Bringing Authors to You
by Megan Klein-HewettIn 2025, Ames Public Library (APL) was designated as the Iowa Center for the Book. This Library of Congress program works to promote literature and the literary heritage of each state and U.S. territory. Through the Center for the Book, APL staff help select books each year that represent the literary heritage of Iowa for a program called Great Reads from Great Places.
APL staff will be at the National Book Festival in Washington D.C. representing the Iowa Center for the Book and sharing information about Iowa’s 2025 Great Reads from Great Places selections.... Read Full Blog
New "12 to Try" Challenge Begins
Summer has come and gone, and that means it's time for a new challenge!
Adults are invited to join this year's "12 to Try" Reading Challenge beginning September 1. Read your way through 12 books that fit the 12 challenge categories by August 31, 2026 to earn prizes.
Here's how it works:
Read your books in any order and any format: books, e-books, audiobooks, graphic novels, etc. Read anything that fits the category. Our book lists can give you ideas, but there are so many other options out there!Complete the challenge as quickly as you like, or take it slow and spread it out ... Read Full Blog
Deep Roots Book Group
by Amanda MolumbySummer is winding down, kids are back to school and fall is right around the corner. Here in Iowa, we have the great pleasure of experiencing the changing of the seasons. There’s nothing I enjoy more than a good hike around a wooded area, tucked away from civilization, or a crisp fall walk in a light jacket, admiring the leaves as they give one last hurrah in blazing colors before they fall to the earth to coat the sidewalks, giving a pleasant crunch to each footfall.
Perhaps you can spend countless hours taking care of your garden, tending to the plants you’ve ... Read Full Blog
Characters of a Certain Age
by Anastasia TucknessAs I head into the second half of my life, I am drawn to books whose characters are also older, experiencing change, looking for connection and meaning in new ways and places. From the funny to the heartwarming to the death-defying, here are some recent favorites.
In “Remarkably Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt, Tova Sullivan has been rebuilding since her son disappeared, and after her husband dies, she seeks solace in an overnight janitorial job at the local aquarium and her longtime friends, the Knitwits. I loved the slower pace and tone of this book, as wel... Read Full Blog
Hidden Hideout Just for Teens
by Genya CoffeyIf you have a teenager looking for opportunities to interact socially in the evenings and on the weekends, might I suggest sending them to the Teen Space at the Ames Public Library? The Ames Public Library Teen Space offers teens a place to relax, create, build community, and develop leadership skills.
The Teen Space is located on the ground floor of the Ames Public Library just before you reach the Youth Services desk. You may have walked right by it without even knowing it was there, as it is closed during the day. But at 4:00pm on weekdays and 1:00pm on we... Read Full Blog
An August of Opportunities
by Max GuldenThe heat of summer is truly upon us! Things are heating up at the library too. August marks the home stretch for two of our popular reading challenges.
For the annual Summer Reading Challenge, there is still plenty of time left to complete the challenge. Even if you haven’t started yet, you can complete the challenge and earn your full slate of reading prizes with under an hour of reading per day! (Remember that audiobooks count as reading, too.)
For those who have already completed the Summer Reading Challenge or who are now nearing the finish line, every add... Read Full Blog
Costumes for a Cause
by Sheila SchoferSome friends and I recently got tickets to see a production of “The Prom” at the Ames Community Theater. As we made plans, we had the fun idea to dress the part, perhaps not in the prom dresses of our teens, but in festive attire that would do homage to the theme. We added a pre-prom dinner outing, wrist corsages and group photo under the balloon arch backdrop.
