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Take 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 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...
Read MoreAuthor and Iowa native Greer Macallister is the guest on the latest episode of The DMPL Podcast. Her newest novel, The Arctic Fury, follows an all-female expedition to the north as they try to uncover what happened to the lost Franklin expedition. Greer discusses why she wanted to set a book in t...
Read MoreThe library has a large collection of books celebrating the girls and women that have changed the world. A small selection is listed below, but be sure to check out our Recommended Reads page for a more complete list. Picture Books and Young Readers Shirley Chisholm, by Laurie Ca...
Read MoreKelly Marble was the kid who left the public library with a stack of 20 books every time she visited. Now, she does more than read books. She talks about them every day, doing what she calls a “dream job” as Digital Marketing Specialist for the Des Moines Public Library. Marble, who started ...
Read MoreAViD author Robert Kolker joins us on the DMPL Podcast! We talk about how he came to know the Galvin family, the subject of his newest, critically acclaimed book Hidden Valley Road. Kolker also discusses the challenges of structuring of narrative nonfiction books and reveals which classic novel...
Read MoreDecodable books are books that focus on letter sounds and phonic patterns that young readers can "decode." Usually, these books follow a specific sequence of skills that build on each other as a reader develops in skill themselves. These books are especially great for helping develop the skills and ...
Read MoreIowa author Darcy Maulsby is the guest on the latest DMPL Podcast! Her newest book, Classic Restaurants of Des Moines and Their Recipes, is a culinary history of Des Moines restaurants During the podcast, Maulsby and host Aaron Gernes discuss restaurants of days' past, including Babe's, Johnny ...
Read MoreIt's the middle of February. If the cold and snow has caused you to give up on your New Year's Resolutions, you're not alone. Our Book Chat team has put together a list of books that can help you reach (or re-reach) your goals. These books cover health, wellness, mindfulness, nutrition, financial he...
Read MoreThe Des Moines Public Library recently added Creativebug to our collection of online resources. Creativebug offers thousands of online arts and crafts classes, including knitting, crocheting, drawing, painting, home decór, and more. The classes take the form of easy-to-follow instructional vide...
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