Library Services

Circulation Services

 At our new circulation desk,  books, videos, and audios are checked out electronically.   Inquire at the desk if you need help in finding a book or other resource.  We will be glad to help you.   If your patron card is not barcoded yet, please bring it in to be barcoded or please inquire about card replacement ($1.00).   That benefits you in the long run.

Children's  Programs; Youth and Teen Services

   Each summer we have a summer reading program which is the national program in which Texas libraries participate -  the CSLP.  Throughout the year we encourage parents to bring in their toddlers, especially, and check out books for them.   Pop-up books are available to read to the children in the library.  Also, the librarian would be glad to assist home-schooled children with their research.  

Teens are encouraged to join a new teen summer reading program, and also to sign up to help at the library.

Reference Assistance; Genealogy

The librarian is available to assist you with your reference and genealogy questions.   Our reference collection is small.  Also, there is much available both on the general Internet and in Texshare databases provided to you by our state library.   The Heritage Quest online is a genealogical database for census records, family histories, and the American Revolution patriots.  Go to www.tsl.state.tx.us/texshare/pl for reference resources, including books, academic journals, newspapers, and encyclopedias.

Our genealogy collection is also small; however, we do have aa online database of 800 genealogical books published by the Genealogical Publishing co. --- until Dec 4, 2025, by subscription.  we could also  guide you to Internet resources, other libraries' database lists, family histories and census or other records available in Heritage Quest in the Texshare databases.  Our collection has an emphasis upon Texas, Virginia,  Maryland , Tennessee, Kentucky, and  Georgia as well as colonial immigrants and their ancestors in England.  Our goal for the genealogy collection is that it would not only be helpful for general research for everyone, but also include books that have the ancestry of people from Valley Mills.   Thus, descendants of those from Valley Mills would have documentation on their ancestry at this library!  Memorial donations are welcomed to help us to add to this collection.

To access census records, other records and  family histories in Heritage Quest, a part of the Texshare databases, go to :

  www.tsl.state.tx.us/texshare/pl

The Waco-McLennan County Library has a huge genealogy collection as well as computers with additional  databases.   Their library edition of ancestry.com has many more resources  and documents than are available from a home edition.   To access their web-site for many genealogy links, go to http://www.waco-texas.com/CITY_DEPTS/libraryservices/libraryservices.htm or simply type in Waco-McLennan County Library in a yahoo or google search.

The Clifton library near-by also has the ancestry.com library edition.

For Bosque County research,  go to the Bosque County Collection [at Meridian], online.

Outreach Activities

We are always trying to reach more and new people of the community through our local newspaper articles and by word of mouth.    During the last several years through grants and individual donations, both monetary and of supplies, we have had an art program for adults and children.  Let us know if you are interewsted in art.  At one time we sponsored a program at the high school, handing out paper bags with a pencil, pad and brochures.   In 2009 we mailed out 300 brochures, and in February 2010 we mailed out 500 brochures with letters seeking donations for our expansion project.   If you did not receive a brochure and would like to have one, please contact us or come by the library.  We coordinated with the Food pantry to have our library team of teen-agers to assist with the collection and distribution of food.   for several years  we have had a booth at the High School health fair, distributing our brochure, our website address along with Texshare database information and a list of recommended medical websites. 

The Library's Collection

     The collection is divided into adult, Young Adult (YA)  children's.  

     The children's collection is divided for  upper elementary (JUV) and small children (E).  A wide  area between the shelves serves as  space  for reading programs for children.   It includes both non-fiction, fiction, and the picture books.   "Pop-up"  [toy and mechanical] books are for in-house use.

    The adult collection includes non-fiction and fiction as well as reference and genealogy.  The fiction books are divided as to general fiction, Westerns, and Mysteries.   The paperback collection is separate.   Audios, videos, CD's and a few DVD's  for both children and adults are available.  Some fiction books are in the Large Print section. 

Computers, Printers ($0.25 per page) $1.00 per page if complete color, e.g. a picture in color Fax available ( $2.00 1st page, $1.00 other pages, cover page free

It is the patron's responsibility to remove any private information from the public computers after filling out forms or typing a paper

Community Spaces in the Library

       With our expansion we now have a large conference table for research or group meetings.