Bomb threat shuts down Iowa City Public Library on Tuesday afternoon

A bomb threat shut the Iowa City Public Library down early on Tuesday.

The threat was received around 3:30 p.m. and drew a large Iowa City and University of Iowa police presence to the area. The building was evacuated and the university’s bomb-sniffing K-9 units canvassed the scene, sweeping through the building and ultimately determining that there was no true immediate threat inside or outside of the library.

“The safety of our patrons and staff is our highest priority, and as a precaution, the Downtown Library will remain closed for the rest of the day,” a release from the library said.

Library director Elsworth Carman apologized for any inconvenience the threat may have caused.

“We take any threat to our patrons and staff very seriously. We are working closely with the police to ensure the safety of our facility, and we will keep the community updated as more information becomes available,” Carman said in the release. “We would like to thank the Iowa City Police Department for their swift and comprehensive response.”

Library staff are working closely with police as they investigate the threat, he said.

The library’s website said late Tuesday that they anticipate to reopen for regular hours on Wednesday, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Bomb threat at Iowa City Public Library causes early closure