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 Rosie and her good friend Doc for a Reading Party!  Guests from Iowa Total Care will visit us at storytime for a celebration all about the joy of

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.

Join us for a morning of fun with autumn themed train rides, face painting, balloon twisting, and a costume exchange.  Enjoy themed treats and take a ride on the life-sized train.  In the event of rain or poor weather, the program will c

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 Miss Becky at Forest Avenue Library for Family Storytime at 10:00 A.M.!

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.

Snippets: A Writers Workshop for Shorter Works. Please email your submissions to Julia at jmdunt@dmpl.org if you would like them printed out. This group will read and discuss works out loud.

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.

Aprenda a hacer recetas fáciles, nutritivas y baratas con una instructora de Iowa State University - Extension.  Durante esta clase de 8 semanas, aprenderá a:

Ahorrar dinero: comprar y gastar menos en sus alimentos.

Mainstream

Please join the Friends of the Franklin Avenue Library for our quarterly member's meeting.

Stop by South Side Library over your lunch break to receive your flu shot from Polk County Health!

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.

Join us to listen to stories being read with a lively discussion to follow!

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.

Be SMART is a program to bring together parents and all adults concerned about kids, guns, and safety.   It’s a heartbreaking fact that in the US, firearms are the leading cause of death for children.

Prepare for adventure! Open Slay Dungeons & Dragons is for teens and tweens who know how to play D&D and are ready to take on a campaign!

All gaming supplies and characters will be provided by The Rook Room.

Please join us for our monthly book group where we will discuss Finding Me by Viola Davis. Books will be available for pick up at the East Side circulation desk. Coffee and treats will be served.

Come to the library and make some oooey gooey glow-in-the-dark slime! 

This month we will be reading and discussing Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal. Copies of the book are available at the North Side Library.

Come to South Side for a train ride and an afternoon of pumpkin fun! 

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

This week, we will make ghosts with invisible ink!

Join us for our monthly South Side Book Discussion!

Our October book is Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez.

Join the library and the Transgender Action Group of First Unitarian Church (TAG) for some trans book readings for teens and adults, featuring different trans authors.

Join us for a Nintendo Switch Party! We will have games like Mario Kart 8 & Super Mario Bros. Ultimate. Feel free to bring your own Switch or share the library’s controllers.

Enjoy learning about bugs and seeing them up close with the ISU Insect Zoo!

Space is limited, please register every child and adult that plans to attend the program.

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.

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

Do you love animals? Then visit Central Library to practice reading with and learn about an ARL TheraPet! Engaging with animals is a great way to boost confidence and reduce anxiety around learning to read!

The Library Board of Trustees will meet Tuesday, October 17 at 4:15 PM in the Franklin Avenue Library Meeting Room. 

Visit North Side and read to a furry friend from the Animal Rescue League of Iowa's Therapets program!

Create a three-dimensional materpiece using tissue paper and cardboard.

Art in the Library is for children ages 6-12 and requires preregistration.  

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!

Join the Friends of the Forest Avenue Library for the monthly meeting at Forest Avenue Library!

Join the Friends of the Forest Avenue Library for the monthly meeting on Zoom over the winter months in March!

Are you a graphic novel fan? Join us for our EPIC Graphic Novel BOOK CLUB for ages 7-11.

You must find the book, destroy the potion and stop the witches from sucking the lives out of the children of Salem before sunrise. Also, you'll have to solve many puzzles along the way. Otherwise, it’s curtains. Dost thou comprehend?

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 third Thursday of each month to play.&nbs

You must find the book, destroy the potion and stop the witches from sucking the lives out of the children of Salem before sunrise. Also, you'll have to solve many puzzles along the way. Otherwise, it’s curtains. Dost thou comprehend?

Join artist and library staff member Fueche Vang as he leads a class on illustrating characters from popular fairytales. We'll take a look at everything from dragons and wizards to fairies and goblins.

Join us for our evening Family Storytime at 6:30 p.m.! Kids and caregivers can join us for fun songs, stories and crafts. You can even wear your jammies!  All Ages Welcome!

October's film selection is director William Wyler's 1946 drama The Best Years of Our Lives.

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 Forest Avenue Library for a film presentation from the State Historical Society of Iowa. We'll be watching one Iowa History 101 film each third Tuesday from February until November.

As the nights get longer and the weather chillier, a little bit of light goes a long way! Join us to make your own scented candle as a present for yourself or perhaps a loved one. Materials will be provided. 

Join us for a DIY paper leaves wreath making class! All supplies will be provided for participants including paper leaves and foam wreath. If you have small decorations from home you'd like to add- feel free to bring them. 

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.

Practice your chocolatier skills and enjoy a story.  We will make our own creepy candy using Wilton's candy melts and chocolate molds and then decorate the box.  Give it as a gift or enjoy it yourself!  Best for ages 6+ as supplies

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

Ms. BadSoldier Snow’s presentation will acknowledge our inescapable connection to the land that is now called Iowa, the most modified landscape in the United States, and likely, in the world.

Celebrate TeenTober! Join us for an after-hours party with laser tag, Nintendo Switch games, food, prizes, and more! 

Registration required to reserve your spot. Grades 6-12.