As we watch events around the country and the world unfold, the West Lafayette Public Library joins others in expressing our support of those fighting for social justice.
As a public library, it is our duty to create free and equitable access to materials that encourage our community members to learn, grow, and seek the truth — even when it’s challenging. We begin our efforts by increasing the visibility and availability of materials that shed light on the impact that economic injustice and systemic racism play in our lives.
We hope that we can play a role in fostering understanding and change. We are developing a resource list of library materials to help. These lists are just a beginning, so please join us in exploring these important materials and discovering more.
Thank you to the Purdue Black Cultural Center for their time and to other members of the community who have helped us build this list.
The West Lafayette Public Library is pleased to announce that it has been selected as a recipient of the Indiana Humanities Advancing Racial Equity grant. Indiana Humanities created the grant opportunity after the death of George Floyd with the intention to “help Hoosiers think, read and talk about racial injustice and systemic racism and to support libraries as key public humanities organizations in this work.”
The grant award has allowed us to purchase 62 items including feature films, documentaries, Adult non-fiction, and Young Adult and Children’s fiction and non-fiction. The books were chosen from a list provided by Indiana Humanities and determined by library staff to best fill gaps in the library’s collection around racism and social justice issues.
Please find a catalog list of our selections below:
Going on a trip and needing wifi on the road? In need of temporary internet while at home?
Residents of the Greater Lafayette community are welcome to check out a wireless hotspot from the West Lafayette Public Library.
You may place a hold on a hotspot by clicking here or by calling the Library at 765-743-2261. A limited quantity are available.
Hotspot Borrowing Guidelines:
Only adult patrons (Resident or Reciprocal accounts) in good standing may check out a hotspot.
Hotspots circulate for a period of 7 days.
The devices may be renewed 1 time. This will happen automatically by the Evergreen Indiana system unless another person is waiting for the item.
Hotspots may be placed on hold. Patrons have 1 week to pick up the hotspot before their hold is cancelled and the item made available to the next patron in line.
Internet services on the hotspot will be remotely deactivated the day after the due date.
During our limited open hours, hotspots may be returned to any public desk or bookdrop.
Due to the demand for hotspots, a patron (or another member of the patron’s household) may not check out a hotspot after returning it until a period of 7 days has passed.
All components must be returned in the condition that they were received – no substitutions accepted.
Patrons are responsible for costs associated with damage, loss, or theft of the hotspot.
Patrons will be charged for any missing parts in accordance with the replacement costs. If individual parts cannot be replaced, the patron will be charged for the entire unit.
Replacement costs as are follows: Hotspot Device – 75.00 Case – 15.00 Charging Cable – 10.00 Total replacement cost – 100.00
Patrons may not attempt to alter or reconfigure the firmware of the hotspot or to remove the battery.
Patrons may not use or attempt to use the hotspot for illegal purposes, including (but not limited to) violations of licensing agreements and/or copyright laws.
Patrons assume full responsibility for any damage to their personal devices resulting from malicious software or viruses downloaded via the hotspot.
Patrons assume full responsibility to protect minor children from exposure to objectionable content on the Internet, including (but not limited to) pornography, violence and/or hate speech.
If it is determined that a patron displays a history of neglecting these guidelines, he or she may lose hotspot borrowing privileges.
The West Lafayette Public Library will reopen on Tuesday, July 7th with new hours and safety procedures in place.
We’re happy to have you back! Please do your best to adhere to the following safety standards.
While you are visiting the Library, please limit your visits to 30 minutes or less. This allows staff to maintain a clean environment between patron visits.
Masks are REQUIRED to be worn for the entire duration of your visit. We will have a limited quantity available if you do not have one.
If you are not feeling well, we ask that you do not visit the Library until you are feeling better. In the meantime, we encourage you to look into our digital resources or curbside pickup options.
Contactless Pickup (Curbside Service) We understand that not everyone is ready to enter the Library again; that’s okay! Curbside service will be available Tuesday through Saturday from 4:00pm to 6:00pm.
