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Ames Public Library
Today's Hours: 1:00pm - 5:00pm

Ames Public Library

(515) 239-5646
515 Douglas Avenue
Ames, IA 50010
See map: Google Maps
Sun: 1:00pm-5:00pm
Mon: 9:00am-6:00pm
Tue: 9:00am-9:00pm
Wed: 9:00am-6:00pm
Thu: 9:00am-9:00pm
Fri: 9:00am-6:00pm
Sat: 9:00am-6:00pm

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Ames Public Library has shifted to Curbside Service in response to increased community spread of COVID-19. The lobby is now closed and holds are available by curbside pickup instead. To learn about our curbside service, click here.

https://www.amespubliclibrary.org/sites/default/files/2020-06/ReopeningFAQ-button_0.png COVID-19 Updates & Resources Your Library Online Resources for Families
  • We're now fine free! Bring back your overdue books, movies, and music to borrow more.
    We're now fine free! Bring back your overdue books, movies, and music to borrow more.
  • Curbside Holds Pickup web slide with graphic of car driving with books
    Curbside Holds Pickup web slide with graphic of car driving with books
  • Winter Reading Challenge 2021 slide with graphics cozy winter landscape
    Winter Reading Challenge 2021 slide with graphics cozy winter landscape
  • Vector graphic of pile of books with a tablet and a heart next to title
    Vector graphic of pile of books with a tablet and a heart next to title
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    My Account

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    Contact Us

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    Stream & Download

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Family

Teens

Bookmobile

MLK Day 2020

  • Cover image for Mighty Justice

    Mighty Justice

    Dovey Johnson Roundtree, Katie McCabe

    “Dovey Johnson Roundtree set a new path for women and proved that the vision and perseverance of a single individual can turn the tides of history.” —Michelle Obama In Mighty Justice, trailblazing African American civil rights attorney Dovey Johnson Roundtree recounts her inspiring life story that speaks movingly and urgently to our racially troubled times.

    View Catalog EntryView Details
  • Cover image for A More Beautiful and Terrible History

    A More Beautiful and Terrible History

    Jeanne Theoharis

    The civil rights movement has become national legend, lauded by presidents from Reagan to Obama to Trump, as proof of the power of American democracy. This fable, featuring dreamy heroes and accidental heroines, has shuttered the movement firmly in the past, whitewashed the forces that stood in its way, and diminished its scope. And it is used perniciously in our own times to chastise present-day movements and obscure contemporary injustice.

    View Catalog EntryView Details
  • Cover image for The Purpose of Power

    The Purpose of Power

    Alicia Garza

    A lifelong activist who educated herself on the hard lessons of organizing, the lessons she extracted were different from the "rules for radicals" or from the charismatic, patriarchal model of the American Civil Rights Movement. She developed a mode of organizing based on creating deep connections with communities, forging multiracial, intersectional coalitions, and, most of all, calling in all sorts of people to join the fight for the world we all deserve.

    View Catalog EntryView Details
  • Cover image for A Perilous Path

    A Perilous Path

    Sherrilyn A. Ifill, Loretta Lynch, Bryan Stevenson, Anthony C. Thompson

    A no-holds-barred, red-hot discussion of race in America today from some of the leading names in the field, including the bestselling author of Just Mercy This blisteringly candid discussion of the American dilemma in the age of Trump brings together the head of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the former attorney general of the United States, a bestselling author and death penalty lawyer, and a star professor for an honest conversation the country desperately needs to hear.

    View Catalog EntryView Details
  • Cover image for Where Do We Go from Here

    Where Do We Go from Here

    Martin Luther King (Jr.)

    The celebrated civil rights leader outlines the trends in the African American struggle during the sixties, and pleads for peaceful coexistence between the African American and white communities.

    View Catalog EntryView Details
  • Cover image for Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?

    Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?

