Week Calendar

The East Side Library Meeting Room is reserved as a Polk County Polling Place. The Meeting Room will open to the public at 7:00 AM for voting. The Meeting Room will close to the public and voting will cease at 8:00 PM.

The Forest Avenue Library Meeting Room is reserved as a Polk County Polling Place. The Meeting Room will open to the public at 7:00 AM for voting. The Meeting Room will close to the public and voting will cease at 8:00 PM.

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.

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, 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, musical activities and take-home activities that prepare your child for school.

Join a special storytime featuring Latin Thunder, a Mexican Luchador (wrestler), for a reading of “Niño Wrestles the World” followed by a time for fan pics and autographs!  

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.

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

Join us every Saturday in November for a roaring good time at our Dino-Mite Saturdays! Bring your little ones to the library for a hands-on, imaginative play experience using our giant foam dinosaur bones.

Visit the library for a special sneak preview of the Des Moines Community Playhouse production of Last Stop on Market Street, based on the award-winning book by Matt de la Peña. 

***Seating is limited and available on a first come basis***

Skip the scramble for outlets at coffee bars and come to the library to connect with your fellow writers or to write individually! Feel free to stay all day or just stop by for a quick visit.

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. 

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.

Dig into the past at the library with our fun fossils! Join us for a hands-on adventure where young paleontologists can uncover "dinosaur fossils" in a digging activity designed to spark curiosity and imagination.

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.

Drop in to North Side every Wednesday for a STEM activity or craft.

This week, we will be making spider webs!

Learn basic functionality, terminology, and navigation of internet browsers, search engines, and websites.

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.

Do you love to craft? Come decorate a wooden decoration or bring your current project and make some progress! 

Registration recommended.

A mosaic is a picture produced by arranging small pieces of stone, tile, or other material.

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. 

Fiber art uses materials like fabric, yarn, thread, and techniques like weaving, stitching, and tying to make cool projects! At ASAP Mondays with Megan Clausen, we will make a different fiber art project each week. Snack provided.

Drop into North Side and read to a furry friend! We will be joined by a therapet and volunteer from the ARL of Iowa.

Children will listen to a story and then create a masterpiece while exploring with art and STEM activities. Ages 3+.

Kids and teens ages 8-18 can enjoy Switch games on the big screen at North Side! We will meet on the first and third Tuesday of the month.

Become an “animal detective” and learn how to identify common Iowa mammal tracks with Polk County Conservation. 

A mosaic is a picture produced by arranging small pieces of stone, tile, or other material. At ASAP Thursdays this month at South Side Library, we will learn to make our own mosaics with Teaching Artist Mary Kay Smith.

Join a special storytime featuring Latin Thunder, a Mexican Luchador (wrestler), for a reading of “Niño Wrestles the World” followed by a time for fan pics and autographs!  

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.

Former Broadlawns Medical Center trustee Jean Logan will provide an overview of the hospital's history, relating stories that make it come alive.

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!

Art Club will occur on the first Thursday of each month. It will feature picture books and a related art project each month. We will learn about artists, art concepts, and topics that will give us inspiration to make our own art.

Join us for the Google Suite workshop series! We will run through the basics of how to use services like Gmail, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and more.

Superhero Storytellers! Grab your cape and super suit- it's super hero time! Come explore stories of superheroes from around the world and across time, and craft your own superhero story.