The library has tons of stuff for kids! Books, games, movies, puzzles, programs, and play- kids will learn AND have fun at the library.
Table of Contents
Programs & Events
Please see our calendar for an up-to-date schedule of events!
Storytimes
Early Literacy is what children know about reading and writing before they actually read or write. Find out more about early literacy at getreadytoread.org.
Research shows these early literacy skills are best developed through talking, singing, reading, writing and playing. Beginning at birth, what you do every day helps prepare your child to become a successful reader.
Storytimes at WBPL expand young children’s imaginations and provide fun extension activities that help with brain development. Storytimes also give children the chance to interact with kids their own ages before and during beginning school years. Since they are so beneficial to kids, we have a lot of them throughout the whole year. If you have a child that you think might be interested, come on by and check it out. We can almost guarantee there’s one this week.
Early-Out Program
After school on early dismissal Wednesdays, kids can come to the library for a special program each week!
- movies
- crafts
- activities
- games
- Legos
- and more!
No registration is required.
Following our Safe Child Policy, children under 6 must be accompanied by an parent or caregiver over 13 at all times; children between 6 and 8 years of age are allowed to be at the library unattended for one hour during library programs.
Contact us if you’d like more information about early-out programs.
1000 Books Before Kindergarten
We invite you to participate in the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program through the library!
Keep track of the books you read with your child and come back for a prize after every 100 you finish with him or her. At 1,000 books, your child will receive a 1,000 Books T-Shirt!
Click here to find out more about 1000 Books Before Kindergarten!
Dolly Parton Imagination Library
WBPL works with Cedar/Jones Early Childhood Iowa to bring you the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a program that gives children ages 0-5 years of age a specially selected book each month!
Click here to find out more about the Dolly Parton Imagination Library!
Summer Library Program
There’s literally a summer program for kids (and everyone else!). The program is designed to help bridge the gaps between school years and prevent learning loss. For preschool and younger kids, it helps them to learn to love books and improves their ability to learn in the future. The library’s program offers a lot of fun prizes and encourages reading throughout the summer. There is an activity or event almost every day of the summer, too, so there’s never a reason to be bored!
Borrowing
The library has a large collection of children’s materials for practically every interest. From animals to superheroes, the library has over 7,000 picture books, children’s music CDs, DVDs, and board books all available to check out from the library.
The picture books at WBPL are in sections called “Neighborhoods” so that you can find the subjects that you want to find without having to know the author. Looking for stories about bugs? How about the full section of Halloween? Kids don’t think by author, so we’ve made it easier to find what they’re looking for.
Visit our Kids’ Catalog to see all the books and movies we have for children to check out! You can search for specific titles or browse for popular series and subjects.
Homework Help
The West Branch Public Library is happy to announce HelpNow from Brainfuse, a service to help us all learn easier this school year.
Brainfuse HelpNow is an all-in-one suite of tutoring services designed for a wide range of academic needs whether it’s tackling a tough homework problem, mastering a particular topic, or writing a paper. HelpNow services include expert academic tutoring and self-study tools to empower users to study at their own pace or collaborate with peers and teachers. Students access live, on-demand academic help and state-aligned skills building lessons from expert tutors. With HelpNow, tutors and students communicate in real time in our online classroom by typing, drawing, and marking-up lessons and web content. Plus, students can use a secure file sharing feature in the writing lab to submit writing assignments to writing tutors any time of the day. The Brainfuse full-service test center offers practice tests for all levels in math, reading, and writing as well as college preparatory tests.
To access HelpNow, visit: wbpl.org/HelpNow. HelpNow includes:
- Live Tutoring: Students submit a question in our online classroom and receive live, one-on-one assistance from a Brainfuse tutor.
- Writing Lab: Our writing tutors help students become better writers by providing constructive feedback, and assistance usually within 24 hours of receiving a student’s submission.
- SkillSurfer: Our skills building service helps students master a concept or skill through state aligned online lessons with a live tutor. HelpNow Skills Building has been designed for a variety of age groups and academic needs.
- Send Question: Students submit questions via our online form and a tutor will respond usually within 24 hours to the student’s question.
- Language Lab: Students receive live online help with their Spanish language homework from our fluent Spanish-speaking tutors.