    Beverly Daniel Tatum

    The classic, bestselling book on the psychology of racism-now fully revised and updated Walk into any racially mixed high school and you will see Black, White, and Latino youth clustered in their own groups. Is this self-segregation a problem to address or a coping strategy? Beverly Daniel Tatum, a renowned authority on the psychology of racism, argues that straight talk about our racial identities is essential if we are serious about enabling communication across racial and ethnic divides.

    View Catalog EntryView Details
  • Cover image for The Heritage

    The Heritage

    Howard Bryant

    Examines "the story of sports post-9/11, once neutral but now embedded with deference toward the military and police, colliding with the political reawakening of the black athlete in post-Ferguson America"--

    View Catalog EntryView Details
  • Cover image for Freedom's Daughters

    Freedom's Daughters

    Lynne Olson

    THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY OF THE VITAL ROLE WOMEN -- BOTH BLACK AND WHITE -- PLAYED IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT In this groundbreaking and absorbing book, credit finally goes where credit is due -- to the bold women who were crucial to the success of the civil rights movement. From the Montgomery bus boycott to the lunch counter sit-ins to the Freedom Rides, Lynne Olson skillfully tells the long-overlooked story of the extraordinary women who were among the most fearless, resourceful, and tenacious leaders of the civil rights movement.

    View Catalog EntryView Details
  • Cover image for Driving While Black

    Driving While Black

    Gretchen Sorin

    How the automobile fundamentally changed African American life--the true history beyond the Best Picture-winning movie.

    View Catalog EntryView Details
  • Cover image for To the Promised Land

    To the Promised Land

    Michael K. Honey

    --William P. Jones, author ofThe March on Washington: Jobs, Freedom, and the Forgotten History of Civil Rights

    View Catalog EntryView Details

Upcoming Events

This event is in the "All Ages" group.
Dec-Feb 15
-
14
2020

Winter Reading Challenge

All Day 12/15 - 2/14
All Ages
This event is in the "All Ages" group.
Dec-Feb 15
-
14
2020

Winter Reading Challenge

All Day 12/15 - 2/14
All Ages
Library Branch: Online
Age Group: All Ages
Program Type: Reading Incentive Program
Program Details:
All ages are invited to get cozy with a good book this season with Ames Public Library's Winter Reading Challenge. Print this sheet -OR- go to amespubliclibrary.beanstack.org to track your progress. All logs must be completed and priz...


Ames Public Library connects you to the world of ideas through diverse and inclusive resources and programs. We welcome program proposals via our website at bit.ly/APLprogram.

This event is in the "Family" group.
Jan 26 2021 Tue

Storytime Online

10:00am - 10:30am
Family
This event is in the "Family" group.
Jan 26 2021 Tue

Storytime Online

10:00am - 10:30am
Family
Library Branch: Online
Age Group: Family
Program Type: Storytime
Program Details:
Join us for a storytime with your Ames Public Library friends on Facebook! You can also watch past storytimes on our YouTube channel.   ...


Ames Public Library connects you to the world of ideas through diverse and inclusive resources and programs. We welcome program proposals via our website at bit.ly/APLprogram.

This event is in the "Adults" group.
Jan 26 2021 Tue

Ames History Museum Lecture Series

7:00pm - 8:30pm
Adults
This event is in the "Adults" group.
Jan 26 2021 Tue

Ames History Museum Lecture Series

7:00pm - 8:30pm
Adults
Library Branch: Online
Age Group: Adults
Program Type: History/Genealogy, Presentation
Program Details:
Topic: Prohibition in Iowa Presenter: Linda McCann, author & Iowa history researcher Join Ames History Museum and Ames Public Library for a series of online lectures. Prohibition was the period of time when it was illegal to manufac...


Ames Public Library connects you to the world of ideas through diverse and inclusive resources and programs. We welcome program proposals via our website at bit.ly/APLprogram.

