Blog Entries

Tools for School

Get homework help with the Library's free online resources, check out a Wi-Fi hotspot for Internet access, and use our space for quiet study time! 

Your Library card gets you free access to premium online resource, like Brainfuse Homework Help, Britannica Library, and many more to help students reach their educational goals. Best of all, they're available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

You the library also lends many helpful resources, from books to Wi-Fi hotspots to STEM learning kits. All you need is a Library card.

Library staff are happy to help you find... Read Full Blog

The Baby Fair is Back!

Getting ready for a baby is a big job. Babies need plenty of diapers, bottles, and clothing, but there are always things—and services—that parents and families may not realize are available. A breastfeeding parent may know that a breast pump would be a wonderful thing to have, but not know where to find one. They might also not realize that lactation specialists are available for breastfeeding issues. Maybe an expectant parent is weighing the pros and cons of a hospital vs. home birth or are considering having an additional professional attend their delivery but need to f... Read Full Blog

Books for Babies

Did you know that almost 1,200 babies are born at Mary Greeley Medical Center (MGMC) every year? That seems like a strange statistic to read in a library’s news column, but every one of those babies left MGMC with a connection to Ames Public Library (APL).

There’s almost an unlimited number of services the public library provides beyond the materials on our shelves, but one of my favorite programs APL sponsors is one that has thrived since its creation in 1998. The Books for Babies program doesn’t get a lot of hype and runs mostly silently in the background, but is ... Read Full Blog

The Wonder of Wonderbooks

If you are looking to stay inside, cozy up with a good book, and want to get the whole family involved, check out our Wonderbooks and VOX Books!  Wonderbooks and Vox Books provide a great opportunity for everyone of any age to be able to engage with reading. 

If you have never seen or checked out one of these books, they are printed books that come with a charged audio player inside the front cover that allows you to have the book read aloud as you flip through the pages. It is a physical book and an audiobook all in one! These books can be especially useful f... Read Full Blog

Start the Semester Right

It’s a new semester, with the chance to start on the right foot! Ames Public Library is here to support students, parents, and teachers with a wide variety of resources.

If homework is hard at home because you don’t have internet, you can request a Wi-Fi hotspot to check out from the Library. We have a limited number available, so there will usually be wait. Try to get on the list early!

If you have internet access, Ames Public Library has some fantastic online resources available 24/7. They have the types of tools and articles you’d usually have to pay for, but ... 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.

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

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

Tracy Loves Juvenile Nonfiction – Round 4: Let’s start at the very beginning

When I get an urge to learn about a specific topic, my first inclination is to check out a bunch of books on the topic and dive in. On some topics this works okay for me. But most of the time I realize that the books are starting from a level of understanding that I don’t have yet. In those cases, my next step is to head to the juvenile nonfiction section. Some may be too basic for me , but I can generally find something that meets my needs and prepares me to delve deeper.

Recently I did this with gardening books. Despite my mom’s best efforts while I was ... Read Full Blog

Back to School

We can feel it in the air at Ames Public Library’s youth department. School is starting soon. You can buy all the school supplies and figure out what teacher the kids will have, but how can you feel really ready? Why not try reading some books about school?

Young readers can be really worried, especially if they are going to start school for the very first time. One of my favorite books about starting school is “Mr. S” by Monica Arnaldo. It will have you and your child giggling up a storm! Another sweet picture book that deals with feelings is “First Da... Read Full Blog

Tracy Loves Juvenile Nonfiction – Round 3: Impactful Books

Have you read a book that stayed with you? That you kept coming back to in your mind, and brought up in conversation with others? There are several juvenile nonfiction books that have had a long-lasting impact on me.

“Freedom Walkers” by Russell Freedman is a great place to start. I remember learning about the Civil Rights movement when I was younger but it was a very general. Reading “Freedom Walkers” opened my eyes to how long the Montgomery Bus Boycott actually lasted and how many people made it possible. Freedman does a great job telling about the impa... Read Full Blog

Visit a Park, Visit the Library

Ames is a city of parks. The convergence of Ioway Creek and the South Skunk River in South Ames results in many square feet of floodplain, not always great for commercial development but excellent green space for parks! Ames boasts 38 parks covering over 1220 acres that have been developed over many years. Brookside Park celebrates its 100th anniversary next year! And new parks and green spaces spring up often—we recently discovered the new shared use path along Ioway Creek/South 5th Street from South Grand Avenue extending to half a mile east of South Duff Ave... Read Full Blog

New Play Space!

Come see the new play space on Ames Public Library's first floor!

Young children can practice their motor skills, while older children can exercise their imaginations with a play kitchen and more.

Thank you to the Ames Public Library Friends Foundation who helped support the Library’s new play structure!

“I Survived” Summer Reading at the Library

by Jill Philby

June is right around the corner, and Ames Public Library has exciting news!

First, save the date of June 24.  Why? Because Lauren Tarshis, author of the kid-favorite “I Survived” chapter book series, will be visiting Ames Public Library!

Each “I Survived” book tells the story of a young person who experiences, and lives through, an amazing event from history. The books tell the stories of everything from the San Francisco earthquake and the destruction of Pompei, to September 11 and the Battle of D-Day. Perfect for elementary school rea... Read Full Blog

Tracy Loves Juvenile Nonfiction – Round 2: Biographies

I have always loved biographies. I love learning about people and the time they live in. I think it is a really interesting glimpse into other’s thoughts and decisions within the context of place and history.

Last year, my daughter became enamored with reading about women scientists. She read through everything her teacher had and was working her way through her school library, too. We visited the public library together to pick out books and ended up taking home over 50 biographies, extending well beyond her original focus of female scientists. We read so... Read Full Blog