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County will put on a reptile demonstration using knowledge they've learned from their time at Johnson County Conservation.
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