Is there a CD your friends have been telling you to buy, but you’re not sure you want to spend the money? Does no one in town have the movie you’re looking to rent? The Ames Public Library may be just the place for you.

The APL has 7,361 music CDs, 3,060 movies on video, and 2,565 informational videos (documentaries, etc.), all available free of charge.

T.J. Larson, media services coordinator for the APL, believes that providing access to films and music is an important part of the library’s mission.

“We believe that music tells a lot about a culture,” Larson says. “The library is a place to find a whole world of ideas, and music tells us a lot about how we feel and what we’re doing.”

For Larson, who created the position of media services coordinator over 15 years ago, variety has been an important goal while building the collection.

“We have very traditional music forms, and very avant-garde as well,” Larson says.

The CD collection at the APL is divided into a number of categories, but Larson says that approximately half of the CDs fall into either the rock or pop genres.

Larson describes the “rock” and “pop” distinctions.

“Pop is a huge umbrella,” Larson says. “It’s pop of the 1920’s to pop of the 21st century. Rock is also popular, but with more edge to it.”

The other categories of music at the APL include: new age, jazz, film soundtracks, Broadway musicals, religious, folk, country, opera, and classical.

“It’s a huge rainbow,” Larson says. “A very rich rainbow of possibilities, in terms of music.”

Variety is also the name of the game when it comes to movies at the APL.

“One of our principal goals is to provide [videos] for families and children,” Larson says. “We also have a good collection of foreign films and what I call small films, films that were well received by critics but didn’t do too well.”

Due to the high cost of newly released videos, the APL is sometimes unable to purchase them until they’ve been out for a few months.

“First run videos cost between $100 and $115,” Larson says. “We wait until they are reduced in price to around $25 to $30.”

While the movies are shelved in the media department of the APL, Larson says patrons should also be aware of the large collection of non-fiction videos, shelved with books of similar subject.

Larson says the patrons of the APL make the biggest influence in terms of which CDs the library purchases.

“We listen to the customers,” Larson says. “We have suggestion forms; we welcome suggestions. Once every one or two months we try to get as many as we can, but our funds limit us. We try to have representation of everything.”

Larson says the library usually gets a run on CDs for artists who are playing concerts in the area.

“We need to get more Al Yankovic,” Larson says. “People have been coming in, wanting to listen to some of his older stuff.

“When the Des Moines Metropolitan Opera lists their operas for the upcoming season, we try to have those in stock,” Larson adds.

Larson says the library attempts to adjust the collection to reflect the use patterns, and the media department is one place where college students may specifically have an influence.

“My observation is that we have lots of young people [check out CDs and videos], principally because young people are more apt to be technology users,” Larson says.

One ISU student who uses the media department of the APL is Sean Kehoe, senior in performing arts and political science.

Kehoe says he was surprised with the collection at the APL.

“I was expecting the public library to be very mediocre, but it was certainly far above,” Kehoe says. “I was very pleasantly surprised by what they had.”

In addition from checking out movies ranging from “Dr. Faustus” to “The Little Prince,” Kehoe has used the media department primarily for CDs of classical music.

“It’s a really good place if you’re wanting to listen to certain music,” Kehoe says.

Larson says it’s very easy for students to get a library card at the APL. Students are required to present a picture I.D. and anything with their Ames address on it.

“We’ll accept a letter, a copy of a lease, an invoice, anything with a current Ames address on it,” Larson says.