The Ames Public Library encourages education and works to be a resource to the community through their wide variety of events they present throughout the year.

Many events celebrate diversity within the community, and encourage education on the experiences of marginalized groups.

The Black Arts and Music festival was Feb. 8 and 9 and featured the work of black artists within the Ames community and Iowa.

The festival featured five artist exhibits, including those of an Ames High School student and an Iowa State alumn. It also included seven performing artists, ranging from dance performances to singing and poetry.

This festival was a two-day, family-friendly event that celebrated the artistic and cultural contributions of African and African American visual and performing artists in the community.

Mary Logsdon, adult services manager at the library, said the event was intended to celebrate black art and music in the community during Black History Month.

“We were looking for ways to provide a more inclusive, celebratory activity at the library, and [we] decided that this year, during Black History Month, we would have this first effort to bring in artists, musicians and community members in this way,” Logsdon said.

“The Other Side of Latinx” is a film series put on by the Ames Public Library in coordination with the U.S. Latino/a Studies Program at Iowa State. The film series aims to give viewers an intimate account of life in Latin American and Caribbean countries to create knowledge and build bridges across geographies, individuals and between communities.

Lucia Suarez, director of the Iowa State Latino/a Studies Program, will introduce each of the series’ films, setting the stage for a brief journey into contemporary Cuba, the island, its immigrants and its exiles.

International Women’s Day, an event held annually by the library, is coming up on Saturday. At this year’s International Women’s Day event, ISU Theatre will perform scenes from their 2019 HERoic season, dedicated to gender equity in the arts. This event will take place from 2-4 p.m. Saturday. Following the performance, group discussion is encouraged.

After the performance, attendees can gather for refreshments and small-group conversations to celebrate personal achievements, challenge stereotypes, fight bias and support a gender-equal world. Participants will divide up between four table for discussion. Each table will have a discussion leader with a title, including Rachel Junck on “Entering Politics,” Linda Hagedorn on “Leadership in Education,” Chinmayee Mankar on “Gender Equity in the Workplace” and Grace McCunn on “Entrepreneurship and Service.”

Another large event the Ames Public Library puts on twice a year is the All Ages Drag Show, coordinated with Ames Pride. One show takes place in the fall and another in the spring. These shows are family-friendly evenings of music and dance by local professional and amateur drag performers, often including performers as young as middle schoolers.

The shows are usually filled to standing room only as people packed in to attend them, and so far, the library has hosted five shows, but there is no current listing for one this spring semester at the time of writing this article.

Mara Spooner, the MC for the fall 2019 show and vice chair of Ames Pride, said in an Iowa State Daily article that the goal of the event is to educate about gender expression and show how widely it can vary.

The library holds regular Conversations events for native and non-native speakers of languages to have conversations in that language. The next event of this nature is Conversations in American Sign Language at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

The Ames Public Library hosts a wide range of Conversations events as a way for speakers of all skill levels to gather for some casual conversation. Some of the languages featured are English, American Sign Language, French and Spanish.

Views from the Margins Book Discussion Group is a monthly event at which books written by members of marginalized groups are discussed. The next Views from the Margins event is at 2 p.m. Sunday. The book that will be discussed is “Divided we Stand” by Marjorie Spruill.

“We’re always looking at ways to broaden our reach in the community, to identify audience that might not already be represented,” Logsdon said.

The library also serves as a resource for families in the community, holding regular family-based and child-based events.

At Baby Time, caregivers can bring their babies to the library for music, songs, baby sign language and more. The next Baby Time event is at 6 p.m. Wednesday.  

This allows caregivers to join with other caregivers and their pre-walkers and older siblings for 20 minutes of conversation and play every week. Caregivers and babies are invited to stay after the storytime for more playtime and socialization.

Similar to Baby Time, Toddler Time allows caregivers to bring their toddlers to the library for books and music. Early literacy skills are also practiced. This is usually 20-25 minutes of music and a book for caregivers to help their toddlers learn literacy skills. The next Toddler Time event is at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

The Mothering Circle is a meetup event for mothers to discuss their experiences. The next Mothering Circle event is at 9:15 a.m. Thursday.

All mothers are invited to come together to connect, explore issues, deepen intuition and share their parenting journeys at these events. As a group, they address the needs and concerns of each mother so she can find compassionate support and inspiration.

Other similar events for small children include Family Story Time, which is a story reading event for caregivers and children; Maker Morning, which is an event at which preschool-aged children and their caregivers make crafts with provided materials; and Saturday Play Date, which is a meetup event for caregivers and kids held every Saturday, where kids can enjoy books, songs, crafts and games.  

For kids who are a little older, the library holds a few teen events throughout the month.

Teen Advisory Group is a meetup event where teens can help plan future teen events at the Ames Public Library that are relevant for their age level. The next Teen Advisory Group event is at 11 a.m. Saturday.

“I’d like to think of the library as a center of community engagement, where people can see themselves in the library and interact with others in a way that fosters civic pride and opens an inclusive community,” Logsdon said.

Other teen events include Teen Slime of the Month, where teens gather at the library to make slime; Teen Craft of the Month, which is similar to Teen Slime of the Month but all sorts of crafts are made; the Teen Writers Workshop, which provides writing activities for teen writers to improve their skills; and Teen Movie & Oreos, which is a film showing at which snacks are provided.

Susan Gent, community engagement specialist at the library, said the library is a resource to the Ames community in many ways.

“The Ames Public Library is one of the vibrant hearts of the Ames community,” Gent said. “So many people rely on the library for excellent books, materials, media and services. Programs are just a part of that.”