Wendell Public Library

Wendell Public Library Sherburn Merrill Smith accidently shot himself through the stomach, inflicting a wound that was for six days feared to be fatal. Smith's mother, Mrs.

With the tragic death of Wendell State Bank President in October 1912, the Wendell Library was born. William Chester of New York donated Smith's books, many of them leather bound, to be used as the Sherburn Smith Memorial Library. From this small core a library grew, housed first in a room at the bank. The library books were moved to the building that was the Post Office on Avenue A when Wendell S

tate Bank merged with First National Bank of Wendell in 1915. In 1918 it was moved to the Beaton Wendell Inn which the city acquired as a City Hall and in 1919 it was moved to the new City Hall built on Main Street. The library shared the Water Works office in 1921 until March 1962 when the City Council agreed the library had grown too big for the office and had it moved to the basement of city hall where it shared space with the furnace and coal bins. The basement library was remodeled in 1980 and the old coal bins were removed to make additional space for more books. On July 26, 2003, the Wendell City Council and the Wendell School Board met during a city council meeting and entered into an agreement for additional city hall property. The city had acquired the old Middle School Library building on the east side of the new city hall building for the city's new library, in exchange for the chip sealing of the parking lot next to the High School Gymnasium. Now the library serves as a center for information, community enrichment, recreation reading, and lifelong learning. The library contains over 23,000 volumes and offers audio and video tapes as well. Popular programs include summer reading programs and story hours. Special events such as author visits and guest speakers are scheduled several times a year. The library is on an interlibrary loan program with the City of Gooding and Shoshone and offers public internet access. The library is governed by a four member Library Board, appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council. Funding for the library is through property taxes, user fees, and private donations. The Library is open five days, thirty hours a week. Future planning includes relocating the Library to a larger building recently acquired by the City. The new facility is planned to house a community center as well.

Having a great time at Wendell Wednesdays with Annaleise from Gooding County 4-H. We made a trip to Africa this week! ...
06/18/2026

Having a great time at Wendell Wednesdays with Annaleise from Gooding County 4-H. We made a trip to Africa this week! Where will we be next Wednesday? Find out at 10 AM, Wednesday, June 24!

Huge shout out to Simerly's for these two beautiful flower baskets! Thank you for making our new home so welcoming! Yo...
06/18/2026

Huge shout out to Simerly's for these two beautiful flower baskets! Thank you for making our new home so welcoming! You are a true community treasure ❤️

06/06/2026
06/06/2026

Good afternoon!
The Wendell Public Library’s regularly scheduled meeting has been canceled and rescheduled for June 8th @ 12:00pm. Due to the craziness of moving into our new building the meeting will be held in City Hall’s conference room. Public is welcome!

06/05/2026

Wendell Friends, the shelves are here! So, Wendell Library will be closing starting tomorrow June 6th for approximately three weeks. 4H STEAM day camp will still happen as scheduled. If you are wanting to participate in 4H Steam Day camp, please call the Wendell Public Library 208-536-6195 and register!☺️

Mrs. McCarty's class visited the library today. They are great listeners and you should see them Chicken Dance! 🎶 🐔 Tha...
06/01/2026

Mrs. McCarty's class visited the library today. They are great listeners and you should see them Chicken Dance! 🎶 🐔 Thanks for coming by 👋

Summer fun for Gooding County 4H's Wendell Wednesdays at the Wendell Library! Lots of fun for all ages. We hope to see y...
05/27/2026

Summer fun for Gooding County 4H's Wendell Wednesdays at the Wendell Library! Lots of fun for all ages. We hope to see your smiling faces!!

We appreciate all of the boxes that have been brought in already. But now that we're getting closer to moving books, we ...
05/26/2026

We appreciate all of the boxes that have been brought in already. But now that we're getting closer to moving books, we need MORE boxes! Please bring in any boxes to the library that you are able to donate, we need as many as we can get!

Address

395 1st Avenue E
Wendell, ID
83355

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 11am - 5pm
Wednesday 11am - 7pm
Thursday 11am - 5pm
Friday 11am - 5pm

Telephone

+12085366195

Website

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