Birmingham Public Library Blog

  Registration is underway now for a Girls Coding Camp 205 Virtual Summer Camp that begins June 15. By Caitlin Jackson | Central Library Teen/Youth Services Department  This summer, the Birmingham Public Library will host the Girls Code 205 Virtual Summer Camp. Registration for this online camp is under way now.  The camp will be held on select Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. beginning June 15, 2021 and run throughout the summer. The camp targets girls going into grades 6th through 12th grade and will meet completely online using Zoom. The program will cover electrical circuits, game design, 3D design, C++ and Scratch coding. These STEAM projects will be paired with social and cultural issues, such as fake news, advertising bias, communication, secure passwords, gamification in education, and design thinking. For some of the electrical circuitry programs, the library will be providing Arduino kits for participants to keep. Due to the need to mail ...

  4th graders from Advent Episcopal School researched historic buildings at Central Library.   Did you know that librarians from the Birmingham Public Library love helping students research writing projects? Today, Thursday, February 25, was a prime example as two groups of fourth graders from Advent Episcopal School  in downtown Birmingham accompanied their teachers, Phyllis Mabowitz and Rachel Joiner, to the Southern History Department on the first floor of the Central Library's Research Building.  The students used BPL resources to gather information on historical downtown Birmingham buildings for a research paper. Later on, as part of the school project, the students will go on a walking tour to see some of the buildings they are writing about in person, Mabowitz said. BPL Librarian Mary Beth Newbill helps a student use microfilm to do research.  For years, students from elementary age to college have utilized BPL's vast array of books, DVDs and other...

The Birmingham Public Library has a page on its website on how to find locations in Jefferson County to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Set up by BPL Librarians, the page includes the phone numbers to call for more information on signing up to get the vaccine shots.  The link is here:  http://www.bplonline.org/coronavirus.aspx The BPL page also has a photo you can click on to get updated statistics from Jefferson County on COVID-19 cases and deaths in the county, Alabama and the United States. Click here  https://data-jeffco-al.opendata.arcgis.com/pages/covid-19-in-jefferson-county-alabama Below is a listing of Vaccine Registration Sites Jefferson County Health Department    Jefferson County Vaccine Call Center is also available Mon-Sat 8AM-8PM (205)-858-2221. UAB Walgreens Walmart   ( Sam's Club ) *** Alabama Department of Health  is available to register for a vaccine in every Alabama county except Jefferson County. To register for a vaccine in Jefferson C...

  By Vincent Solfronk| Pratt City Branch Library / Powderly Branch Library     Board games can do many things. They can entertain us, or they can teach us. There are board games about business, culture, agriculture, science and many more subjects. Board games can also teach history in an enjoyable manner.  Academy Games is a publisher that is interested in historical subjects, from Vikings to Modern American History. One of the historical subjects that they have a product is the dark history of slavery, The Underground Railroad , and slavery's abolition. Early in the history of the United States, slavery was an institution that seemed unmovable but with efforts of men and women across the country, it was toppled.  In Freedom: The Underground Railroad , players are working to build up the strength of the Abolitionist movement through the use of notable figures and pivotal events. By raising support for the cause and moving slaves to freedom in Canada, the m...

Hoopla offers a library of materials that you can access from the comfort of your home. Hoopla includes ebooks, audiobooks, music, movies, comics and television shows.  Out of curiosity, I did an advanced search for Black History to see what is available on the database.  As you can imagine, there are ebooks, audiobooks and movies on the topic, but I was pleased to discover that there are also comics on the subject.  You may find these comics to be an interesting way to engage with the subjects they cover.  The descriptions are from the database.   APB: Artists Against Police Brutality APB: Artists Against Police Brutality is a benefit comic book anthology that focuses on hot-button issues including police brutality, the justice system, and civil rights, with one primary goal: show pictures and tell stories that get people talking. The proceeds will go to the Innocence Project, an organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people. Strange F...

  Dr. A.G. Gaston, 1892-1996 Today's Black History Spotlight is on the late Dr. A.G. Gaston, who amassed a business empire worth over $40 million by the time of his death at age 103 in 1992 and was named by Black Enterprise as the Black Entrepreneur of the 20th Century. The Birmingham Public Library has several books on Gaston , including Black Titan: The Making of a Black American Millionaire , (by Carol Jenkins and Elizabeth Gardner Hines),  The A.G. Gaston Motel in Birmingham: A Civil Rights Landmark by Marie A. Sutton and  Gaston's memoir Green Power . Gaston's business principles, which include "Find a Need and Fill It," are the subject of the annual A.G. Gaston Conference , founded in 2004 by Bob Dickerson of the Birmingham Business Resource Center and Gaynell Adams Jackson of Advanced Planning Services .  The 2021 A.G. Gaston Conference began Tuesday, February 23 and concludes Wednesday, February 24. Due to the pandemic, it is being held virtually. The...

