Birmingham Public Library Blog

Your next treasure might be found at this exciting event. The Friends of the Birmingham Public Library, over three hundred members strong, are sponsoring a “Gigantic Book Sale” Friday and Saturday, June 3-4, at the library’s downtown location . The sale runs from 9:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. both days. Items featured in the sale include pieces donated from private collections covering adult and children’s fiction and non-fiction, as well as DVD’s, CD’s, audio books, and videos. And it’s all for a good cause—proceeds will go towards the purchase of materials for our Birmingham libraries. A special preview night for Friends’ members is slated for Thursday, June 2 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. The evening will include a silent auction of interesting and unusual books. Individuals are invited to join the Friends organization with a paid membership at the door. The Friends of the Birmingham Public Library is a structured nonprofit association of individuals providing for various special needs of the...

Print version with essential phone numbers (pdf) FEMA Application Information (pdf) The Birmingham Public Library (BPL) hopes that the following list may be of assistance to those affected by the recent storms and to those who would like to volunteer to help. BPL will continue to update this list regularly. If you would like to add additional information to help those in need, please post in the comments section below. Important Notices Right-of-Entry Agreement (Private Property) form needed for the city and FEMA to start the clean up process on private property. Disaster related unemployment claims deadline is May 30 . Legal Services Alabama Disaster Manual covers FEMA, housing, insurance, bankruptcy, family issues, unemployment compensation, nutrition assistance, taxes plus many other topics. ( pdf version ) RESOURCES Call 2-1-1 in Alabama for assistance/information of any kind. It's like 9-1-1 , except for non-emergency questions of any sort. Recovery Alabama Crowdsou...

Do you love to travel, explore and discover? Well, grab your library card and follow me. The Birmingham Public Library (BPL) will launch its 2011 summer reading program on June 1 at all 18 BPL locations . This summer travel to distant countries, explore other worlds and make exciting discoveries. Why not travel to South America, explore ancient ruins or learn more about the latest trends in science research? You might read a romance, mystery, thriller, fantasy or crime novel. Just get away from it all. Yes, it’s all there for you at your local BPL branch . We encourage you to participate in book discussions, programs, activities and events that your library has to offer. This summer adults can explore Novel Destinations by joining the Birmingham Public Library Adult Summer Reading Program. The program begins June 1 – July 31. We are excited to announce our new BPL Adult Online Summer Reading Program. Please visit our Birmingham Public Library Adult Summer Reading Program on Facebook. R...

Legal Services Alabama has created a disaster manual to assist those affected by the recent tornadoes. "This statement of legal rights in situations that typically arise after a disaster was prepared by Legal Services Alabama, relying on information from its own websites and from various federal and state agencies. This document is intended for information purposes only. Readers should not interpret the contents as legal advice or legal opinion with respect to any specific facts or circumstances. " Table of Contents Alabama Disaster Area Disaster Relief (FEMA) Proving Your Identity Housing Insurance Avoiding Ripoffs Bankruptcy Immigration Domestic Violence and Divorce Education / Schools Other Family Issues Disaster Unemployment Assistance Food Stamps/SNAP/D-SNAP School Lunch and Breakfast Program Social Security Taxes This manual is also available in pdf format .

The Birmingham Public Library (BPL) hosts another poetry slam on Friday, June 3 at the Central Library. Bards & Brews showcases both veteran slammers and first-timers. Held on the first Friday of each month, slams are emceed by poetry slam events director Brian “Voice Porter” Hawkins. Each contestant contributes $5 to the pot, and winner takes all. Southern Fried Slam rules will be observed. Craft beer will be available for sampling. You must be 18 years or older to be admitted, and 21 years or older to be served. IDs will be checked. Live music at 6:30 p.m. Call time is 7:00 p.m. Check out the Bards & Brews page on Facebook for more information. This program is made possible by grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Word up, y’all! Bards & Brews: Birmingham Public Library Poetry Slam Series Central Library, 2100 Park Place 1st Friday of every month 6:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m. Live music and sign-up is at 6:30 Call time is at 7:00...

Our summer reading programs for Children , Teens , and Adults begin June 1. Visit any Birmingham Public Library location to learn more.

