Birmingham Public Library Blog

2016 marks the end of a historic period in African American history as President Barack Obama , the first African American president of the United States, concludes his second term in office.  We are a few days away from the beginning of African American History Month and many students will be looking for information to write essays and reports.  A good place to start is the African American History Month subject guide .  This guide provides links to reference books, DVDs , websites , and databases about African American history. The library subscribes to two databases that focus specifically on African Americans: African-American History Online and Oxford African American Studies Center .  The list of reference books includes titles for both older and younger students ( juvenile reference books ).  For information about Birmingham, be sure to browse the library's digital collection, The African American Experience in Birmingham .  The collecti...

Whether you’ve been a fan for years or decades, or if you’re a total newcomer, you’ve probably heard about the new season of The X-Files .  At the very least you've heard the creepy, eerie theme song.  In the new season's two-part premiere Monday and Tuesday, viewers caught a quintessential episode full of pre-established mythology, alien bodies, and intense conversations about the existence of extraterrestrials. Or maybe it’s some kind of government conspiracy -- that’s the question the show has asked for 23 years. The X-Files is a series about two FBI Special Agents, Dana Scully and Fox Mulder, who take on cases of unexplained phenomena and uncover secret plots and conspiracies of their own up to the very top of the FBI. The original series ran from 1993 to 2002, with two films - one in 1998 and the other ten years later in 2008, and the 2016 “revival” is designed for viewers of the original series as well as newcomers. It’s a healthy combination of overarching mytholo...

Participants enjoying 1-2-3 Play with Me Avondale Regional Branch Library, October 2015 BPL on Flickr Playing with your baby is not only important for bonding, but is also an educational experience for your child. We are providing a special time and place for you to come to the public library and spend one-on-one time playing with your child. This five-week program involves children birth through age 3 and their parents or caregivers. The library will have age appropriate toys, books, and art activities just for you and your child. Also, we have invited special guests from the community to join us each week to answer your questions about parenting. 1-2-3 Play with Me emphasizes the role of parents as the first teachers of their children, facilitates early intervention and teaches strategies for healthy child development and early literacy. 1-2-3 Play with Me is the signature event for Family Place Libraries and is a community project grant recipient of the Junior League of Bir...

"No self-respecting Southerner uses instant grits."  My Cousin Vinny , 1992 This month's blog contribution is dedicated to two things that I personally love: Alabama football and movies. I was wondering how I could combine these two favorite things into one post and then it hit me. In honor of the University of Alabama winning its 16th National Football Championship title, the most national championships won by any other team in college football history, I have decided to list 16 movies that were either filmed in Alabama, reference Alabama, relate to Alabama, or has a plot set in Alabama. Now granted, most of these titles are oldies but they are goodies. All of the movies are available in the Public Libraries in Jefferson County and may be checked out for seven days. 4 Little Girls 42 Big Fish Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan The Butler Close Encounters of the Third Kind Crimson Tide Failure to Launch Fo...

Lankford’s Horse Book James M. Lankford When thinking of the lives lost in the Civil War, few of us remember the cost in animal lives as well as human. According to one article titled “ The Horse in the Civil War ,” the death toll for horses was staggering: The total number of horses and mules killed in the Civil War mounts up to more than one million. In the beginning of the war, more horses were being killed than men. The number killed at the Battle of Gettysburg totaled around 1,500. The Union lost 881 horses and mules, and the Confederacy lost 619. It is the great misfortune of horses that they can be saddle-broken and tamed. If the horse was more like an ox, not suited for riding, the war would have been drastically different. This may account for a guide to horse care like Lankford’s Horse Book . Published in 1883, James Lankford’s guide to the care of sick and injured horses comes from a time when the horse played a major role in transportation and labor. Furthermore,...

The Birmingham Public Library, in conjunction with the Service Corps of Retired Executives ( SCORE ) and the City of Birmingham’s Office of Economic Development, will be hosting a free seminar, Steps to Starting Your Business, on February 1 and March 7 . The seminars will be held from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. on each day in the Arrington Auditorium, which is located on the 4th floor of the Linn-Henley Research Library. Each seminar will cover the same topics, but those who are interested are welcome to attend more than one day. Topics covered will include crafting a vision statement, identifying sources of funding, determining the legal structure of your business, devising a business plan, and investigating sources of business and economic information. Please register for the seminars by contacting Valencia S. Fisher in the Economic Development Office at valencia.fisher@birminghamal.gov or by phoning 205-254-2799 . Seminar presenters will be veteran mentors from the local chap...