  Are you familiar with the African American Read-In ? This annual event was established in 1990 by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English to encourage Black communities to read together and to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month.   At 9:00 a.m. this Friday, February 26, Bessemer City High School Library will host an African American Read-In.  Three members of the 100 Black Men Metro Birmingham will read books and share encouraging words: Chapter President Ronnie Rice, a lawyer; Birmingham Municipal Judge Chuck Price II; and Roy Williams, public relations director of the Birmingham Public Library. Serving as a fourth reader will be Jonathan Porter, senior vice president of customer operations at Alabama Power.  Rice, Price, Williams and Porter will share how reading has assisted their careers and why it is important for young people to read.  “Our goal is to include literacy in Black History Month so we will hav...

  By Shea Robinson | Central Library Fiction Department   Explore black cinema, history, music, and culture with Hoopla’s Black History Month Collection. Hoopla is a digital media service offered by your local library that allows you to borrow movies, audiobooks, ebooks, DVDs, and other items to download on your tablet, computer, or smart phone. You can access them through your library card. For more information, check out Hoopla on the BPL Website ( www.cobpl.org )  The following titles, along with many more, are available in multiple formats on Hoopla.   • Dark Girls  (2011 documentary film) A fascinating and controversial film that goes underneath the surface to explore the prejudices dark-skinned women face throughout the world.  • Incidents In the Life of a Slave Girl  - By Harriet Ann Jacobs Harriet Ann Jacob's autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl‚ documents her life as a slave and how she attained freedom for h...

The Birmingham Public Library is implementing new in-person and curbside service days and hours,  beginning Monday, February 22, 2021.  The hours for curbside check-out of library materials and in-person visits to check out books, DVDs, and get library services such as printing and computer usage are as follows: Avondale , Five Points West , Southside , Springville Road Libraries Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Central Library  Monday – Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.  East Ensley , Ensley , Inglenook , North Avondale, Powderly , West End and Woodlawn Libraries Tuesday and Thursday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.  East Lake , North Birmingham, Pratt City, Smithfield, Titusville , Wylam Libraries Monday, Wednesday, Friday,    9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.  Some BPL locations, such as the Central Library downtown, also offer basic notary services and passport application assistance.  Click here for details about BPL's notary services Click here f...

  Dorothy Porter, African-American Librarian at Howard University By Russell Lee |  Central Library Circulation/Information Desk Today's 2021 Black History Moment spotlight is on Dorothy Porter, an iconic African-American librarian (May 25, 1905 – Dec. 17, 1995). Dorothy Porter was a trailblazer who worked at Howard University for 43 years as a librarian, collector and self – described “bibliomaniac.” Her college pedigree included a B.S. degree in 1931 and a M.S. degree in library science in 1932.  Porter was the first African American to graduate from Columbia University’s library school . She challenged the racial bias of the Dewey Decimal system by cataloging black scholars alongside white colleagues in library collections where she worked. All of the libraries that Porter consulted for this undertaking relied on the Dewey Decimal Classification.  Check out this Library of Congress video about Porter 's legendary career at this link During the early 1900s, book...

  Today in Black History: Thursday, February 18, 2021, would have been the late author Toni Morrison's 90th birthday.  Morrison passed away at the age of 88 on August 5, 2019 in the Bronx, New York. She was one of the most accomplished black authors in American history. In 1993, Morrison became the first Black woman author to win the Nobel Prize for literature.   Morrison was also a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and Presidential Medal of Freedom.  Though known by her pen name Toni Morrison, the acclaimed writer was born on February 18, 1931 as Chloe Anthony Wofford in Lorain, Ohio. Morrison's legacy vibrant remains today, as highlighted in this New York Times piece called "The Essential Toni Morrison"   celebrating what would have been her 90th birthday.  Toni Morrison penned 10 novels, mostly about the black experience from a woman's perspective. She also wrote two plays, seven nonfiction works and three children's books.      W...

BPL is hosting a Black History Month program on assessing WPA Slave Narratives.   Paul Boncella, map conservator at the Birmingham Public Library since 2012, has a passion for educating library patrons.  Over the past few years during BPL’s celebration of Black History Month, he has touched on parts of Birmingham’s dark racist past, including how the government used laws to segregate black and white homeowners.  From 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, Boncella will tackle another sensitive topic: “Good, Bad, and Ugly: Accessing and Assessing the WPA Slave Narratives.” A dvance registration is required. Click below to register for this Zoom online event http://www.cobpl.org/calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D150398628   To learn more about WPA Slave Narratives click here   In a recent interview, Boncella talked about the lecture with BPL’s PR Department. BPL: For those unfamiliar, what are the WPA Slave Narratives?  Boncella...

