Mission

The mission of the Iola Public Library is to provide resources, services, and programs to meet the informational, educational and recreational needs and interests of the people of the community. The staff strives to give people what they want when they come to the library.

Vision

The Iola Public Library: A welcoming destination that inspires our community.

Core Values

The Iola Public Library embraces these values:

• Serving the community – Service
• Engaging with families, teens, and children – Engagement
• Being a welcoming place for all – Destination
• Supporting the needs of readers – Literacy
• Being a dynamic, fun place – Participation
• Being a trusted community partner – Collaboration

You are invited to download the Approved Strategic Plan and/or follow our progress on the Dashboard.

History

The library was founded as a membership library in 1884, then became a free public library in 1905.  Both centennials were celebrated, in 1984 and 2005.

Iola is lucky in that the library board requested Lewis Henry Wishard to write a history of the library.  He did so, and this book preserves much library history that might otherwise have been lost.  The library has several copies of this volume, which he wrote in 1929, with some supplements up through 1934. 

Board of Directors

The library board meets on the first Monday of the month at 5:30 p.m. in the library meeting room. Agendas, Minutes, and monthly statistics are available in the Document Library.

We are always looking for good people to serve on the library board.  If you are interested in putting an application on file, ask for one at the circulation desk in the library, or at city hall.

Staff