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: Spooky Stories with Janeé

On 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...

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Queer Stories: Books About Being LGBTQIA+ in America

This 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, ...

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We've Added THOUSANDS of New eMagazines

At 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...

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Banned Books Week

It's Banned Books Week, a week to celebrate the freedom to read. Our Book Chat team put together a list of books that were banned and/or challenged due to the way they tell stories of sexual identity, sexual orientation, violence, race, and more. The list has picture books, YA books, and adult novel...

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DMPL Podcast: Latinx Heritage Month

On the latest episode of the DMPL Podcast, we celebrate Latinx Heritage Month with some great books by Latinx authors. Janeé is up first to talk about kid's books, and then we're joined by Elizabeth, who gives us some adult book selections: Apple Podcasts/iTunes | Google Play |...

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DMPL Podcast: Non-Traditional Format Book Picks

Today on the podcast, Carrie recommends some books that are in non-traditional formats. This is one of the twelve categories in this year's ongoing DMPL Reading Challenge. Don't forget - it's not too late to sign up and take part in the Reading Challenge! Apple Podcasts/iTunes | Goo...

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Back to School Picture Books

School might be a lot different this year, but the "school scaries" are as real as ever for some kids. These picture books provide support and encouragement for young kids, whether they're in school, at home, or a mix of both this year. ...

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Librarian Burke Shiffler Retires After 40 Years

On September 2, 1980, Burke Shiffler walked into the Central Library to start his new job in the reference department. His boss, Shirley Shisler, met him and showed him an entire room of reference books. “She gave me some slips of paper and said, ‘Go around the room and learn what’s in these b...

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DMPL Podcast: Kali White, Author of 'The Monsters We Make'

Iowa author Kali White joins us on the newest edition of the DMPL Podcast. White's newest novel, The Monsters We Make, was released last month. It is set in Des Moines in the mid 1980s and is partially based on the real-life Des Moines Register paperboy disappearances of that time. You may...

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Book Picks: 15 Books About Gardening

As you harvest your fresh fruits and vegetables, it's never too early to start thinking about your next garden. These 15 books offer tips and tricks that to make your garden bright and ripe next year. ...

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Book Picks Podcast: Magical Realism

On the latest episode of the DMPL Podcast, Book Chat's Alissa joins us to discuss Magical Realism books. As Alissa says in the podcast, magical realism is "a realist fiction that blends magic into the everyday world," with deep roots in Latin American literary traditions. Apple Podcasts/iTune...

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DMPL To Take Part in Ray Bradbury Read-A-Thon

The Des Moines Public Library and the DMPL Foundation will be taking part in the first ever Ray Bradbury Read-A-Thon, premiering this Saturday. More than 40 other libraries and several celebrities are participating in this project, which celebrates the 100th anniversary of author Ray Bradbury's birth. The Read-A-Thon will feature a reading of Bradbury's classic novel Fahrenheit 451. Among the celebrities taking part include Neil Gaiman, Susan Orlean, Marlon James, William Shatner, and Rachel Bloom.

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Gothic Horror: 17 Books That'll Make Your Spine Tingle

Grand, dreary buildings. Grey skies, blotting out the sun. The sense that something just isn't right, that something is just out of place. If you like reading something that'll make the hair raise on the back of your neck, this list of gothic fiction books is just what you're looking for. ...

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