To use this service, place holds on items you wish to check out either online through the Evergreen catalog or by calling the Library. Your items are ready once you receive a Hold Notification email. You then have one week to pick up your items during our curbside hours.
Please note: we will check out these items to you ahead of time.
When you arrive at the Library, call us to let us know you are here. Your items will be bagged and distributed contactlessly through our Columbia St. vestibule.
Holds may also be picked up at the circulation desk during open hours.
Safety and Cleaning Measures We want everyone to be safe and feel comfortable while using the Library. As such, we have enacted the following practices.
The Building: In addition to our normal cleaning service, the Library has hired additional staff to clean and sanitize all public areas while we are open to the public. Special attention will be given to high traffic areas and the Children’s Department. Public computers will be cleaned by staff after each patron use.
Library furniture has been rearranged to allow for optimal social distancing and will be cleaned routinely during public use.
Hand sanitizer will be placed throughout the building for public use.
The Materials: All items that are returned will undergo a quarantine of at least 72-hours before being handled by Library staff. If you receive overdue notices for material you’ve already returned, don’t worry; the Library does not charge overdue fines. The quarantine process will not cause fines to accrue on your account.
Likewise, any incoming Evergreen Indiana, SRCS, or InterLibrary Loan materials will undergo the same quarantine. If you’re wanting an item from another Library, please keep this short delay in mind if the item is needed by a particular date (for book clubs, etc.)
The Staff: All Library staff are required to complete self-assessments of health before reporting to work each day. While working in the building, staff will wear face masks and those working on public desks will be stationed behind plexiglass screens.
Meeting Rooms Until further notice, all meeting rooms are closed. All meeting room reservations have been canceled.
Library Programs Recurring in-person Library programs (such as storytimes, craft days, etc.) have been canceled.
Our librarians are working hard to provide you with alternate programs through virtual or take-home activities. This includes programs being held as part of our Summer Reading Program. For more information on these, please visit the News page.
Public Computers Public computers are available for use with a 30-minute time limit per day.
Please note: there are no computers available in the Children’s Department. If a child needs to use a computer, they may use those available in the adult areas.
The Library offers mobile hotspots for checkout. If you are able to use one of these at home, we highly encourage you to do so! Hotspots may be checked out at the first floor circulation desk and can be checked out for one week at a time.
Printing/Faxing Service If you need documents printed, feel free to email the files to us at refdesk@wlaf.lib.in.us. Staff will print the documents before your arrival and have them ready for pickup. You may pick up your documents during curbside hours, if you prefer.
If you need documents faxed, you may also email the files to us at refdesk@wlaf.lib.in.us, if you are able. Staff can fax the pages and then email the confirmation page back to you.
If you cannot email the documents that you need printed or faxed, you may still use our self-service processes while the Library is open. We can also offer staff assistance with this during curbside hours.
Currently, there is no charge for printing (black and white, up to 20 pages).
New Parking Garage Instructions The Library’s new parking garage gate system will be active beginning July 7th. When you arrive at the garage, take a ticket from the entry gate.
You have one (1) hour of free parking, regardless of your destination. Present your ticket at the exit gate and you will not be charged for parking.
If you exceed one (1) hour of parking and you were in the Library for all of that time, your parking is free. See a staff member to have your ticket validated before leaving the Library.
If you exceed one (1) hour of parking and you were visiting the surrounding area, you will charged at a rate of $3/hour (maximum $10/day).
The Library will not validate parking used while the Library is closed.
No monthly parking passes are being sold at this time.
Donations At this time, we can accept small donations. You may bring these to the circulation desk during open hours.
Large donations or donation pickups are handled by the Friends of the West Lafayette Public Library. Please contact the Friends for more information.
Questions? Things have drastically changed and we know it’s a lot to take in. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call us at 765-743-2261 or email refdesk@wlaf.lib.in.us. Our phone/email hours are Mon-Sat 10am to 6pm.
