Inglenook Library Hosting 40th Birthday Celebration on Wednesday, July 17

Inglenook Library Branch Manager Karnecia Williams in front of bay window of former firehouse converted into library. 

What: Inglenook Branch Library 40th Birthday Celebration
When: Wednesday, July 17, 3:30 p.m.
Where: Inglenook Branch Library, 4100 40th Terrace North, Birmingham, AL 35217
Details: Join us for cake as we celebrate 40 years of serving Inglenook. For more information, call 205-849-8739 or visit the library.

On Wednesday, July 17 at 3:30 p.m., the Inglenook Branch Library is celebrating 40 years of providing quality library services for the community.

Inglenook Branch Library opened its doors on June 17, 1979. The building began its life as a fire station serving as Birmingham Fire Station #23 from 1927 until 1979, serving the Inglenook neighborhood. When the neighborhood received a new fire station, members of the community saw the opportunity to bring a branch library to serve the community.

Karnecia Williams, branch manager of Inglenook Library, is inviting the public to come join the celebration. “Stop by and enjoy a piece of cake as we celebrate 40 years of serving the Inglenook Community,” Williams said.

Inglenook Library maintains some of the original features of the old Inglenook fire station, including the original bay window.

Today, Inglenook Library is known for unique programs that serve patrons of all ages. Among them: The Readers Are Leaders Youth Book Club, the first annual Inglenook Library Royal Princess Tea  Party (a youth tea for girls taking place Friday, July 12, 6:30 p.m.), and Appreciation for Women in Inglenook, a quarterly celebration honoring women who give back to the community.

Many families in Inglenook are led by single mothers who are unsung heroes who deserve recognition and support for their contributions to society, said Williams, a wife and mother who came up with the program over two years ago to celebrate them. The series, featuring various speakers discussing timely topics of interest to women, is a past recipient of the BPL Board of Trustees Innovative & Cool Award, which honors programs that go above and beyond in service to library patrons.

HISTORY OF INGLENOOK LIBRARY

After a new Inglenook fire station was opened in 1978, members of the community pushed to bring the first library in the area to replace it. Jack Bulow and members of the library administration agreed with the proposal.

Using Community Development Money ($22,000), and a portion of the City of Birmingham revenue sharing funds (over $70,000), the building was converted from a fire station to a library. The Inglenook Library debuted on June 17, 1979. Former features of the fire station remain today inside the library.

As a result of combined efforts of the community and library, Inglenook Library won second place in the Birmingham Magazine Beautification Awards in 1980 for Restoration and Renovation. Inglenook Library sits in a quite nook between Inglenook Elementary School and Alabama Highway 79.