With 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...
Read MoreOn today's DMPL Podcast, Janeé with the Book Chat team is here to discuss her favorite genre, horror. She's picked out six books - two children's, two YA/Teen, and two adult titles - to chat with us about today. Apple Podcasts/iTunes | Google Play | Spotify | Sti...
Read MoreThis month is LGBTQIA+ History Month, and this Sunday, October 11, is National Coming Out Day. To celebrate these important milestones, our staff has put together a list of stories, memoirs, and nonfiction titles about people recognizing their gender and sexuality, coming out to friends and family, ...
Read MoreAt the Des Moines Public Library, we’ve just added a massive number of eMagazines to our digital collection on RBDigital. More than 3,700 titles, in fact! How many magazines is 3,700? Imagine print issues stacked from floor to ceiling in your living room. Thankfully, all those magazines now fit i...
Read MoreOn today's podcast, host Aaron Gernes is joined by Iowa author S.C. Sherman. Earlier this year Sherman released Beer Money: A Tale of the Iowa City Beer Mafia, a historical fiction novel about the events that led up to the real-life Iowa City Beer Riots. Apple Podcasts/iTunes |...
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