The BPL Friends Bookstore has reopened in the Central Library with a $12 bag sale.    The BPL Friends Bookstore inside the Central Library downtown has re-opened by appointment only, and has a big $12 bag sale underway.  The bookstore held a soft opening on February 8, 2021 and is limiting the number of customers to appointment only due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The Birmingham Public Library requires a face mask to be worn at all times.  The store is open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Appointments can be scheduled by emailing the Friends Bookstore at friendsbookstore@cobpl.org. Back by popular demand is the BPL Friends Bookstore $12 fill a bag sale. There is a 10-item media limit per bag. Merchandise with yellow tags are not included. Our donations have been coming fast and furiously so we have a plethora of sci-fi, fiction, non-fiction and now text books for virtual or home school help (science and math).  ...

"Never Give Up" poem written by Lori Jiles of North Birmingham Library.    Lori Jiles, a clerk at the North Birmingham Regional Branch Library, has penned a poem that she is sharing in hopes of inspiring others during Black History Month.  Jiles, who has worked at the North Birmingham Library for 11 years, says her original poem, “Never Give Up,” aims to encourage others discouraged over issues such as the ongoing Covid-9 pandemic. “I was sitting around one day and I picked up a pen and paper and started writing,” Jiles said. “At the time I just wanted to reach out and help someone, because so many people were talking about giving up. I remember so vividly giving it to my pastor, and he allowed me to stand and read it to the congregation.” Jiles said she hands out copies of the poem to others who she feels need something to lift their spirits.  “It really made me feel good knowing I got the opportunity to encourage someone,” she said. “So many people are giving up o...

By Diana Prince| Circulation Desk, The Central Library How to Live Vegan - Save the Planet and Feel Amazing by Henry Firth and Ian Theasby is a  very informative book.  The book’s strengths are telling what it means to be vegan and why you should consider veganism and all that it entails. It also delves deeply into how as a vegan, you can greatly contribute to saving the planet by wearing vegan-friendly clothing and using vegan-friendly make-up, etc.  This book is for the extreme vegan because it goes beyond food. If you’re looking specifically for information on eating healthy, you may want to make another choice.  For me the book did not talk enough about recipes and food choices, but it does explain how to plan meals and make wise choices when eating out or ordering in. I really like the book because of the wealth of information about being a vegan.  This is a great book for those who are new to veganism.  The book and others like it can be found at the...

We are more than halfway through Black History Month, but you can access powerful documentaries on the African American experience whenever you choose using the film streaming database  Kanopy .  Kanopy has documentaries on African American history, sports, racial injustice and many other areas that may be of interest to you.  The following is a small sample of the documentaries available on Kanopy.  The descriptions are provided by Kanopy.  A Long Way From Home: The Untold Story of Baseball’s Desegregation (2018)  A chronicle of the struggles and triumphs of the African-American and Latino players who followed Jackie Robinson into white professional baseball. Playing their minor-league ball in small, remote towns where racial segregation remained a fact of life well into the 1960s, these were the men who, before they could live their big-league dreams, first had to beat Jim Crow.  3 ½ Minutes, Ten Bullets (2015)  3 ½ Minutes, Ten Bullets  ...

By Denise Ford| Avondale Regional Library If you want to learn more about the benefits of fasting, check out the book LIFE IN THE FASTING LANE How to Make Intermittent Fasting a Lifestyle – And Reap the Benefits of Weight Loss and Better Health. The book  by Jason Fung, MD,  Eve Mayer and Megan Ramon is available for checkout at the Birmingham Public Library .  Many of us have struggled with excess weight, illness and the dread of taking too much medicine.  Who knows, Life in the Fasting Lane could be all you need to get back on track. It all starts by restricting caloric intake for a set number of hours and days. This concept has become an increasingly popular diet strategy.  Research not only validates the safety of fasting for weight loss, but also offers strong evidence of a wide range of health benefits. Some of these benefits are the reversal of diabetes and metabolic disorders that enhances cognitive functions which could lead to a long duration of indiv...

The Birmingham Public Library (BPL) has announced its readers for “Read-In for Justice: A Poetic Look at the Black Family, a 2021 Black History Month program. Tune in virtually on Saturday, February 20 at 10:00 a.m. on the  BPL Facebook page . This Read-In for Justice program will embark upon a poetic journey that will highlight and celebrate the beauty and richness of the African-American family and its heritage. Readers representing multiple generations will lend their voices to works written by African American poets, past and present, as well as themselves. Gelenda Norman, a library assistant for the Central Library Youth Department, said the readers will be as follows:  • Birmingham Municipal Court Judge Andra Sparks , who is Senior Pastor 45th Street Baptist Church  • Anthony D. Sparks , a Birmingham-based author, professional speaker and development coach  • Lonnie Jones of the Homewood Public Library • Aaliyah Taylor of the Homewood Public Library...