Library News

We’re thrilled to welcome three new adult discussion groups to the library in 2026! Inner Child, Legacies, and Otherworlds are brand-new groups that discuss a wide variety of reading and conversation topics. Whether you’re craving a little nostalgia, looking to explore a timeless classic read, or ready for a journey into the fantastical, there’s something for everyone! 

Do you have a stack of good books you’ve been meaning to dig into? Are you hoping to start the new year with a new book or a fresh reading goal? We invite you to curl up with some good books this January! Readers of all ages may log their reading online during our Winter Reading Challenge that runs January 1-31, 2026. You don’t need to log books or minutes – just log if you read something! Readers who complete 10 days’ worth of reading will be entered into a drawing for a gift certificate to Valley Junction that can be used at any business in the district. 

We are excited to announce that our new library systems, Polaris and Vega Discover, have officially launched! As you explore our catalog, it will have a new, modern look and feel. Vega Discover replaces the old Encore catalog and we're excited to have you get acquainted with the new product!

Our library staff is happy to assist you with any questions you might have regarding the upcoming special election on December 30, 2025. 

The library will be an Early Voting site on Monday, December 15 between the hours of 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM in our Community Room. This is for Polk County voters only. Voters in precinct 227 of Dallas County do not currently have a petition for early voting.

We will NOT be a voting site on Election Day, December 30, 2025. 

Other satellite voting locations include:

We’ve teamed up with Metro Waste Authority to be a convenient drop-off location for your old holiday lights! Just drop them in one of the bins near our Accounts and Checkouts Desk through January 30 and we'll take care of the rest.

Accepted lights: LED, classic, plastic & glass bulbs, net lights, icicle lights, and even battery-powered strands.

Please drop lights loose, not bagged. Holiday lights are NOT regular recyclables and should not go in your curbside recycling bin. They can damage the sorting equipment at the Metro Recycling Facility.

We’re getting ready to launch a whole new online catalog experience and we can’t wait to share it with you! 

Introducing Vega Discover, our upcoming catalog system designed to make finding your next great read (or watch or listen) easier than ever. With a fresh, intuitive interface, Vega Discover brings together all versions of a title (print, eBook, audiobook, and more) so you can quickly see what’s available and how you’d like to borrow it. 

We've heard your questions, and we're excited to announce that we are participating in the Ballet Des Moines Community Ticketing Program! This collaboration with the Iowa Library Association and Ballet Des Moines connects communities and lowers barriers for engaging in the arts. 

In honor of National Library Card Sign-Up Month, we’re happy to announce that our limited-edition cards with designs submitted by library users are now available! As a reminder, our new card options are: 

We rounded out the end of our Fiscal Year in June 2025. Looking back on the year, we wanted to share some of the highlights, including all of the fabulous things we were able to accomplish with the help of our dedicated patrons. 

Our event attendance skyrocketed to 53,849 attendees, we hit the exciting milestone of 1 year with our fearless leader and director, Traci, on staff, and our Words on Wheels truck continued to make hundreds of stops around the City of West Des Moines and expanded our reach.  

The State Library of Iowa is making some updates to the online resources it provides for libraries and their patrons. These changes are part of a regular review to ensure that the most useful and cost-effective services are available to Iowans.

What’s Changing?

Starting on June 30, 2025, the following resources will no longer be available through the State Library and West Des Moines Public Library:

You've been patiently waiting, and we are excited to announce the winners of our West Des Moines Library Card Design Contest! We had over 130 submissions, and after much deliberation, we have chosen the following designs to be printed on actual, usable library cards. 

Since we had so many amazing entries, we are excited to be able to display them on our front lobby display case during the month of June! Stop by to see all of the fantastic designs that we had the privilege of choosing from! 

Thanks to the hard work of librarians around the state, we now have a new Adventure Pass ticketing system in place! You can reserve Adventure Passes by visiting www.iowaadventurepass.org. We are thrilled to bring this service back for our patrons. 

UPDATE: The changes will now take affect on May 31, 2025 to allow our patrons an ample amount of time to switch their cards in Libby/ OverDrive. Please reach out to our Library Technology Coordinator, Louise Alcorn, to switch your card. 

Starting May 31, 2025, we’re making an important update to our digital collection access through OverDrive and Libby. Below, you’ll find a quick overview of what’s changing and why, along with answers to common questions to help guide you through the transition.

Big things are happening behind the scenes here at the library! Our team has been working hard to refresh our Book Sale process so we can start accepting donations again later this year. But before we can welcome new books, we need to clear out some space — and that means it’s time for a bigger-than-normal Book Sale!