Library News

In the spirit of March Madness, the WDM Public Library is hosting our own bracket challenge: but with books! We've pulled the top titles in four "divisions": Adult, Young Adult, Picture Books, and Juvenile. Each week, we'll open a new survey to vote your favorite books onto the finals and ultimately crown the Best Book! 

And the winner is... The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle! Join us next year to play again! 

The WDM Public Library is proud to partner with the American Heart Association on their "Libraries with Heart" initiative. Through this program, patrons can now check out one of three Blood Pressure Monitor kits to track their heart health. 

Each kit includes: 

Wanting to watch the 2024 Academy Award Nominated films before the Oscars air on Sunday, March 10? See which films you can check out from the West Des Moines Public Library and where you can stream others. 

BEST PICTURE NOMINATIONS

As we reflect on 2023, we would like to take time to remember the authors and public figures who left us this year. Our list below just scratches the surface. View more notable deaths on comprehensive lists from The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly to look back at more iconic individuals who passed this year. 

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, 2024. 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.

Ever wonder what the most popular books in the library are during the year? Here's the breakdown of the top 10 most circulated items in adult fiction, young adult fiction and children's fiction! 

ADULT

1. All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham

Darryl Eschete, who has served as the director of the West Des Moines Public Library since 2012, has accepted a new position as Director of Oshkosh Public Library in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The WDM Library Board of Trustees, Friends Foundation, and staff wish him well in his new endeavor as he returns closer to his family in Wisconsin.  

The WDM Public Library’s collection of STEM Kits for learning have always hovered around 60 items to check out. Now, we’ve been able to expand our offerings to over 130! Not only are the Learning Kits fun for kids to play with, but they are curated to focus on ‘sneaky learning’ objectives such as early literacy skills, dramatic play, fine and gross motor skills, and early math concepts.

The West Des Moines Public Library is excited to be participating in Sensory Spaces with other Metro area libraries. During these designated times, each Sensory Space library will offer special hours for members of the public who appreciate a sensory-friendly environment. The next Sensory Space time at the West Des Moines Public Library will be on Sunday, October 8 from 1:00 - 2:00 PM

Each year, the West Des Moines Public Library celebrates Banned Books Week to honor the freedom to read. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries.  Librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types come together during this week to support the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

The West Des Moines Public Library is partnering with the Polk County Health Department to be a pick-up location for free gun locks. Patrons do not need to have a library card in order to pick up a free gun lock at the Accounts and Checkout Desk or Children's Desk. 

The West Des Moines Public Library is partnering with DART to celebrate Library Card Sign up Week! Use your library card to ride FREE on DART’s Local and Express routes and On Call services September 17-23, 2023.

Just show your library card when you board any DART bus September 17-23. It's that simple! Then enjoy DART's free WiFi to listen to an eAudiobook or read an eBook. 

by Darryl Eschete, Director, WDM Public Library

As those of you who have recently visited us at 4000 Mills Civic Parkway know, the public elevator that had been previously been out of service is officially back up and running. While the elevator was out of service, we received many questions about the nature of the outage and how long it would take to repair. I'd like to share where we are in the process of upgrading both our public and staff elevators and what you can expect in the months to come. 

We rounded out the end of our Fiscal Year in June 2023. 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. 

Not only did our digital and physical circulation numbers go up this year, we were also proud of serving over 1,300 patrons through our Homebound and Elder Care Outreach programs, having 2,900 volunteer hours served in the library, and having 21,931 event attendees!