by Sheila Schofer

For the last several years the Ames Public Library has partnered with Iowa State University on its programming for First Amendment Days, a weeklong celebration of our First Amendment freedoms – religion, speech, press, assembly, petition. 

Now in its 24th year, First Amendment Days is the longest-running continual student-led First Amendment celebration at any university in the U.S. The celebration is organized by the First Amendment Committee, which is made up of members of the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication and the Iowa State Daily Media Group.

Each spring a diverse assortment of speakers, events, and activities are offered as a creative way to engage students and the broader Iowa State and Ames communities to better understand the power of free expression and provide opportunities to exercise their five First Amendment freedoms.  With censorship being proposed in our own state’s legislature, understanding the First Amendment feels more important than ever. 

This year the Ames Public Library is excited to kick things off with a discussion of the book “The Year of Living Constitutionally” by author A. J. Jacobs.  Informed by hundreds of books and interviews with dozens of constitutional scholars, Jacobs goes full immersion, donning a tricorn hat and writing with a quill pen as he tries get in the mindset of the time to better understand what exactly the Founders were thinking when they wrote the U.S. Constitution.   Managing to be both absurd and relevant, the author draws readers in to think more deeply about the crucial issues surrounding the Constitution and how it’s been shaped by Supreme Court decisions that affect every part of our lives. 

Join us at the Ames Public Library on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, 7:00pm–8:30pm in the Danfoss Room for a of this hilarious and surprisingly educational book. 

Then visit Iowa State University campus during First Amendment Days to hear the author in person at "America @ 250 Presents: Exploring Originalism: A Year of Living Constitutionally" on Tuesday, April 21, at 6pm in the Sun Room at the Memorial Union.

Copies of the book are available for check out at the Ames Public Library or online through the library’s Libby app.

You can find other book discussion programs at Ames Public Library’s website www.AmesPL.org/events.

See the full line up of First Amendment Day events at: 
greenlee.iastate.edu/student-experiences/first-amendment/first-amendment-days-2026-america-at-250.