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.

Get creative at North Side! Drop-in to the library on Mondays during June and July to enjoy a variety of arts and crafts supplies.

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. 

Need help creating an email account? Polishing a resume or applying for a job? Come to the Forest Avenue Library on Tuesdays from 10:00AM-12PM and get individual computer assistance. First-come, first-served. 

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.

Join us as we explore the 5 Simple Steps you can do with your child to create early literacy and learning success.

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.

Listen to silly stories, sing songs, dance to music, and make art! Join us at Forest Avenue Library for Family Storytime every Wednesday morning at 10:15 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, music, and play!

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.

Kids and families! Come see a live owl, brought by a naturalist from Polk County Conservation! You'll also view several taxidermy mounts and learn how different adaptations of owls enable them to be good predators.

Beat the boredom during the summer by visiting the library and using your imagination to create amazing things with our LEGOs.

Drop by our children's area to build with LEGOs. Show a staff member your creation for a prize!

Tippi Toes is coming back to the library!

Our exciting, high energy dance classes are the perfect opportunity for kids to try something new while having a blast and burning some energy! Any child between the ages 2-10 can participate.

Join us outside the North Side Library to get moving with some hula hoops. Kathleen Brace will bring the music, hoops, and levitation wands to teach us some fun hooping tricks!

Kids in the Kitchen is 6-7 week program based around the Department of Agriculture "MyPlate". Each session, students learn about a food group, why it is good for us, physical activity, and then we make a snack together at the end of the class.

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. 

July's selection is Banyan Moon by Thao Thai.

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 ISU Extension for this 8 week course that supports individuals and families in making healthy choices on a tight grocery budget.

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.

July's presentation is the 2022 biographical drama Emily, starring Emma Mackey as nineteenth century novelist Emily Brontë. This film is rated R.

When someone shows signs of dementia, it’s time to talk. Often, conversations with family about changing behaviors can be challenging and uncomfortable.

Book Bites will feature a delicious book and snacks! We will focus each week on healthy eating and prepare and cook snacks each week.

Join us for a multi-week investigation! This game will have six episodes.

This is Episode 1. Perfect if you haven't started playing Moon Summit.

Curious about cooking? Sharpen your kitchen knowledge at our Teen Chef program and learn how to make a variety of delicious foods. 

Have you ever wished to travel back in time to the age of the dinosaurs? Join us for this LEGO challenge where you'll never know when you'll need to run for cover or save a baby dinosaur. Ages 3 +

Visit South Side Library and our friends at Blank Park Zoo to explore the impact that humans have on nature and learn about the hard work that goes into conservation. Be prepared for fun zoo artifacts and even a live animal ambassador! 

Bring your stuffy friend to the Franklin Library to enjoy a fun afternoon of camp activities and crafts from 3 to 4:30 in the meeting room. All ages are welcome.

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. 

Fernando Aveiga moved to Iowa from Ecuador, and performs in the band Parranderos Latin Combo. On Mondays in July (except the 1st), 4–5 p.m., he will also lead ASAP Mondays: Drumming classes!

Join us at Central Library for Game On! Tweens and Teens (10-18) are welcome to enjoy snacks and play games with friends! We'll alternate between board games, card games, and games on the Nintendo Switch.

Come explore creative writing, poetry, drawing and dance!

If you're between the ages of 12-18 and looking for a fun and rewarding volunteer opportunity, give the library a try! We would love to have your help!

Identify the factors that cause animals to become an endangered species. A live animal will be used if available. Supports Iowa Life and Earth/Space Science Standards.

Would you like to use Tech Central's new FormLabs Form 3 resin 3D printer?  Take this required training to learn how!  Participants will learn how to use FormLabs free PreForm software to prepare their 3D prints for printing at the libra

Join Zakiya Jenkins from Grace Fitness as she leads chair exercises. All fitness levels welcome!

A new exhibit of Korean artifacts is being unveiled in less than an hour, but the centerpieces have gone missing! Finding them will mean coming face to face with ancient myths and outsmarting the creatures they depict.

Connect with others interested in environmentally friendly gardens. The focus is on native plants which foster and nourish wildlife.

Join artist and library staff member Fueche Vang as we create watercolor paintings of some of our favorite fruits. We will explore topics such as washes, layering, detailing and more!

Quilted stars are both visually captivating and technically intricate, but piecing them together can be quite demanding, especially for newcomers.

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!

This month's book is Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. 

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

A new exhibit of Korean artifacts is being unveiled in less than an hour, but the centerpieces have gone missing! Finding them will mean coming face to face with ancient myths and outsmarting the creatures they depict.

Join us once a month to discuss books by underrepresented authors. Our goal is to amplify these voices and experiences while discussing social issues in the context of fiction and non-fiction books.