The Birmingham Public Library (BPL) is excited to launch its 2011 Summer Reading program on June 1 at all 18 BPL locations . BPL’s commitment to outstanding summer reading experiences for children, teens, and adults is reflected in the many and varied offerings for all ages and interests. This summer’s line-up surpasses the highly attended programming offered last year in which more than 6,300 patrons participated, more than 42,700 books were read, and 440 special events were offered with a combined attendance of more than 18,500 children, teens, and adults. Sign up on, or after, June 1 at any BPL location to take part in our free and fantastic Summer Reading program. The Birmingham Public Library is proud to offer the following sample of events for the month of June designed specifically for our adult patrons. Please check with your local BPL branch or at www.bplonline.org for more information. Destination Magic with Larry Moore Magic Man Larry Moore performs tricks. Avondale, Monday...

William Deresiewicz is here to tell you that Jane Austen's biting social commentaries can improve your life while entertaining you. Deresiewicz is a former Yale University English professor turned professional literary critic. His book, A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter , shows how Austen's novels were therapeutic at different stages in his development. In graduate school Emma taught the arrogant 26-year-old Deresiewicz that it's the small everyday occurrences of our lives that mold us into the people we become. Pride and Prejudice reminded him of how important it is to temper feelings with reason, and to be wise enough to learn from our mistakes. Mansfield Park turned a spotlight on the elite Manhattan crowd he was socializing with at the time, revealing how a lack of curiosity about the hows and whys of others' lives make for a narrow mindset that doesn't serve one well in life. The the...

The Birmingham Public Library (BPL) is excited to launch its 2011 Summer Reading program on June 1 at all 18 BPL locations . BPL’s commitment to outstanding summer reading experiences for children, teens, and adults is reflected in the many and varied offerings for all ages and interests. This summer’s line-up surpasses the highly attended programming offered last year in which more than 6,300 patrons participated, more than 42,700 books were read, and 440 special events were offered with a combined attendance of more than 18,500 children, teens, and adults. Sign up on, or after, June 1 at any BPL location to take part in our free and fantastic Summer Reading program. The Birmingham Public Library is proud to offer the following sample of events for the month of June designed specifically for our younger patrons. Please check with your local BPL branch or at www.bplonline.org for more information. Around the World in Twenty-Seven Hundred Seconds with the North Birmingham StoryGuys! Nor...

Alabama Power is donating forty iPads to four charitable and educational institutions. The Birmingham Public Library (BPL), along with the Mobile Public Library, Montgomery City-County Library, and Children's Hospital, will each receive ten iPads to help with their education and literacy outreach efforts. “The Birmingham Public Library is extremely excited to be the beneficiary of this donation from Alabama Power,” said Irene S. Blalock, library director. “The donation of these iPads provides a platform on which BPL can offer a new level of training and program opportunities to the communities we serve. In addition to using the technology to train our staff, we will also use the iPads to produce new programs for our teens and senior audiences.” The donation of the iPads was announced during the “Playtime Extravaganza” carnival at Children’s Hospital, the closing event to four days of fun activities for the hospital's young patients. The Extravaganza was organized and funded wit...

Birmingham magazine and Alabama Baby & Child magazine collaborated to produce the 2011 Parent’s Choice Awards for Birmingham magazine’s May kids' issue. More than 2,500 people took the survey last spring, casting online votes for what they considered the best services and businesses in 65 categories. BPL’s Avondale Regional Library tied with Emmet O’Neal as runners up to Hoover Library for Best Story Time in the Activities category. Congratulations to Avondale’s talented storytellers! The Parent's Choice Award winners will remain online at bhammag.com for a full year.

The Birmingham Public Library (BPL) is excited to launch its 2011 Summer Reading program on June 1 at all 18 BPL locations. BPL’s commitment to outstanding summer reading experiences for children, teens, and adults is reflected in the many and varied offerings for all ages and interests. This summer’s line-up surpasses the highly attended programming offered last year in which more than 6,300 patrons participated, more than 42,700 books were read, and 440 special events were offered with a combined attendance of more than 18,500 children, teens, and adults. Sign up on, or after, June 1 at any BPL location to take part in our free and fantastic Summer Reading program. The Birmingham Public Library is proud to offer the following sample of events for the month of June designed specifically for our teenaged patrons. Please check with your local BPL branch or at www.bplonline.org for more information. The Amazing Race The library version of the hit TV show! Central, Thursday, June 2, 2:0...

