Birmingham Public Library Blog

Sarah Bryant's The Index Students, graduates and faculty from the University of Alabama Book Arts Masters Program will present their work at an exhibition in Central's Fourth Floor Gallery at the Birmingham Public Library January 3-February 12. The exhibition will highlight the three labor-intensive stages of the bookmaking process—papermaking, printing, and book binding—with work by artists from the region who are affiliated with the University of Alabama’s graduate program. The painstakingly crafted paper, prints, and books on display at the Birmingham Public Library will demonstrate a remarkable craft that—in a world of mass-produced white paper, speedy laser printers, and efficient printing presses—most of us are unaccustomed to seeing. Book artists begin papermaking by using a variety of natural fabrics and fibers: a second-hand linen dress found at a thrift store, bark from a tree native to Alabama, or an old pair of denim blue jeans. Flecks of color, unexpected textur...

Gerald R. Ford July 14, 1913 - December 26, 2006 “. . . The ultimate test of leadership is not the polls you take, but the risks you take. In the short run, some risks prove overwhelming. Political courage can be self-defeating. But the greatest defeat of all would be to live without courage, for that would hardly be living at all.” Ford's Remarks upon receiving the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage AwardMay 21, 2001 To read about Gerald R. Ford, his presidency and funeral services see the links below: Many books about Gerald R. Ford are available for check out at your local library. Online links: Biography of Gerald R. Ford Encyclopedia Britannica Online articles (a library card is required to access these articles) Gerald R. Ford Presidental Library and Museum Send condolences online at the Gerald R. Ford Memorial Web site Funeral services schedule Presidential Proclamation Announcing the Death of Gerald R. Ford A President's Legacy National Public Radio's (NPR) col...

Are you searching for the history of Kwanzaa, special recipes for New Year's Day, or holiday crafts? Let BPL's Kwanzaa and New Year's Day subject guides give you a helping hand.

Joyce Carol Oates' novel Black Girl / White Girl "is a searing double portrait of 'black' and 'white', of race and civil rights in post-Vietnam America". Book reviewer Arlene McKanic states "Joyce Carol Oates is masterful at depicting ugliness, and the list of what is ugly in her world seems endless: the smell of unwashed flesh with its grease and pimples, overflowing trash, ill-fitting clothes, dying canals gleaming with toxins, the indignity of the female body and its processes. Moreover, there's the ugliness of her characters' dark, unspeakable and sometimes murderous impulses. The Bryn Mawr-like campus in her latest novel, though pretty enough to an outsider, partakes of this general ugliness. As one might guess from the book's title, the perversity of American race relations is one of the themes of Black Girl / White Girl ." To read the rest of the review, click here .

Birmingham Public Library Press Release December 19, 2006 Celebrating 30 years of service to the Birmingham community, the Birmingham Public Library’s Archives will embark on an ambitious project to make its extensive collection more accessible to teachers, students, researchers, and the general public. With a state-of-the-art overhead scanner—purchased with grants from the community—the Archives will scan Birmingham’s founding documents including the original survey for the city. The 133-year-old volume contains the original maps and field notes of the survey team that laid out Birmingham's streets in 1872. The Archives will also now be able to digitize atlases such as the Beers and Ellis Atlas of Birmingham—a rare 1887 atlas containing full color maps of downtown Birmingham; Baist's Property Atlas of Birmingham—a rare 1902 atlas of full-color maps of downtown Birmingham; and other historic maps and illustrations of early Birmingham. “With this type of overhead scanner, the Ar...

Birmingham Public Library and Jefferson County Library Cooperative are excited to announce our newest online resource, Rosetta Stone . Now any time of the day or night you can learn to speak, write and understand new languages using your natural language-learning abilities and fully-interactive technologies. Take a tour or start learning a new language.

Birmingham Public Library Seeks High School Yearbooks The Birmingham Public Library is seeking donations of high school yearbooks from the Birmingham area. If you would like to donate annuals for the library's permanent collection, please call (205) 226-3728 or fill out our online form . View the yearbooks already in the library's permanent collection

Kids win 5 free tickets to Alabama Shakespeare Festival's production of James and the Giant Peach plus a family dinner and one night hotel stay. Children ages 4-13 have an opportunity to win a chance to see this wonderful show with 4 of their family members. To Enter: Submit an essay of 200 words or less discussing your favorite James and the Giant Peach character or draw a picture of them. The deadline to submit is January 8. Turn all submissions in to one of our branch libraries . Parental or guardian signature is required to enter the contest. ( Entry Form ) Good luck!

Thursday, December 14 (inventory) Saturday, December 23 Sunday, December 24 Monday, December 25 Tuesday, December 26 Sunday, December 31 Monday, January 1 Happy Holidays!

The Birmingham News recently published two articles about BPL's downloadable audiobooks and the Web site Teachers' Pet. Teachers' Pet provides links to original history documents and photographs for classroom use. " Libraries offer books for download " " Library site helps teach history " List of new downloadable audiobooks

Birmingham author Tim Hollis reminiscences about visiting Santa, the Enchanted Forest and the holidays of his childhood in Downtown Birmingham during this Wednesday's Brown Bag Lunch program. The program takes place in Central's Arrington Auditorium at noon.

Visit Central library Dec. 13 at noon to hear Birmingham storyteller and actress Dolores Hydock present “A Christmas Memory”. The event will be held in the Arrington Auditorium. Come early to get a seat at this popular event.