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has set up a disaster loan outreach center inside the Powderly Branch Library to help those affected by a recent tornado that damaged homes and businesses in southwestern Birmingham. The library is located at 3301 Jefferson Ave. SW. The center began offering assistance on Wednesday, January 20, said Loretta Bitten, branch manager of the Powderly Library. The SBA will have loan representatives available to answer questions at the Powderly Library Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., and on Saturdays between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. until February 4, 2016 . For more information, call the SBA disaster center at 1-800-659-2955.

Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake Frank Abagnale with Stan Redding I first encountered Frank Abagnale as a chapter in a book about impostors. His story grabbed me, but it wasn’t enough. I naturally proceeded to Abagnale’s book about his young life in crime. It too was enthralling. But, as the author of the impostors book said, Abagnale made his life from lying. How much of the book can we believe? Let’s assume the book is basically true. On the cover is the legend, “The true story.” But it’s basically, not entirely, true. Abagnale has gone on record stating that co-author Stan Redding has exaggerated parts of the book at the behest of the publisher and that he, Abagnale, has accepted this as the price of publishing. We do know that Abagnale is an ex-con who was jailed in several countries for fraud-related offenses. And we know that, in the sixties and early seventies, when the criminal events in the book take place, an FBI agent was put in charge solely to trac...

The Birmingham Public Library (BPL), in partnership with the Birmingham Children’s Theatre (BCT) and Junior League of Birmingham (JLB), would like to invite you to attend From Page to Stage: Tuxedo Junction –  A Readers’ Theater Workshop for Children. In anticipation of the upcoming BCT performance of Tuxedo Junction – A Celebration of Erskine Hawkins , BPL will be hosting free workshops at several of its area libraries. Children, age 7 to 12, will learn how stories come alive through the magic of theater. JLB members will coach the children and introduce them to similar literature located in their local library. Each child will receive two free tickets (one child and one adult ticket) to the BCT Tuxedo Junction production in February 2016 . You’ll tap your toes and dance in the aisles as BCT presents Tuxedo Junction , a musical based on the early life of legendary jazz musician, and Birmingham native, Erskine Hawkins. Honoring Black History Month and the first inductee in...

Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye Tania Del Rio Twelve-year-old Warren is an orphan. His father died when he was very little and he doesn’t even remember his mother. Warren is being raised by his lazy Uncle Rupert and his dreadful Aunt Anna Conda (and I use the term raised very lightly because Warren does much of the work himself). Warren is living in his forefathers’ legacy, The Warren Hotel, which has been passed down from father to son for thirteen generations. Since Warren isn’t old enough to run it on his own, his uncle has been placed in charge but he’s done a rotten job of maintaining it. To make matters worse, Uncle Rupert’s new wife treats Warren dreadfully. She has exiled him to the attic and she doles out cruel tasks and punishments for our young hero. She only married Uncle Rupert to gain access to the mythic “All-Seeing Eye” which is said to have magical properties and be hidden somewhere inside the hotel. There hasn’t been a customer in years until one day…a m...

The Birmingham Public Library (BPL)’s Coloring for Adults workshop is returning to the Central Library. The workshop will take place on Tuesday, January 19, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. , in the Youth Department’s Story Castle at the Central Library . On January 8, a Springville Road Regional Branch Library program called Color Me Calm attracted a bigger-than-expected afternoon crowd, and included a short discussion of studies supporting the benefits of coloring for adults. Coloring For Adults offers a relaxing activity that proved popular during its debut in early November, drawing large crowds to the Central Library in November and December, said Karyn Davis-West, public coordinator for the Birmingham Public Library. Free colored pencils, coloring sheets, crayons, and light refreshments will be provided. The program comes as industry leader Crayola has launched Crayola Color Escapes, a line of adult coloring kits featuring 11 by 17-inch black and white illustrations by artis...

