Adventure Pass Changes in 2025

Due to software issues affecting all libraries using the service, the Des Moines Public Library’s Iowa Adventure Pass program will no longer be available in 2025. Any reservation already made for 2025 will be honored, but we encourage anyone with a current reservation to print those passes immediately. Customers can make new reservations for passes that must be used by December 31, 2024. We hope to reintroduce the service at a later time, and we apologize for the inconvenience. 

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DMPL Podcast: Reading Challenge Book Picks

Theresa and Lynn join us today on the DMPL Podcast! The two Library Assistants love the DMPL Reading Challenge, and they've picked three books each to discuss - one in each of three different categories. Apple Podcasts/iTunes | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher&nb...

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Black Books Matter

February is Black History Month and a great opportunity to highlight books by black authors and featuring black characters. We've highlighted a few adult, teen, and children books below, and we invite you to look at our Recommended Reads page to see more book suggestions from the Book Chat team...

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Staff Spotlight: Ashley Molzen

For Ashley Molzen, helping the community has been a long pursuit. Growing up in northwest Iowa, she first started working with young English language learners as part of a high school course, rotating among different professions to learn more about those careers. Molzen, however, made her mind up...

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DMPL Podcast: Seven Questions with Adam Higginbotham

On the latest DMPL Podcast, AViD author Adam Higginbotham joins us for seven questions! Learn what stories shaped his writing styles, why he found himself at the very very top of the Empire State Building, and what his next book is going to be about. Apple Podcasts/iTunes | Google P...

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Amateur Sleuths: It's Not Their Day Job!

You never know when you’ll have to solve a crime. It could be when you’re bored at home with your sisters, when you’re visiting a researcher’s house to see their collection of plants, or even when you’ve hit a dead end in your Hollywood career. Luckily, these ladies and gentlemen were up for the cal...

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Book Chat's Favorite Books of 2020

Janeé and Rebecca, with the Book Chat team, join host Aaron to chat about their favorite books this year. What made them laugh? What made them cry? What made 2020 a great year for reading? Listen to the podcast to find out, and be sure to check out the show notes to see other books they loved that t...

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The Most Popular Books of 2020

As 2020 winds to an end, we're celebrating the books you loved. Listed below are the books and DVDs most requested by our patrons in 2020. It's a list of unique and fun books and movies, symbolizing what has been a very unique year. Adult Fiction   Where the Crawdads Sing, by ...

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Short and Sweet: Quick Reads for the Holidays

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. ...

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Program Spotlight: The Mighty Girl Empowerment Series

Every 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...

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Q-and-A with Emanuel Sinclair Mitchell

The 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...

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DMPL AViD Podcast: 7 Questions with Kate Quinn

It'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...

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DMPL Podcast: Scott Chantler, Author of 'Bix'

Eisner-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...

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The Benefits of Reading Aloud

There’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...

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Book Picks Podcast: All the Feels

Gen 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 |&...

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Native American Heritage Month

November 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...

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