What's New at DMPL - Winter 2020

It's time to give our patrons some updates on all the new additions we've made to our collection and buildings over the past several months.

VOX Books: These are picture books that have a built-in audio player that reads the book to the reader. Each book has a narrator and page turning sounds that match the content in the book. For example, the picture book Too Many Carrots has a sound of a crunching carrot as the signal to turn the page.

They are presently being housed at the Central and Franklin Avenue Libraries, but anyone can place holds and have them shipped to their local branch.
 

VOX books have bold purple labels on the side, making them easy to find among the children's collection. And yes, we do have several Spanish VOX books! To find VOX books in our catalog, search for "Children's Pre-loaded Audiobook" under collections.

Easy-to-Read Titles: These books are specifically tailored for dyslexic readers, reluctant readers, and children expanding their reading skills. Easy-to-read books are appealing to kids, but have a vocabulary that is appropriate for reluctant readers or those who are expanding their reading skills. They may use a simplified sentence structure by shortening the length of a sentence and limiting the number of words per page. The easiest way to find these books is to do a subject search in the catalog looking for "Easy-to-read" and "High interest-low vocabulary". See the above graphic for an example search.

Updated Spanish Collections: The library's newly-created Spanish Servicios Team has been helping identify areas of improvement in the library's collection. One big change - it's now easier than ever to search for specific Spanish collections in our catalog. We've added new collections, including Spanish Graphic Novels and Spanish Picture Books, among many other collections. Just head to our catalog and use the collection filter to find more.

Meeting Room Improvements at South: The South Side Library meeting room has been equipped with speakers, a screen, and a projector. This not only benefits potential programs hosted at the South Side Library, but anyone in the public who chooses to utilize our meeting room for an meeting or event can also use the equipment. The improvements came through funds provided by the Des Moine Public Library Foundation Technology Fund. For more information about using our meeting rooms, check out our meeting room page.

LED Lights: The South Side and North Side Libraries replaced florescent lighting with new LED lighting throughout their whole buildings. The Franklin Avenue Library also installed LED lighting in a portion of their building. The new lights are brighter, reduce energy use, and reduce the carbon footprint of the South Side Library by more than 13 metric tons each year. That's the equivalent of emissions from more than 1400 gallons of gasoline.

A New Playstation at North: The North Side Library installed this new play station last week. Using funds provided by the Des Moines Public Library Foundation that were given in memory of Carolyn Owens, the play station has lots of great accessories. Currently, it is Rosie's Bakery and includes a cash register and play money, sweets, and baking tools. The station gives kids a chance to practice the 5 Simple Steps with friends and family. Staff says that it's been popular with both young and older children!

The North Side Library also has accessories for Rosie’s Ice Cream Shop, Rosie’s Workshop (woodworking tools), Rosie’s Grocery, Rosie’s Medical Clinic, and Rosie's Restaurant. They plan to rotate to a different theme every few months.

Coming soon: STEM and Literacy Kits: Explore science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and literacy concepts as a family by borrowing the library's new STEM and Literacy Kits. Each kit has been custom-made and has a different theme. Theme examples include Dinosaurs, magnets, the ocean, and more. They will be housed at Franklin, but anyone can put holds on them and have them delivered to their home branch to check out. Keep your eyes pealed for these in the coming weeks!

To learn more about what's happening at the library, be sure to follow us on our social media accounts: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Check out dmpl.org/events for a full list of programs and events.