Photo credit: abc33/40.com. " Adult coloring workshops bring a sense of calm to Central Alabamians " I have to admit, the first time I heard about the coloring for adults program at the library, I was a little…taken aback. What on earth does a room full of adults sitting around coloring have to do with libraries? Then I started reading up on it and quickly realized that the benefits of adults spending some downtime coloring (or doing crafts) are so numerous and varied that it fits perfectly with the library’s mission of providing the highest quality library service to the community for lifelong learning, cultural enrichment, and enjoyment. I used the library periodical databases to find studies and research that showed that coloring can be a simple form of art therapy, improve memory, and participants were less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment if they colored regularly. Not only that, but the act of socializing with other adults also...

What: The 13th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Lecture and Food Drive, free and open to public Who: Birmingham lawyer David Gespass discussing “Voting Rights from Selma to Columbiana: Not Always Onward, Not Always Upward” When: Sunday, January 17, 2016, 3:00 p.m. Where: Central Library, Arrington Auditorium in the Linn-Henley Building, 2100 Park Place, Birmingham, AL 35203 The Birmingham Public Library (BPL) will host its 13th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Lecture on Sunday, January 17, at the Central Library, 2100 Park Place in downtown Birmingham. The lecture will be held at 3:00 p.m. in the Arrington Auditorium in the Linn-Henley Research Library a day before the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday. In conjunction with the King lecture, the Birmingham Peace Project and the Birmingham Islamic Society will host a food drive benefiting Greater Birmingham Ministries. Bring non-perishable food items such as pasta, lentils, spices, beans, cooking supplies...

The winter season can be a quiet, beautiful time, giving us the opportunity for thought and reflection. Just pause and think about the beauty in nature.  During this time of year, look around you at the bright red holly berries, dramatically dark sky with shimmering stars, vivid sunsets with deep red, gold and purple hues, and finally stop and enjoy the comforting warm scent of fresh pine.  We hope you take some time out to relax and enjoy nature during this season.  What better way to improve your spirit than sitting and observing the quiet beauty found in nature?  Spending quiet time outdoors, at night, gazing at the stars can dramatically improve your mood. Try these tips for coping with stress during this time of year: Try volunteering your time helping others. Seek community, religious or social events for support and comfort. Spend time outdoors. Remember healthy habits including a good diet, physical activity and getting a good night's sleep. Ac...

The popularity of the Dilbert cartoons has become a worldwide phenomenon. Many of us start our day by reading the latest comic strip. Does it seem that sometimes Scott Adams is following you around at work? There are two new Dilbert hardcover books to enjoy: Go Add Value Someplace Else and Optimism Sounds Exhausting . Who is your favorite character? If it’s Wally, you will really enjoy Optimism Sounds Exhausting . If you are a mega fan like me, you will reserve them both as soon as possible. Both are available at the Birmingham Public Library. Ideal for Wally-centric fans Fact: Did you know that the Dilbert comic strip is not actually based on Adams's own corporate experiences, but on the numerous e-mails he receives each day about the office dramas of his devoted fans? Ideal for garden-variety cubicle dwellers everywhere Some of my favorite Dilbert quotes: Rudeness “If your lips are extended beyond your nose, then you are about to do something rude.” “If ...

Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor),  Diego Velazquez, 1656 Velazquez Dawson W. Carr Francisco Goya was an established painter with royal patronage before he ever saw the great paintings by his countryman from Spain’s golden age, Diego Velazquez. This was not unusual. The great paintings we take for granted as part of our cultural heritage were all behind closed doors in the palaces of the kings and their courts. Now, royal collections have been moved to museums and images of the paintings are available to everyone through lushly produced books, such as the National Gallery, London ’s Velazquez , edited by Dawson Carr. Diego Velazquez painted what is widely believed to be the finest painting ever painted, Las Meninas , the little girl, the Infanta in her impossibly wide skirt, with the young attendants, her little dog, a dwarf, Velazquez himself, and her parents looking on, seen in the mirror behind her. His portrait of the canny Pope Innocent X is similarly acclaimed as ...