A great new resource for digital literacy is now available online. "In partnership with nine federal agencies, the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), created www.DigitalLiteracy.gov to provide librarians, teachers, workforce trainers, and others a central location to share digital literacy content and best practices. These trusted groups can, in turn, better reach out to their communities in providing them the skills today’s employers need. NTIA is also partnering with the American Library Association and the Institute of Museum and Library Services to promote the use of the portal by the nation’s more than 16,600 public libraries where, in 2009, over 30 million job-seekers used computers to search and apply for jobs." Continue reading the press release here . DigitalLLiteracy.gov Includes: (Fact Sheet pdf ) • Workforce development materials such as tutorials, presentations, and reports that teach indiv...

Night Call Nurses or What the Health?! is an original 45-minute comedy written by Dr. Andrew Duxbury of the UAB Center for Aging . It is the story of a struggling radio station celebrating its 75th Anniversary by bringing back the popular radio soap opera, Night Call Nurses . The Baby Boomer producer invites the original actresses back to enjoy the show not realizing that they will steal it and save the day! Contact Sandi Lee at 205-226-3742 or slee@bham.lib.al.us for more information. Wednesday, May 18, noon. Feed your body and mind at BPL's Brown Bag Lunch programs . You bring the lunch and we'll bring the drinks. Wednesdays at noon in Central Library’s Arrington Auditorium.

ATTENTION TEENS! Beginning on June 1, the Birmingham Public Library (BPL) will begin its summer reading program for teens. Sign up at any BPL location —at any time during the summer—to compete for reading prizes, participate in special events, and enjoy guest artists. Art, juggling, drumming, cooking, martial arts, and forensic science experiments are but a few of the events scheduled this summer. Make BPL a destination for summer fun by signing up on June 1 or any time thereafter. All programs are free of charge. For a list of summer reading programs, pick up Reader at your nearest library or check online at http://www.jclc.org/Reader/2011/summer/default.htm .

Are you baffled by U.S. Census data? Do you have a project coming up that requires you to locate, and make sense of, the newly released 2010 figures? Well, the Birmingham Public Library is here to help. On Tuesday May 10 th , the library is hosting a workshop that will be presented by representatives of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Atlanta office. The workshop is entitled Census Data and Proposal Writing for Not-for-Profit Organizations. The purpose of this workshop is to give those individuals involved with preparing grant proposals instruction on how to locate current data relating to specific populations which can then be used for community and neighborhood analysis. The workshop will be held in the Arrington Auditorium, which is located on the 4 th floor of central library’s Linn Henley Research building. There is no cost and no registration is required to participate. Date and time: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 from 10am - 11:30am in the Arrington Auditorium at the Birmingham...

Treasures to be found at this exciting event! Gigantic Book Sale June 3-4!

The Birmingham Public Library (BPL) is excited to once again host its “Score Big” with the Cotchery Foundation as part of its summer reading initiative. Jerricho Cotchery, of the New York Jets, and one of Birmingham’s native sons, has teamed himself and his foundation with the library for this exciting reading challenge. Cotchery wants all students ages 11-18 to read by participating in the Birmingham Public Library "You Are Here" reading program. Qualified "You Are Here" participants will have the opportunity to: • Attend the 2011 Skills and Drills Football Clinic with Jerricho Cotchery and other NFL players on June 18, 2011 at Legion Field. FREE of charge. • Attend the FREE "Club 89" Teen Tailgate Party at Birmingham Public Library on June 17. 2011. Registration for “Score Big” with the Cotchery Foundation ends June 3, 2011. Visit any Birmingham Public Library location for details.

This Book Is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson Marilyn Johnson loves libraries, and she isn’t shy about saying it. From Deadwood, South Dakota to New York City and the strange back-alleys of cyberspace, Johnson explores the far corners of the library universe to find out just how far we’ve come since the days of card catalogs, dusty shelves, and people saying “Shh.” What she learns first is how the Information Age has overturned all the old assumptions of the library profession. While at first librarians may have feared the computers that threatened to supplant them, a new breed of librarians have dived head-first into the electronic realm, becoming educators and activists for a planet now drowning in information overload. She concludes by speculating that the idea of a library as something that serves a narrow geographic area – a county, a city, a neighborhood – is becoming a thing of the past as the Internet makes borders and distance meaningle...

