Blog Entries

Take A Road Trip with an Audiobook!

There’s nothing quite like sharing the road trip with your loved ones! But to help pass the time, you need something to focus on while you drive. Audiobooks offer hands free entertainment that keeps everybody in the car entertained and keeps the driver safe. 

Road trips are also opportunities for unforgettable shared literary experiences. I can still vividly remember books I’ve listened to on road trips from years past, who I listened to them with, and where we went together. 

I recall a beautiful summer drive across South Dakota my wife and I took as a ne... Read Full Blog

A Visit from The Nutcracker

“The Nutcracker Ballet” is coming to CY Stephens Auditorium on December 14 and 15, 2024, but you can get a sneak peak with excerpts from the performance at Ames Public Library on Saturday, November 23, 2024 at 10:30am. The performance will be followed by an opportunity from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach to use your engineering and artistic skills in a Nutcracker design challenge using LEGO® or other materials. In addition, attendees will be entered into a drawing for free tickets to see “The Nutcracker” at Stephens Auditorium courtesy of Iowa State Center.

“When My Husband Ran for President…”

If you’ve lived in Iowa for any amount of time you probably know the last name Harkin. When you hear it, you probably think of Tom Harkin, long-time Senator from Iowa. Did you know that it was his wife, Ruth, who was the first in their family to run for office? She not only ran for, but won, the seat of Story County attorney in 1973, making her one of the first female prosecutors elected in the United States.

Ames Public Library, the Iowa Center for the Book, the Ames Writers Collective, and KHOI Community Radio are thrilled to host Ruth Harkin in pre... Read Full Blog

Great Reads from Great Places: 2024 Youth Author Event

Come meet the author of Ten Beautiful Things, Iowa's youth selection for the 2024 Great Reads from Great Places, Wednesday, November 13, at 10am. The event at Ames Public Library will be livestreamed on Zoom. 

Molly Beth Griffin will share her writing process and the Iowa connections and inspirations behind this book. She’ll also offer tips and tricks for learning to notice the beautiful things all around us, and making art from what we find.

Books will be available to purchase at the event.

This free event is presented in partnership w... Read Full Blog

Building Bridges Through Culture and Connection

The Ames Public Library is fostering intercultural understanding and friendships through two upcoming events: the International Friendship Fair and the International Community Meetup.
 

International Friendship Fair

Date: Saturday, November 9, 2024 Time: 10:00am - 12:00pm Location: Ames Public Library Auditorium

The International Friendship Fair promises to be a vibrant celebration of cultural diversity, providing an opportunity for participants to immerse themselves in the global tapestry of Ames' international community... Read Full Blog

Lost and Found

It is not usually a pleasant task to clean my workspace, digging through the detritus of recent projects, notes from decades-old committee work and only then down to the worktop.  This time, however, I made an interesting discovery.  Tucked in a moldering folder in the back of a hand-me-down file cabinet were the papers of my predecessor’s predecessor, including an unpublished draft intended for this very column.  Thinking that this discovery would be of interest to readers (of the Ames Tribune and of books alike) here is the work of librarian Karel ... Read Full Blog

Iowa Center for the Book

Did you know that the Ames Public Library has a national distinction? As of April of this year, the library began serving as the Iowa Center for the Book. Each U.S. state and territory hosts a Center for the Book, which serves as an affiliate of the Library of Congress and promotes literacy and reading in their state. The Centers for the Book are also tasked with promoting their own state’s literary heritage; One way that is done is through the Great Reads from Great Places program, for which each Center selects an adult title and a youth title to represent their state.

For 2024, ... Read Full Blog

Calling All Readers! It’s the Author Fair!

Looking for your next favorite author? They might (literally) be just around the corner. Join us Saturday, October 12 from 2-5 pm for Ames Public Library’s 2nd Author Fair, presented in partnership with the Iowa Center for the Book. We’ll have 28 Iowa authors spread throughout our Auditorium on the main floor and Gallery space on the second floor, as well as representatives from two Iowa publishers.

