Get the Smartest Card @ your library® September is Library Card Sign-up Month, and the Des Moines Public Library wants to make sure that your child has the smartest card of all – a library card. Studies show that children who are read to in the home and who use the library perform better in school and are more likely to continue to use the library as a source of lifetime learning. “A library card has always been the most important school supply of all,” says Library Director Saul Amdursky. “Kids can come to the library to get homework help and check out books, but they can also check out free music, DVDs and use the Internet to make after-school life a little more fun. There’s a lot happening at all six of our library locations.” A recent study by the American Library Association also showed that families use libraries to spend time together. Forty-four percent of survey respondents report taking their children to the library for this reason. Every person that signs up for a new Des Moines Public Library card during Library Card Sign-up Month will receive a free DMPL book sack. Library Card Sign–up Month began in 1987. For more information on how you can sign up for your library card, call 283-4152 and press 3

Holiday Closing Information All six locations of the Des Moines Public Library will be closed on Saturday, August 30 through Monday, September 1 in observanceof the Labor Day holiday.Regular hours will resume on Tuesday, September 2.

Children’s Book Discussion at South Side Library J.R.R. Tokien’s The Hobbit proves that not every fantasy hero has to look like a fearless warrior. Join us at the South Side Library on Monday, September 8, from 3:45 to 4:45 PM as we discuss Bilbo Baggins’ transformation from a quiet-living hobbit of the Shire into a rather reluctant hero plodding across Middle Earth. Books will be available at the South Side Library’s information desk. And since hobbits generally eat six meals a day, snacks will be provided to get voracious readers in the mood!

Dan Wardell and Super Why! Stop by the North Side Library On Thursday, September 4, Dan Wardell from Iowa Public Television will be coming to the North Side Library for a special storytime with Super Why! at 10:30 AM. Children from three to five will work on basic reading skills (alphabet recognition, comprehension, and vocabulary) with some of their favorite fairytale characters, like Red from Little Red Riding Hood and Pig from the Three Little Pigs. When these characters become “Super Readers” and literally fly into famous fairytales, preschoolers learn how to apply the moral of these stories to how they solve their own everyday problems in this interactive literacy game. You too can join the fairytale character’s “Book Club,” becoming Super Readers like them when you work on literacy and life skills in the Super Why! reading adventure!