Due to a scheduled project, the south drive, pickup window, and book drop will be inaccessible at the Franklin Avenue Library from Friday, September 27 through Sunday, September 29. Parking will be limited in the east lot. The library will remain open for normal hours.
The South Side Library will be open today for normal hours as concrete work continues today and likely tomorrow. Patrons will need to enter the library parking lot through the pool's parking lot off of Porter Avenue. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Today, May 4th, is affectionately known as "Star Wars Day" by fans of the franchise. In honor of Darth Vader, an antagonist in the original trilogy and one of the most well-known known bad guys in the history of storytelling, our Book Chat team has put together a list of books and stories told...
Read MoreMay is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Our Book Chat team has put together a a great list of books for readers of all ages in honor of this month. These books both honor Asian and Pacific American historical figures and celebrate the Asian and Pacific American experience. A small selecti...
Read MoreOver the weekend, Netflix premiered the anticipated adaptation of Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone series. The Netflix series incorporates characters from Grishaverse, which is the world where the novels are set. If you spent the weekend binge-watching the series, and want more, we put together a lis...
Read MoreWhen you want to know about Des Moines’ past, start at the Des Moines Public Library. Not only do we have dozens of books in our collection, but our local history pages are chalk full of great information. Find them by clicking on the Research menu at the top of the page. Here’s part of what we have...
Read MoreWith Earth Day coming later this week, you might be thinking about time spent in nature. Though there's no substitute for a peaceful walk through the woods, this book list is the next best thing. Enjoy the wild with these 15 novels set in various natural settings across the Earth. Adult books are at...
Read MoreMarlú joins us to discuss some great books and Kanopy movies! Kanopy is the library's free video streaming service. To use Kanopy*, go to dmpl.kanopy.com and create an account using your library card number and PIN. *You must live in Des Moines, Windsor Heights, or Saylor Township to use Kanopy f...
Read MoreThis is Week of the Young Child. It’s a time to celebrate young children and families through activities that focus attention on the programs and events that meet their needs. We already had a great start to Week of the Young Child with Grace Fitness’ virtual program this past Saturday. Thank you...
Read MoreTake a tour across the city this month and view some beautiful public art. As part of April being Art Month, we’ve put together a list of some of our favorite murals across the city for you to view as part of a self-guided tour. The sixteen murals being featured were chosen by librarians at each ...
Read MoreOn April 8, 2006, the Des Moines Public Library turned the page on a new chapter in its history. The Central Library was relocated downtown in a brand new building, located at 1000 Grand Avenue. This month, that building turns 15 years old. The original Central Library was opened in 1903 at 100 L...
Read MoreNew Weird fiction is a subgenre of both science-fiction and fantasy, written by authors who are constantly pushing boundaries and turning those genres on their heads. Perhaps the well-known author of New Weird is Jeff VanderMeer, author of The Southern Reach Trilogy, which includes Annihilat...
Read MoreAViD author Tayari Jones takes part in the DMPL Podcast ahead of her virtual visit this coming Saturday. She talks about her favorite story growing up, the scene she considered toughest in her award-winning novel An American Marriage, and when she thinks she writes best. Tayari Jones w...
Read MoreOn the latest episode of the DMPL Podcast, Jenny from the Book Chat team joins us to talk about books with crazy plots and premises. As Jenny describes them, these books feature "a thriller sympathetic towards the murderer, a heist that focuses on student debt, and a remake of an old favorite childr...
Read MoreCan't get enough of WandaVision or the Marvel Universe? In the new show on Disney+, members of the Avengers, Wanda Maximoff and Vision are living in a world that appears to be out of a 1950's sitcom in New Jersey. They are trying to blend in, and live normal lives, but but everything is not as ...
Read MoreSpring is the time for all things green. Grass is growing, leaves are budding, and, of course, green is the color for St. Patrick's Day. With that in mind, we've picked a selection of "green" books for to check out - books that will bring you in touch with your green thumb by bringing you informatio...
Read MoreIt's been a year since the COVID-19 pandemic began. In that time, much of the world has changed. More than half a million Americans have lost their lives. Millions of people lost their jobs, schooling was upended for nearly every child - really, our entire way of life in America was turned on its he...
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