CLR Case Studies--

Accomplishments

Over the past few years, the Cedar Falls Public Library has been working hard to map its future course and identify the place it hopes to occupy in the community in the decades to come. As a result, the library is engaged in the following activities:

• working in partnerships with the city government, the publicly owned utility company, a local university, and the Chamber of Commerce to use electronic technology to expand the resources and services of the library;

• maintaining an award-winning World Wide Web site for the library (http://www.iren.net/cfpl/) that provides links to other resources and gives the library an Internet identity;
• working with the community to establish a comprehensive strategic plan for the city (in carrying out the plan, the library is staking out a place as the community's primary information provider); and
• planning for a new building to replace the space-constricted Carnegie building.

The Cedar Falls Public Library has positioned itself to take advantage of unique opportunities in the community and to become the trendsetter in helping the city to become a "wired" community with connections among the library, city services, and every citizen's home. In this way, the city hopes to attract new businesses, industries, and residents to Cedar Falls.