Cross Plains Public Library

Features and Activities

The Cross Plains Public Library offers many services and activities to the public starting with the very young through Senior Citizens. Refer to our Calendar for events and times.

The Cross Plains library provides public access to the Internet for research purposes. Those 18 and under require written parental consent prior to using this service. Print services are available for a nominal fee for those needing hard copy from the Internet.

In addition to publishing a  report of activities in the Cross Plains Review, the library also publishes a monthly newsletter as a means of informing the public of upcoming events. These events include the Summer Reading Program, Learn-About Program (LAP), Meet the author Series, and Book Sales. In 2002 the Cross Plans Review also began publishing on a space-available basis, Book Reviews written by the directors of the Library as a public service.

The Summer Reading Program is open to students age 3 through teens and is usually held during the summer months. The program is designed to encourage kids to continue their education throughout the summer months. 

The Learn-About Program is for children ages 3-5 and is held each Wednesday morning from 10:00-10:45. This program is staffed exclusively by volunteers and is coordinated by Beverly Ross. It begins the first of November and runs through the end of April. This program was started approximately 16 years ago and is designed to teach younger children coordination, social skills, listening skills and manners. The program introduces the children to the library and familiarizes them with books while teaching them the importance of reading.

The children participating in the LAP program are  focused on preparing for school. Check out our Lapsit program for those under 3 years of age. The children are taught to sing, do puzzles, color, recognize shapes, and recite The Pledge of Allegiance. There are several field trips during the year: the fire station, the police station, and most  importantly, they take a bus trip to the Primary School.

A very popular activity hosted by the Cross Plains Library is the Meet the Author Series. Once every three months, an author is invited to speak on a particular book or series of books. It is open to the community and is not limited to any certain ages. Check our Calendar for dates and featured authors. (Check here for a list of authors from past presentations).

The library also offers Book Sales including books by Robert E. Howard (Conan, the Barbarian) and local authors. The newsletter and Calendar provide information on these sales.

The Cross Plains Oral History project has a list of persons to record. As the histories are recorded, they are  stored on CDs at the Library. Jack Scott's history is on a CD in the library and one paper has been presented at the West Texas Historical Society using some of this material. Lois Garrett's history is on file and a transcript is being prepared. Many more great histories are to be recorded for use by the patrons of the Library and for future scholarly papers.

The library has a photocopier for public use. It is capable of single or double sided copying. Copies are only 10 cents per page.