If you’re already a fan of one of our authors, bring your copy of their book to have it signed. If you’re exploring and hoping to discover a new favorite, come ... Read Full Blog

Trivia Fundraiser for Library Lovers

When I was young my siblings and I loved reading “The People's Almanac” by David Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace.  Different from traditional almanacs that were mainly lists of facts, “The Peoples Almanac” aimed to be a reference book to be read for pleasure; a book that would tell the often-untold true tales of history.  We read predictions of Nostradamus, memorized famous epitaphs, learned about famous natural disasters, all the while stockpiling random bits of information.  In retrospect I can see how this encouraged me to seek out informatio... Read Full Blog

Great Reads Authors coming to Ames and Zoom

The authors of Iowa's 2024 selections for Great Reads from Great Places are coming to Iowa! 

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Join Swine Republic author, Chris Jones, for an author talk and book signing Wednesday, October 30, at 7pm. The event at Ames Public Library will be livestreamed on Zoom. 

The Swine Republic: Struggles With the Truth About Agriculture and Water Quality is Iowa's 2024 selection for adults for Great Reads from Great Places and an unexpected hit across Iowa. 

Jones, a retired University of Iowa researcher, writes for a popular ... Read Full Blog

A History of the Bookmobile – Sort Of

The Ames Public Library Bookmobile has been serving the Ames community for the last 59 years. I cannot speak to the entire history of the Bookmobile personally. However, I thought it would be fun to share my history with the Bookmobile over the last 33 years, since I moved to Ames with my family at the age of 9.

I have loved reading my whole life, and when we moved here from North Carolina I asked my mom to check out the local library and report back. We did visit the library, but a lot of my regular checkouts and conversations were on the Bookmobile with Fred,... Read Full Blog

Speed Friending, Take Three

by Clelia Sweeney

Speed Friending is the library program I find myself bringing up in conversation the most. I think any busy adult can relate to difficulty in making new friends, and finding social situations to make it happen. We have had great turnout to the two Speed Friending events we have held at the library so far. Come participate in our third on Saturday, September 28th, from 2-4:30pm in the library’s Auditorium!

This month, we have a display on the second floor of the library highlighting friendship stories and non-fiction help for making social connections. S... Read Full Blog

Beautiful Things about Iowa

by Brianne Anderson

Every once in a while, an opportunity lands in your path that is almost too exciting to pass up. This past year, Ames Public Library (APL) had one of those moments when the Library of Congress asked if we’d consider being Iowa’s representing organization for the Center for the Book program. YES! YES!!

The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress is a community of 56 Affiliated Centers, promoting reading, libraries and literacy through the Library of Congress and its Affiliated Centers across the country. APL will now get to use our connecti... Read Full Blog

10 Beautiful Things Photo Contest

Iowa is full of beautiful things!

Celebrate our state and Ten Beautiful Things by Molly Beth Griffin—Iowa’s 2024 “Great Read from Great Places” selection for youth—with a photo contest.

Photo submissions are due September 30, 2024.

Use the online form to send a photo you have taken of something beautiful in Iowa. Winning entries will be displayed on the Iowa Center for the Book website, on Ames Public Library’s social media, or at Ames Public Library’s special exhibit November 1-30.

Find out more or submit your entry at
www.AmesPL.org/form/ten-... Read Full Blog

S.T.E.M. Reading

Looking for something to do this fall? Starting September 13th, every Friday at 10:30am the library runs our Storybook S.T.E.M. program in the Farwell T. Brown Auditorium! Enjoy a range of activities as the weeks go by all focused on an area or subject in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. We’ve had dance parties to make butter, LEGO challenges to create your own zipline car, and a slime lab where we made ooblek! Come sing and dance with us, read a book, and join us in creating!

Here are some fun books to check out from the library so that you can ... Read Full Blog