Fifty years ago today, two groups of racially diverse citizens boarded public buses in Washington, D.C. for a trip through the deep South. The Freedom Riders, as they were called, were brave individuals who endured hostility and violence in order to test onerous desegregation laws that divided an entire region of the country. Their bravery set the stage for drastic changes in both societal attitude and legal challenges that would change our nation. Read more about it The Encyclopedia of Alabama has an excellent overview of this important part of the United States' Civil Rights Movement history. BPL's Digital Collections includes several scrapbooks of contemporary newspaper articles covering the events. Alabama Mississippi United States PBS will air a documentary about the Freedom Riders on May 16. There is an online exhibit, timeline, biographies, and additional information to accompany this program. Birmingham Public Library's Archives Department contributed to this pro...

Houston Todd is a Birmingham artist who is the art specialist at Princeton Alternative School in Birmingham. Todd will make a presentation of Ashley Bryan 's work that is on exhibit at the Birmingham Public Library. Bryan who was a graduate of Cooper Union Art School in New York City, taught art at Dartmouth University for over 25 years, and retired as Professor Emeritus of Art. Bryan has won the Coretta Scott King Award nine times and received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for contributions to children's literature. Todd has studied the art in Bryan's books and will share illustrations from many of the award winning books. After listening to Todd, you will have a deeper appreciation of the exhibit of Bryan's work. Contact Sandi Lee at 205-226-3742 or slee@bham.lib.al.us for more information on this program. Wednesday, May 11, noon, Central Library , Arrington Auditorium. Feed your body and mind at BPL's Brown Bag Lunch programs . You bring the lunch and we'l...

2011 marks the 150th anniversary of the outbreak of The Civil War. To commemorate this occasion, the Social Sciences department has put together a display of books, DVDs, and audio books related to the Civil War. We also have the American Civil War subject guide to help you find even more resources. Stop by today or call us at 205-226-3640!

A recent Harris Poll echoed the rally cry of many library supporters, praising the resources libraries provide to affirming their importance in communities. Nearly 80 percent of respondents agreed that libraries deserved more funding. The poll was included in a 70-paged report called “The State of America’s Libraries” released in April. When asked, 96 percent (representing nearly 224 million people) said that by providing free access to materials and resources, libraries play a vital role in giving everyone a chance to succeed, and 94 percent said libraries improve the quality of life. More than 80 percent agreed the library is an important tool for promoting, fostering, and advocating education. And approximately 80 percent of those surveyed agreed that libraries need and deserve more funding. Additionally, the poll revealed that Americans value the “democratic nature” of libraries as places that “level the playing field for all Americans in the provision of materials free of...

Spring has arrived, and that means it is time to plant your garden! This month, the Business, Science, and Technology department's display is devoted to gardening. You will find books on how to find that green thumb in you! We have also created a subject guide, Gardening in the South, to help you find more resources. As you plant your garden, you will need to consider: 1. Sun 2. Soil 3. Site 4. Size 5. Selection The National Gardening Association lists these as the 5S's to Success for Starting a Vegetable Garden Stop by our gardening display today or call us at 205-226-3690!

Dr. Lynn Kirkland and Dr. Deborah Strevy are on the faculty of the School of Education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Both have taught children’s literature as well as many courses related to the literacy development of young children. Their brief lecture will focus on the very important role parents play in the literacy development of their children and techniques they may use when reading and working with their children and books. The focus of the remarks will be the award winning literature of Ashley Bryan , which will be on display in the Birmingham Public Library 4th Floor Gallery from April 11-May 20. Contact Sandi Lee at 205-226-3742 or slee@bham.lib.al.us for more information about this program. Wednesday, May 4, noon. Feed your body and mind at BPL's Brown Bag Lunch programs . You bring the lunch and we'll bring the drinks. Wednesdays at noon in Central Library’s Arrington Auditorium.