The Des Moines Public Library's 2023 Authors Visiting in Des Moines (AViD) series lineup will be announced at 12 PM on Monday, February 13! Check back here or on the library's social media platforms to see which acclaimed authors are coming to DMPL this spring and summer.
The Des Moines Public Library Board of Trustees is appointed by the Mayor of Des Moines, with the approval of the City Council. The five-member board determines and adopts policies that govern the operation and program of the Library, including personnel policies and policies governing the selection of library materials, supplies and equipment.
Mayor Frank Cownie appointed Wes Graham to the Des Moines Public Library’s Board of Trustees in September 2014. In accepting the appointment, Graham shared what a strong impact the library had on his own growth and education. He has “great memories of growing up here and going, seemingly every week, to the public library.” He looks forward to serving on the board and believes that “the public library system is extremely important to the cultural growth of a city like Des Moines.”
A Des Moines native, Graham has a law degree from the University of Minnesota. After working for seven years with a law firm in Minneapolis, MN and watching his hometown grow and evolve, he decided to return to Des Moines. Graham worked at Graham, Ervanian, & Cacciatore for six years. He currently works at Duncan Green Law Firm.
Bob Mahaffey joined the Library Board of Trustees in 2017 after spending 12 years serving as a City Council Member. A long-time executive at Anderson Erickson Dairy and resident of the city’s east side, Mahaffey played a role in building the current East Side Library. Mahaffey says he’s a supporter of libraries and recognizes the importance of the role libraries play in our community.
Jessica Cezar joined the Des Moines Public Library Board of Trustees in 2021. Jessica graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a degree in Elementary Education.
Tim Hickman is an architect and principal and Substance Architecture, an architectural design firm based in Des Moines. Hickman graduated from Iowa State University with a BA in Architecture and holds a Master Degree in Architecture from Yale University. Hickman was appointed to the Board of Trustees by Mayor Frank Cownie in 2022. Hickman has been a dedicated ally of Des Moines’ library system since working on the design of the Forest Avenue Library in the early 1990s.
Hickman served on the Board of Directors of the Des Moines Public Library Foundation from 2015 to 2020 serving as Secretary, Vice President, and President of the Board during his tenure. An avid reader, he is energized by the ways the Des Moines’ Library system serves every resident of the metro area, providing education, entertainment, literacy, and equity while its branches provide cultural centers within the city’s neighborhoods.
Isobel Osius graduated from the University of Wyoming with degrees in accounting and English literature and holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Temple University. She worked as a custom research director and marketing database director for Conde Nast Publications in New York City for more than eighteen years. In 2002, she joined Meredith Corporation where she served as an editorial researcher until her retirement in 2007. In her spare time, she likes to read and travel.