This event is in the "Adults" group.
Jan 27 2021 Wed

Books @ Noon

12:00pm - 1:00pm
Adults
This event is in the "Adults" group.
Jan 27 2021 Wed

Books @ Noon

12:00pm - 1:00pm
Adults
Library Branch: Online
Age Group: Adults
Program Type: Book Discussion, Meetup
Program Details:
Books @ Noon is currently an e-mail book group. E-mail webref@amespubliclibrary.org.org to join. Share what you've read recently—fiction or nonfiction—and hear about what everyone else is reading. Be prepared to give a brief description and your...


Ames Public Library connects you to the world of ideas through diverse and inclusive resources and programs. We welcome program proposals via our website at bit.ly/APLprogram.

This event is in the "Family" group.
Jan 29 2021 Fri

Storytime Online

10:00am - 10:30am
Family
This event is in the "Family" group.
Jan 29 2021 Fri

Storytime Online

10:00am - 10:30am
Family
Library Branch: Online
Age Group: Family
Program Type: Storytime
Program Details:
Join us for a storytime with your Ames Public Library friends on Facebook! You can also watch past storytimes on our YouTube channel.   ...


Ames Public Library connects you to the world of ideas through diverse and inclusive resources and programs. We welcome program proposals via our website at bit.ly/APLprogram.

This event is in the "Family" group.
Feb 1 2021 Mon

Play Together: Music and Movement

11:00am - 12:00pm
Family
Open
Registration
This event is in the "Family" group.
Feb 1 2021 Mon

Play Together: Music and Movement

11:00am - 12:00pm
Family
Open
Library Branch: Online
Age Group: Family
Program Type: Meetup
Registration Required
Seats Remaining: 9
Program Details:
Play, dance, and sing together on Zoom! Families with young children are invited to register for our new online play dates featuring music and movement. Registration required. Space is limited, so sign up early! Registrants will receive a fre...


Ames Public Library connects you to the world of ideas through diverse and inclusive resources and programs. We welcome program proposals via our website at bit.ly/APLprogram.

This event is in the "Family" group.
Feb 2 2021 Tue

Storytime Online

10:00am - 10:30am
Family
This event is in the "Family" group.
Feb 2 2021 Tue

Storytime Online

10:00am - 10:30am
Family
Library Branch: Online
Age Group: Family
Program Type: Storytime
Program Details:
Join us for a storytime with your Ames Public Library friends on Facebook! You can also watch past storytimes on our YouTube channel.   ...


Ames Public Library connects you to the world of ideas through diverse and inclusive resources and programs. We welcome program proposals via our website at bit.ly/APLprogram.

This event is in the "Adults" group.
Feb 3 2021 Wed

Mystery Lovers Book Club

12:00pm - 1:00pm
Adults
This event is in the "Adults" group.
Feb 3 2021 Wed

Mystery Lovers Book Club

12:00pm - 1:00pm
Adults
Library Branch: Online
Age Group: Adults
Program Type: Book Discussion
Program Details:
Mystery readers, come talk about books by a selected author. February 2021: James Rollins March 2021: Ruth Rendell ...


Ames Public Library connects you to the world of ideas through diverse and inclusive resources and programs. We welcome program proposals via our website at bit.ly/APLprogram.

This event is in the "Family" group.
Feb 5 2021 Fri

Storytime Online

10:00am - 10:30am
Family
This event is in the "Family" group.
Feb 5 2021 Fri

Storytime Online

10:00am - 10:30am
Family
Library Branch: Online
Age Group: Family
Program Type: Storytime
Program Details:
Join us for a storytime with your Ames Public Library friends on Facebook! You can also watch past storytimes on our YouTube channel.   ...


Ames Public Library connects you to the world of ideas through diverse and inclusive resources and programs. We welcome program proposals via our website at bit.ly/APLprogram.

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Our Location

515 Douglas Avenue
Ames, IA 50010

(515) 239-5646

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Library Hours

CURBSIDE ONLY: See Reopening FAQ
Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat: 9am-6pm
Tues & Thurs: 9am-9pm
Sun: 1pm-5pm

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