It is the time of year that many of us are thinking about developing new habits, breaking old habits, achieving goals...basically starting fresh for the new year. My smartphone has become an invaluable tool in my work as well as in my personal life. So naturally, I have found some apps that I hope to incorporate into making some positive changes in my life in 2016 which include become healthier and having farther-flung adventures. Here are a few of the apps that I plan to use in achieving some of my personal goals in the coming year:                                                  Spring My workout music playlists are all pretty stagnant. I have had J Dilla and Run the Jewels on a loop for so long that my heart rate rarely spikes whenever I jam out to their records while on my favorite cardio machine. Spring is a free app that creates playlists for y...

Adults coloring their stress away in the Youth Department's Story Castle https://twitter.com/bpl The Birmingham Public Library (BPL) is expanding its popular Coloring for Adults workshop—this time not only at the Central Library but also at the Springville Road Regional Branch Library in response to demand. The Coloring for Adults program will take place Friday, January 8, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., at the Springville Road Library , and on Tuesday, January 19, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Youth Department’s Story Castle at the Central Library . The program offers a relaxing, beneficial activity for adults that proved popular during its debut in early November, drawing a bigger-than-expected crowd despite rainy weather, and another large crowd with a holiday edition in mid-December, said Karyn Davis-West, public coordinator for the Birmingham Public Library. Free colored pencils, coloring sheets, crayons, and light refreshments will be provided. The program comes as industry...

The Birmingham Public Library (BPL) will be offering a variety of free classes in its Central Library branch, 2100 Park Place, in downtown Birmingham during the month of January 2016. The class schedule includes how to find funding for your nonprofit, the hiring process for Jefferson County, basic computer skills, genealogy, copyright, and how to research your house history. All of the classes will take place in the Linn-Henley Computer Center on the fourth floor in the Linn-Henley Research Library. Karyn Davis-West, Central public service coordinator for Birmingham Public Library, said the free monthly classes are among a variety of ways BPL serves the public beyond traditional services. “Many of our patrons have shown a great deal of interest in knitting resources, yet others have shown interest in finding out more information on patents,” Davis-West said. “Two totally unrelated subjects, yet we offer classes on both topics this month.” Here is a listing by day of the free...

Join us at the Central Library on Tuesday, January 12, 2016, at 6:00 p.m. , for an author talk and book signing by popular political columnist and commentator Steve Flowers. Few states have as fascinating a political history as Alabama, especially in the post-World War II era. Moving onto and off the state’s electoral stage during this time period of remarkable transformation have been some of the most interesting figures in 20th century American government and politics. Now, the backstage intrigue of Alabama politics receives a lively treatment in Of Goats and Governors: Sex Decades of Colorful Alabama Political Stories , the high-spirited new memoir by former Alabama Representative Steve Flowers. In addition to his newspaper column, Steve Flowers serves as the political analyst for the University of Alabama radio and television network and the political analyst for WAKA/Alabama News Network in Montgomery. Steve served in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1982-1998 a...

Begin the Day: The Thirteenth Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Lecture and Food Drive "Voting Rights from Selma to Columbiana: Not Always Onward, Not Always Upward" By David Gespass Sunday, January 17, 2016, 3:00 p.m. Central Library , Arrington Auditorium Free and open to the public Food Drive In conjunction with the King lecture, the Birmingham Peace Project and the Birmingham Islamic Society will host a food drive benefiting Greater Birmingham Ministries. Bring non-perishable food items such as pasta, lentils, spices, beans, cooking supplies, and canned goods to the Central Library Atrium between 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. on January 17. This year’s speaker, human rights attorney David Gespass, is author of the National Lawyers Guild brief to the Supreme Court defending the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County vs. Holder . He began his law practice in Washington, DC in 1971 and spent a year working in Japan with the National Lawyers Guild Military Law Office. He ...

Join us for our popular Coloring For Adults Program. Coloring is a relaxing and beneficial activity for adults. We supply coloring sheets, coloring supplies and light refreshments. Come by and have a fun evening! Date: Tuesday, January 19, 2016 Time: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Place: Birmingham Public Library, Storycastle in the Central Youth Department Call 205-226-3680 for more information.

