BPL Donating Books to Students at Five Birmingham Recreation Centers Starting Tuesday, March 31

BPL will donate children's books at five Birmingham recreation centers starting Tuesday, March 31.

In an effort to promote the importance of reading for students homebound due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Birmingham Public Library is donating hundreds of free books to students at five recreation centers across the city of Birmingham.

The books will be given away this week at five Birmingham Parks & Recreation Centers that will also be giving free lunches for students in the Birmingham City School System.

During the hours between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31, BPL will donate between 50 and 75 books at each of the five participating recreation centers across Birmingham, said Bessie Miller, a librarian and department head of the BPL Learning Center. The book donations will continue this week while supplies last.

The book give-away comes as BPL has launched its 2020 Spring Reading Challenge. This program  encourages students to read while out of school. The books were donated to BPL by Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women, an organization based in Town and Country, Mo. Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women helps develop women leaders and supports book donation community service projects.

“We launched our Spring Reading Challenge on March 23 and would like to get free books into the hands of children,” Miller said.

 The five Birmingham Parks & Recreation sites  participating in the book giveaway are:

Central Park Recreation Center, 4700 Terrace Q. Ensley 

Harrison Recreation Center, 901 17th Street SW

Hooper City Recreation Center, 3901 4th Street W 

McAlpine Recreation Center, 1115 Avenue F Ensley 

Roosevelt City Recreation Center, 5904 Higan Avenue  

For more information on the BPL book give-away for students, go to www.cobpl.org or follow the BPL Facebook page.