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.

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.

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.

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.

Stop in the library for fun arts and crafts with our Art Cart! While supplies last. Adult supervision is required. 

Visit the library for a special sneak preview of the Des Moines Community Playhouse production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast.

Enjoy the performance and enter to win free tickets to the play!

Escape the chill outside and cozy up to watch the Little Women (2019) movie with the whole family. Enjoy snacks and crafts while watching this adaptation of the classic book. 

The North Side Library is turning 40! 

Learn about the history of the library in the Highland Park/Oak Park community and celebrate 40 years in our current building with refreshments, 1984 Trivia, door prizes, and more.

Do you have an item in your home in need of repair? Stop by Franklin Avenue Library's Repair Café to get help from volunteers with expertise on how to fix your item(s) or refer you to a local professional.

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. 

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!

Build with Lego at North Side! Complete one of our challenges or express your creativity and build something of your own!

Art helps us practice patience and focus; but how about applying those skills to make something yummy?

Do you love to craft? Come paint a clothespin caroler or bring your current project and make some progress! 

Registration recommended.

Learn to make beautiful letters with ASAP at the North Side Library! Calligraphy is the art of lettering, like fancy writing. Practicing calligraphy helps develop fine motor skills and is a fun way to express creativity.

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. 

If you’re a kid who likes to draw (or wants to learn or improve your skills), this class is for you! In these three weeks we will use charcoal, colored pencils, white pencils, and graphite drawing pencils to practice drawing.

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.

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

Come join us at the Central Library for this special edition of Craftopia! You will get the opportunity to make upcycled rag wreaths, t-shirt tie bags, coasters, etc. and practice upcycling techniques in what is often seen as a season of waste.

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.

We will provide all of the materials to make an amazing gingerbread house fit for an elf. Each family that registers will receive one house to decorate together.

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!

Join us for a night of holiday-themed music featuring the Roosevelt High School Chamber Choir, under the direction of Alexander Gray, and the Da Capo A Cappella Jazz Choir, under the direction of Rose Dino.

Join Ryan and Mary Lewellin, owners of Red Dragon Herbs & Teas, for a delightful and informative session all about tea!

Join us for a winter watercolored evening with Lisa Christensen!

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.

Create music using everyday fruit! Connect fruits to the Makey-Makey kit and explore how circuits and sound come together in this interactive workshop.

We will provide all of the materials to make an amazing gingerbread house fit for an elf. Each family that registers will receive one house to decorate together.