Yearly Archives: 2022


Join our adult walking group!

Walking Wednesdays – May 18 through September 28

Join West Branch Public Library and Parks & Rec as we dust off the cold and improve our mental and physical health, and maybe meet some new friends along the way!

All adults are welcome. Click here to register for the walking group.

This is an adult-only activity, however children in strollers are allowed.
No pets, please.
In the case of rain, walking will be cancelled for the day.


National Library Week

This week, West Branch Public Library encourages all community members to visit their library in person or online to explore and access services and programs. WBPL offers a wide array of programs, events, and resources that are available in person or from the comfort of home, including storytimes, book discussions, ebooks, games, and more.

April 3-9, 2022 is National Library Week, a time to highlight the essential role libraries, librarians and library workers play in transforming lives and strengthening communities. The theme for this year’s National Library Week is “Connect with Your Library,” which promotes the idea that libraries are places to get connected to technology by using broadband, computers and other resources. Libraries also offer opportunities to connect with media, programs, ideas and classes, in addition to books. Most importantly, libraries also connect communities to each other.

Libraries of all types continue to go above and beyond to keep their communities connected by expanding resources and embracing inclusion in their programming, resources and collections. Libraries across the country are making a difference in people’s lives by providing electronic learning resources like online homework help and wi-fi access for students and workers who may lack internet access at home. WBPL is supporting the community with services such as BrainFuse Homework Help and circulating mobile hotspots for 24-hour internet access at home.

This National Library Week, you can show your appreciation and support for libraries by visiting us in person or online, following us on social media and using the hashtag #NationalLibraryWeek.


3rd Thursday EXTRA!

A Prairie Village: Herbert Hoover’s West Branch, 1874 to 1885

April 5, 2022  6 to 7pm
Online

Description: Herbert Hoover spent the first decade of his long and eventful life in the prairie village of West Branch, Iowa, a market, and railroad town that was just coming into its own during the years of his boyhood. Join us for a presentation about Hoover’s hometown filled with historic images of the people and places that Hoover knew. The presentation will place West Branch into the larger context of midwestern communities in the late 19th century and will touch on the social and economic life of West Branch during Hoover’s childhood.

About the Speaker: Peter Hoehnle is a National Park Service park guide at the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and holds a doctorate in history. He enjoys doing historical research and has been widely published on American communal societies, including volumes on Amana and the Shakers. He has served as President of the Communal Studies Association, and is a past editor of the journal Communal Societies.

Please register to receive a link to this presentation!