Des Moines Library

About the Des Moines Library

• History of the Des Moines Library

• Description of Services

  • General Services

  • Reference Services

  • Meeting Room

  • Computer Lab

  • Assignment Alert

  • Des Moines Library Book Group
    Meets the fourth Tuesday of the month at 7pm in the librarys meeting room.
    

  • Children's Services

  • Resources & Services for Teens

    • MySpace Page

  • Senior Services

  • Special Collections

  • Des Moines History Online
    
    

• Community Study

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General Library Services

Check It Out!
Items available for check out include books, recorded books, music tapes and CDs, DVDs, videos, CD-ROMs, encyclopedias, magazines, pamphlets, Cliffs Notes, and even comic books.

Library Catalog
The KCLS catalog is available for your use from your home via the Internet or at the library.  You can use the catalog to search for items, place holds, renew items, and see what materials you have checked out or on hold.

KCLS Databases
KCLS has numerous databases, all available at Des Moines Libraryand most available from home via the Internet with your KCLS library card.   Find full-text magazine articles, newspapers, encyclopedias, photographs, genealogical information, auto repair manuals, company records and much more.

Meeting Room.

A meeting room is available to groups and individuals for non-commercial purposes. Please read the Meeting Room Use policy. Meetings at Des Moines Library may be booked up to two months in advance by calling the library. Maximum capacity of the room is 45 people.

Des Moines Library Book Group meets the fourth Tuesday of the month at 7pm in the librarys meeting room.


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Children's Services

The Des Moines Library has a wide variety of childrens materials, including:

Beginning Readers Collection.
These books are designed for the beginning reader who is in between picture books and chapter books. The collection also includes books on the phonetic reading method.

Easy Nonfiction Collection.
When your little ones want to know how, what, why, when, or where, find a book for them here. This collection includes biographies too.

Folk and Fairy Tale Collection.
Let your imagination roam the world with our large collection of folklore and fairy tales.

Holiday Collection.
Find a book about most any holiday or season, from New Year's Day to Kwanzaa. When a specific holiday is approaching, you are limited to two books at a time for seven days; the remainder of the year, books check out for 28 days.

Music Tapes and CDs and Books on Tape

Kidspage. Explore the Web with the King County Library System's Kidspage.

Homework Help. Web sites selected by KCLS librarians. A great starting place for information!

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Resources & Services for Teens
Look for the neon Teen Realm sign which marks the Young Adult area of Des Moines Library. In the Teen Realm you will find Young Adult books, books on tape, magazines, and comics.   

Classics Collection. Whether for school or for pleasure, you have a selection of traditional and contemporary classics in paperback from which to choose. Cliffs Notes are available for many of the titles in this collection.  

Teen programs at Des Moines Library.

Homework Help.
Web sites selected by KCLS librarians. A great starting place for information!



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Senior Services

Find out about services for those who are not able to visit the library.

Links of Interest to Seniors from the Traveling Library Center (TLC).

Des Moines Area Senior Services

Adult Programs
Find out about upcoming programs at the library.

Reference Services

Information Desk.
The Information Desk is staffed by professional librarians who will help you find anything from autobiographies to ZIP Codes. Please ask us--we love to help!

Reference Collection.
A wide variety of non-circulating reference books ensure that there will be something checked in on most topics.

Subject Requests.
When your question involves more time or resources than are readily available, complete a "Subject Request" form. A librarian will get back to you with an answer.

Book and Article Requests.
Stop by the Information Desk to request books and articles, or complete the request online through InterLibrary Loan for items KCLS does not own.

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Special Collections

Automotive Repair Collection.
Chilton's and Motor manuals dating from 1940 to the present are available for in-library use. Some manuals for specific makes and models are available in the Des Moines Library, and even more may be ordered from other libraries in the system.

Business Reference Center.
Research or track the progress of stocks and mutual funds with Value Line and Morningstar reports. This collection also includes a variety of miscellaneous information as well as small business start-up guides.

Career & College Center.
From choosing a college to choosing a career, you'll find a wealth of information in the Career & College Center.

Collective Biography Collection.
For school reports on a famous (or even a not-so-famous) person, or just to satisfy your own curiosity about whatever happened to . . . look in this section.

Consumer Center.
Research before you buy! The Consumer Center collects the consumer publications on automobiles, products, and services in one location.

Government Documents Collection.
Documents from local government agencies and citizen groups are available for in-library review. Public meeting notices also are posted in this area of the library.

Large Print Collection.
Fiction and nonfiction books in large print provide that little bit extra to make reading easy on the eyes.

Literacy & ESL Collection.
A wide variety of materials, at various levels of proficiency, are available for adult new readers, ESL students, and tutors.

Multilingual Collection.
Books, magazines, newspapers and videos in a variety of world languages, including Spanish, Polish, Hindi and Arabic.

Pamphlet File.
Lots of valuable and interesting information is published in the form of pamphlets rather than books.

Reader's Advisory Collection.
Looking for a good book? Perhaps you've read all the books by your favorite author and want to discover a similar author? Or do you want to read reviews of the newest books to hit the market? You'll find all this and more in the Reader's Advisory section. Middle- and high-school students also will find suggestions for book reports and recreational reading.  


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Last Updated: May 22, 2009