Week Calendar

Beyond Birth: Baby's First Year is a free weekly postpartum support group for parents and their new babies.

Join us weekly for rhymes, songs, bounces, stories, and a little playtime. For caregivers and babies ages 0 - 18 months.

Toddlers and their caregivers can enjoy introductory stories, songs, music, and movement! For ages 18 months to 36 months.

Join Miss Jennifer for Preschool Storytime on Monday mornings at 10:15 a.m.  There will be stories, rhymes, music, and more.

This storytime is recommended for ages three to five, but all children are welcome to attend.

Join us for rhymes, songs, bounces, stories, and a little playtime. For caregivers and babies ages 0 - 18 months.

Children ages 0-5 and their caregivers can engage in open play, come and go activities at South. 

Babies and their caregivers can join Miss Jennifer on Tuesdays for rhymes, songs, bounces, and a story followed by a short playtime.

Babies, toddlers, and their caregivers can join us on Tuesdays for rhymes, songs, lap bounces, and a story.

This program is recommended for children from birth to 24 months of age.

Listen to silly stories, meet adorable puppet friends and move to fun songs!  Join us at Forest Avenue Library for Family Storytime at 10:00 A.M.!

Staff from the Evelyn K Davis Center for Working Families are ready to provide one-on-one job search and resume assistance to job seekers.

Staff from the Evelyn K Davis Center for Working Families are ready to provide one-on-one job search and resume assistance to job seekers.

Join Miss Donna for this fun filled story time! Together we will enjoy stories, songs, and more, all selected to engage your active toddler. Ages 18 months to 3 years old.

Children ages 3 to 5 and their caregivers can join us Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. for a 30-minute storytime with stories, musical activities and take-home activities that prepare your child for school.

Learn how to use the Glowforge Plus Laser Engraver at Tech Central! This program takes the place of the 1 on 1 Glowforge tutorial, so you will be fully qualified to book and use the Glowforge on your own after this program.

Join us at the Central Library for a fun storytime featuring movement, music, and rhyming! The storytime will take place in the meeting room to allow for social distancing.

Preschoolers and their caregivers can enjoy stories, rhymes, music, and learn school readiness skills. Afterwards, we will enjoy free-play together.

Bring your young ones to our Little Explorers program, designed for children ages 0-5, to discover, learn and play with different sensory activities. No Registration is Required. Please wear play clothes as some activities may be messy.

Stop by the Children's Area to create a Fall Craft!

This is an unstaffed activity. Materials and instructions are provided but children may need assistance from an accompanying adult. Offered while supplies last.

In honor of Banned Books Week, a panel of experts will discuss the importance of supporting the freedom to read.

Dungeons & Dragons is a role-playing game set in worlds of swords and sorcery where players use their imaginations to tell a story and create an adventure together.  We usually get together on the first Sunday of each month to play. 

Come out to the Central Library, try out some new board games and make some new friends.  A selection of table top games will be provided for use in the library.  Feel free to bring beverages, snacks, and your own games from home if you

The Des Moines Public Library is partnering with area organizations to connect people with community resources. Community advocates will provide information about community resources like meal sites and shelters.

This program will include a brief overview of where Mindfulness Meditation comes from and why we do it, followed by a 20 minute sitting practice with time for Q&A afterwards. Chair seating will be available.

The Des Moines Public Library is partnering with area organizations to connect people with community resources. Community advocates will provide information about community resources like meal sites and shelters.

Spend a few hours with other crafters and work on your knit, crochet, or needle craft projects. Please bring your own supplies and projects with you. Pleasant company is provided to share ideas and inspiration!

Drop-in to North Side every Wednesday to enjoy a craft or STEM activity!

This week, challenge yourself to create a new plant or animal!

Join us for a computer basics class and increase your skills.

Do you love to craft? Come make a beaded animal keychain inspired by the Latin American Huichol Art or bring your current project and make some progress! 

Registration recommended.

Drop-in to East Side Library's Children's Area to create a work of art using perler beads between 3 PM - 7:30 PM. Staff will iron your creation for you to take home!

We will eat popcorn and do a small activity while we watch Coco. Confronted with his family's ancestral ban on music, aspiring musician Miguel enters the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, a legendary singer. Rated PG. 

Children will listen to a story and then create a masterpiece while exploring with art and STEM activities. Ages 3 to 8 years old, but younger and older siblings are welcome.

Tweens and teens ages 10-18 can learn 3-d printing basics at North Side!

We will use Tinkercad to create a 3-d design for a bubble wand. Then, we will print your design for you to pick up about a week after class. 

Level up your gaming skills! Use our tablets and Nintendo Switch to play Among Us, Minecraft, Roblox, and more. Ages 8+.

Channel your inner scientist and join us for several fun science experiments involving water.  

Teens! Do you need volunteer hours? Students ages 12-18 may volunteer at the South Side Library for 1 hour performing various tasks during our South VolunTeens program! This is a great way to earn volunteer hours!

Get your flu vaccine at Franklin Avenue Library with Polk County Health Department! For more information or to register for an appointment visit https://www.immunizepolk.com/. 

Join us for the DMPL Writer's Workshop on the first* Monday of the month from 5:30-7:30 PM. Share samples of work and receive feedback from other writers in the group.

Please note: This event does not take place at the Forest Avenue Library.

Join DMPL and the Fire Department for some tips on fire safety for your home and learn to use a fire extinguisher in a hands-on demonstration! Honor your inner child by exploring a fire truck!

Join us for our evening Family Storytime at 6:30 p.m.! Kids and caregivers can join us for fun songs, stories and crafts.

Remember that time we made music in the computer?

Get started on the ukulele and quickly learn to play familiar tunes while having fun! Play your own ukulele or borrow one of North Side Library's soprano ukuleles with your library card.

Join the Des Moines Public Library & Latinx Immigrants of Iowa to make paper flowers and other decorations for a Day of the Dead ofrenda, which will be on display at the Central Library from October 27 through November 3.

Join Bridgett Robinson, Neighborhood Finance Corporation’s Diversity and Inclusion Mortgage Loan Originator and Outreach Coordinator, along with community panelists, as they help navigate what Black/African American homeownership may look like tod

Join us for a screening of a panel discussion from San Francisco Public Library in 2021 on how librarians, community-based groups and people who are incarcerated navigate the many kinds of censorship that take place inside of jails and prison

Join us at Central Library for the YA for Adults Book Club. This month we are reading Graceling by Kristin Cashore.

Decorate your own cute or creepy rocks to make your fall doorstep festive and enjoy some buttery popcorn while you work!  Best for ages 6+ as supplies last!