The Ames Free Library will be closed on Monday, May 29 in observance of Memorial Day.
Celebrate your creativity & love of books! We invite patrons of all ages to make a literary ornament of a favorite book, holiday classic, or any other creative literary design. Use wood, paint, 3D printing, clay, paper, wood, fabric, beads, yarn, origami, or whatever your whimsy desires!
Come hang your ornament right on the tree at Queset House, or drop it off at the Main Library between December 1 and December 22.
Congratulations to our pumpkin carving contest winner, Violet, who received a gift card to Hilliard's for her entry!
Violet submitted this intricately carved face entitled "Billy lost his head again." One thing we loved about this entry is that she scooped the pumpkin out from the bottom, leaving the stem and top intact.
Beautiful work, Violet! Thank you for sharing it with us.
If you're planning to enter your pumpkin into our carving contest, tomorrow is the big day! You can drop it off at the Quest House on Wednesday, October 26, between 1:00 PM and 8:00 PM, or drop off on Thursday, October 27, between 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM. Don't forget to bring your entry form!
Read more about the pumpkin carving contest below.
Are you an expert pumpkin carver? Are you a beginning carver with amazing ideas? We'll be judging your pumpkin carving skills at the Queset House on Friday, October 28.
Bring your carved pumpkin entries to the Queset House on Wednesday, October 26 between 1:00 PM and 8:00 PM, or on Thursday, October 27 between 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM. On Friday afternoon, we will select a winner from each of three categories: adults (18+), teens (12-18), and kids* (up to age 12).
Storytimes will continue to meet inside at the Queset House until the weather improves. As we stay cozy inside for these next few weeks, please be aware of our latest guidelines:
Now that we're a couple of months into winter storytimes, we are really getting into our routines! We're still looking ahead to lovely weather and to moving back outside, but in the meantime, please remember these guidelines:
Space is limited and registration is required. Registration will open two weeks before the first storytime of the month. You will be registered for that storytime for the entire month. Registration is now open for all February storytimes.
There's nothing better than working together!
Last month, we put out a huge sticker mosaic in Youth Services for everyone to work on. It took up our entire central work table, and everyone who came in had the opportunity to add a sticker (or 10!). Each square on the page had a letter, and each sticker color corresponded with a particular letter. If you worked on it at all in the past month, you know that it wasn't easily identifiable up close, but now that it's done and hanging in our window, it's been revealed!
Do you like hot cocoa, snuggly kittens, new friends, and dragonfruit? OF COURSE you do! How about frozen boogers, being told "no", stinky ghost burps, and even stinkier durian fruit? Maybe not so much? We don't blame you. But hey, don't knock it 'til you try reading about it...
The books we talked about during December's Book Share program for kids in grades K-3 feature all of the above! Missed the meeting? Keep reading for fun new book recommendations.
Winter is coming! As the weather gets colder, storytimes must move inside. We’ll continue to run our weekly storytimes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 10:30 AM, but there will be a few changes.
As of January 3, 2022, the following guidelines will be in place for all storytimes:
Space is limited and registration is recommended. Registration will open two weeks before the first storytime of the month. You will be registered for that storytime for the entire month. Registration is now open for all January storytimes.
Halloween sure is a spoooooky time! But don't be scared that you've missed out on our new kids' MCBA book club!