Registration is now open for staff and the public for the February 2016 Classes .  During this month, we include our popular computer classes, as well as genealogy, patent basics, and employment assistance classes.  All classes are held in the  Regional Library Computer Center (RLCC) of the Central (downtown) Library .  PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR ALL CLASSES. Please note that registration does not necessarily guarantee you a spot in the class. You will receive an email confirming your registration for classes.  You may also call to confirm your registration. To register for any class, please email us at cenrtc@bham.lib.al.us  or call 205-226-3681.   You may also download and print a PDF copy of February 2016 Classes  to bring to a Computer Commons staff member on your next library visit. Please note that the February 2016 Class Schedule pdf can be sent to us as an email attachment.

Happy New Year!!  Like me, I'm sure a lot of you have paid for gym memberships as one of your New Year's resolutions.  Now all we have to do is go.  If you received one as a Christmas present, I hope you looked sideways at the person and said, "Thank you.  I hope you're going too."  As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, it's hard for me to maintain the discipline to work out regularly.  However, since I am on my THIRD fitness center, I will give you, the reading public, some advice on gym etiquette. Tip 1.   Wipe down the equipment  – Most fitness centers advise you to wipe down the equipment when you finish.  Some even provide spray bottles of sanitizer to support the process.  If you know you look like a drowned rat when you get off the cardio machine, please don’t leave it soaking wet for the next person.  Your sweat is not holy water. Tip 2.   Wait till it's available  – You are going maximum speed on...

前略 I'm feeling so much better after my makeover! I'm currently on display at the Iwate Prefectural Museum alongside a "Blue-Eyed Doll" from the U.S. The poor thing was washed away in the tsunami of 2011 but later recovered; she was also set on fire during WWII. 草々 Suzuko Iwate

Charles Brooks In honor of the 2016 presidential elections, the Birmingham Public Library will exhibit Reading Between the Lines: Charles Brooks and the American Presidential Campaign in the Fourth Floor Gallery of the Central Library from January 5 to February 26, 2016 . Alabama’s best-known political cartoonist of the twentieth century, the Birmingham News ’ Charles Brooks drew more than 10,000 editorial cartoons and provided commentary on eight presidential administrations, the Cold War, the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and Watergate, as well as state and local politics. In 1998, Brooks donated nearly 4,000 of his original drawings, rendered on 11 x 17-inch sheets, to the Birmingham Public Library. These drawings are now preserved in the library’s Department of Archives and Manuscripts and form the basis for this exhibit, highlighting Brooks’ work on seven presidential campaigns from John Kennedy’s 1960 razor-thin defeat of Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan’s 1984 l...

Birmingham Public Library's (BPL) popular Bards & Brews poetry performance/beer tasting series returns with its first event of 2016 on Friday, January 8, at the Central Library . Usually held the first Friday of each month, the event will feature free craft beer provided by SweetWater Brewing Company . The J. Clyde will handle the pouring. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. with live music, beer tasting, and light refreshments. The poetry begins to flow at 7:00 p.m. with Brian "Voice Porter" Hawkins serving as host. The event is made possible by grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts . Admission is free and open to the public; however, attendees must be at least 18 to enter and 21 to participate—ID is required. “Bards & Brews brings in the most diverse crowd of any BPL-sponsored programs, and the poetry you hear reflects that diversity,” said Haruyo Miyagawa, department head of Central Library’s Arts, Literatur...

Library reading program allows kids to DREAM BIG and earn circus tickets!  Now through January 29 , children ages 2-12 may visit any Birmingham Public Library location to join the Reading with Ringling Bros. program and earn a FREE ticket to the circus! The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will be performing at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC) Arena January 27 through January 31, 2016 . Participating children who read five (5) books before the January 29 cutoff date can earn a free ticket to see the Greatest Show on Earth! (while supplies last). This unique library reading program will encourage children not only to read, but also to discover, dream, and learn! For more information, visit www.ReadingWithRingling.com . Here's how it works: Speak with a librarian at your local Birmingham Public branch library to register each child (ages 2-12). Each child must read at least five (5) books to receive his or her redeemable ticket from the l...