It was a great performance, and we had so much fun. Dressing up added a festive flair and dressing for a part can take you outside yourself, adding a playful element to a world that often feels busy and s... Read Full Blog
The Importance of Play for Adults
by Anessa OlsonWe all know that playing is important for children’s development, but play is also important for adult’s mental health and well-being. Regular play allows adults to relax, connect with friends and family, and improve creative thinking and problem-solving skills. Play has been linked to having a better mood, increased productivity, and healthier relationships.[1]
Play is any activity you do only because you enjoy it, that brings with it an in-the-moment attitude and allows you to engage deeply either with the activity itself or with the people playing w... Read Full Blog
Television
by Seth Warburton
Our disheartening subject today is that well-known instrument of repression, that symbol of deluded decadence, that cathode-rayed betrayer of sensible taste and thief of precious reading time: the television.
At least in the days of my youth (now, alas, long fled, and along with them seemingly all morality) the television was a blocky instrument, possessed of three dimensions and therefor useful as a shelf. In these debauched, modern times, the television has grown hedonistically thin, and thus completely useless even as a surface for piling b... Read Full Blog
Books To Take on Your Next Adventure!
by Chelsie GohlmannWhether you're packing for a beach vacation, a mountain retreat, or just a long weekend getaway, no suitcase is complete without a good book. Travel offers the perfect chance to escape both physically and mentally—and the right story can transport you even further. Here is a selection of titles to match every kind of journey, from breezy page-turners for sun-soaked afternoons to thought-provoking reads for quiet evenings. Wherever you're headed, let these books be your perfect travel companions!
In Funny Story by Emily Henry Daphne finds herself alone in Waning... Read Full Blog
Echoes of Resilience
by Megan Klein-HewettAmes Public Library, in partnership with the NAACP Ames Branch, Friendship Baptist Church, and Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ames, invite you to join us for a series of films centering the experiences of African Americans in the United States. From Harriet Tubman to Nichelle Nichols (otherwise known as Lt. Uhura to the Star Trek fans out there), this film series provides the opportunity to explore the challenges, triumphs, and resilience of the African American community.
The film committee, comprised of individuals from all of the partner organizatio... Read Full Blog
PBS Kids Show to Visit Ames Public Library
by Ben SchragOn Wednesday, July 9th, the Ames Public Library will host two very special guests from the PBS Kids show Wimee’s Words (pronounced WHIM-ee). Michael Hyacinthe, founder of the interactive educational app Wimage and creator of Wimee’s Words, will be joined by the lovable robot Wimee who will livestream onto the library auditorium’s big screen!
Wimee’s Words began in 2016 as part of Michael Hyacinthe’s mission to spark children’s creativity through the Wimage app, which transforms words into images. Believing in the app’s potential for interactive storytelling and learning, ... Read Full Blog
Iowa Center for the Book Announces Selections for 2025 Roadmap to Reading
The Iowa Center for the Book is pleased to announce the two books that will represent Iowa’s rich, literary heritage at the National Book Festival in Washington, DC, on September 6, 2025.
The Center for the Book (www.read.gov/cfb) in the Library of Congress works with its 56 Affiliate Centers for the Book (the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and Northern Marianas) to fulfill each Center’s mission of promoting literacy and the literary ar... Read Full Blog
Libraries and Dragons
by Jillian OckenThis summer, Ames Public Library is challenging you to “level up.” You might choose to level up your backyard projects, your reading time, or any number of skills. Personally, I’ll be leveling up in roleplaying games.
If you’ve never heard or Dungeons & Dragons or roleplaying games, or you aren’t sure what they are, here are the basics. “Tabletop” roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons are kind of a shared storytelling game, usually played in a small group with one person acting as the game master. The game provides the rules and structure. The players step in... Read Full Blog
Everyone Should Celebrate Juneteenth
by Clelia SweeneyJuneteenth is a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. It began in 1865, when enslaved people in Texas were first informed that they had been freed by the ending of the Civil War and President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. Although slavery legally ended two years before, official enforcement by the Union Army began in Texas on June 19, 1865. The passing of the 13th Amendment later that year eradicated slavery for good. Since then, Juneteenth has remained a nation-wide celebration of Black identity, culture, and achievements.
You ... Read Full Blog