A town rebuilt its library in 94 days with volunteer labor

After a flood took out the ground floor, 340 residents in Cedar Falls signed up for shifts. It reopened Saturday.

Priya Anand

6:50 AM ET · 4 min read

The Cedar Falls public library reopened Saturday, 94 days after floodwater destroyed its ground floor collection and children's wing.

A volunteer roster of 340 residents logged more than 6,000 hours of demolition, drywall and shelving work alongside a small contracted crew.

Donations covered 71% of the $1.4 million rebuild; the remainder came from a county reserve fund.

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