All Des Moines Public Library locations have reduced in-person services at this time. Browsing will be unavailable, and public computers will only be available at Central Library by appointment. Curbside Pickup will continue at all locations. Go HERE for all the details about this decision and to see our new hours, services, and offerings at each DMPL location.
You never know when you’ll have to solve a crime. It could be when you’re bored at home with your sisters, when you’re visiting a researcher’s house to see their collection of plants, or even when you’ve hit a dead end in your Hollywood career. Luckily, these ladies and gentlemen were up for the cal...
Read MoreThe attack on the U.S. Capitol and other recent unrest left many parents wondering how to talk to their children about what happened. It's hard to describe why such shocking violence occurred, and it can be difficult to discuss complicated topics like racism, injustice, and protests against the...
Read MoreJaneé and Rebecca, with the Book Chat team, join host Aaron to chat about their favorite books this year. What made them laugh? What made them cry? What made 2020 a great year for reading? Listen to the podcast to find out, and be sure to check out the show notes to see other books they loved that t...
Read MoreAs 2020 winds to an end, we're celebrating the books you loved. Listed below are the books and DVDs most requested by our patrons in 2020. It's a list of unique and fun books and movies, symbolizing what has been a very unique year. Adult Fiction Where the Crawdads Sing, by ...
Read MoreWith the holidays around the corner, it's the perfect occasion to squeeze in a couple books. That's especially true if you're not traveling this year. This list of books is all under 300 pages, making them the perfect companion for the extra time you might have throughout the next couple weeks. ...
Read MoreEvery strong woman was once a child. The Des Moines Public Library’s Mighty Girl Empowerment series aims to give girls ages 10-12 the skills and information they need to find their inner mightiness as they mature. Erica Eis, a children’s librarian at the Forest Avenue Library, began the program i...
Read MoreThe Des Moines Public Library hired Emanuel Sinclair Mitchell as its Deputy Director in September. Mitchell comes to DMPL with a wealth of experience in a number of different library settings, including at public libraries, academic libraries, and even prison libraries. This broad experience has giv...
Read MoreIt's the first episode in our latest AViD Podcast Series! Kate Quinn answers seven questions about her books, what she reads, how she writes, and more. After you're done listening to the podcast, be sure to register for her AViD event next Wednesday, December 9, at 7:00 PM! You can do so at the AViD...
Read MoreEisner-nominated artist Scott Chantler joins us on the DMPL Podcast today to discuss his newest graphic novel Bix. It's a biography of Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke, a Davenport native and a revered member of the Golden Age of Jazz in the 1920s and 1930s. Chantler and host Aaron Gerne...
Read MoreThere’s a certain power to reading aloud. When children read aloud, they expand their vocabulary and build creativity. “It is so magical to imagine the characters in a read aloud and picture how everything is created in your mind,” Maddie Bassman, a children’s librarian at the East Side Libr...
Read MoreGen and Katie from the Book Chat team join the podcast today to talk about books that give them "all the feels." They both picked one "swoony" book, one "scary" book, and one "funny" book to share, creating a delightful podcast full of fun reads for the holidays. Apple Podcasts/iTunes |&...
Read MoreNovember is Native American Heritage Month. In honor of this month, our Book Chat team has put together a list of books that celebrate the culture and heritage of Native Americans and the ways they deeply enrich the quality and character of our country. Adult Books Th...
Read MoreOn today's podcast, host Aaron Gernes talks with Iowa author Debra Landwehr Engle, whose novel Twenty came out this past spring. It follows an Iowa woman named Meg, who, in the midst of grief, depression, and loss, makes a decision to take a mysterious substance that a doctor says will ca...
Read MoreWe're setting our clocks back this Sunday as Daylight Saving Time ends, which is the closest (for now) we get to time travel! With the way the time change works, you can put a pizza in the oven at 1:50 AM Sunday morning and pull it out at 1:10 AM. So let's celebrate this weird, quirky...
Read MoreWe’ve given you some great horror titles already this year. With Halloween and Beggars’ Night just around the corner, it’s time to put a different spin on spooky stories. This is a collection of fun yet frightening tales – the kind of campfire chronicles that give you a good scare yet don’t make you...
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