Birmingham Public Library Blog

Titusville Branch Library   is taking its monthly community food giveaway program to the next level to better serve patrons who live in the surrounding neighborhoods.  Beginning this Thursday, December 2, Titusville Library has joined forces with the UAB community project CHEER (Community Health through Engagement and Environmental  Renewal).  CHEER is a part of the University of Alabama Birmingham's Center for the Study of Community Health , which aims to help reduce health risks in underserved communities.  Also at 10:00 a.m. this Thursday, Titusville Library has partnered with Bundles of Hope Diaper Bank of Birmingham to provide free diapers for parents in the Titusville community. Those in need can come take advantage of this gift of diapers while supplies last.  Titusville Library Branch Manager Reba Williams said both programs are great fits with the library's partnership with t he Community Care Development Network (Food Hub #5) , which since October has provided food m

  GivingTuesday is a movement that unleashes the power of radical generosity around the world.  GivingTuesday reimagines a world built upon shared humanity and generosity. This important day falls on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Support GivingTuesday by making a donation to the Friends Foundation of the Birmingham Public Library . The Friends Foundation of the Birmingham Public Library fundraises to support programming, improve facilities, and purchase equipment that is beyond the library’s annual budget.  The Foundation improves access to library resources—books and other reading materials, historical collections, educational programs, and technology—through the generous donations of individuals, foundations and corporations throughout the region. The Friends Foundation believes that increasing the reach of the Birmingham Public Library can substantially improve the lives of Birmingham citizens. "The Friends Foundation of the Birmingham Public Library works throughout

What:  Bards & Brews Open Mic When:  Friday, December 3, 2021, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Where:  Central Library Grand Reading Room, 2100 Park Place, Birmingham, AL, 35203 Details:  Some of metro Birmingham's most talented poets will share original poetry at Bards & Brews Open Mic, the Birmingham Public Library's popular spoken word poetry-craft beer series. The beer vender is Hydration Mobile Bars Unlimited, whose owner Tabia Gaines is donating bottled samples of her latest adult beverage blend for the holiday season. Free to the public, but you must be 18 or older to enter and 21 and older to drink adult beverages.  Masks are encouraged. For more information, call Bards & Brews Creative Director Candice Hardy at (205) 925-6178.  Have you ever wanted to showcase your talent for the spoken word in front of live audiences? Then join some of metro Birmingham's top poets at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, December 3 at the  Central Library  downtown for Bards & Brews Open Mi

Take charge of your health in 2022 by learning about your options.  By Lynn Hutchins | Branch Manager, West End Branch Library   Do you struggle paying for the following? Prescriptions Food Electricity Phone bill Housing Home repairs Legal fees There is help for seniors!

A unique idea for holiday gifts. Graphic designed by Lisa Mitchell. By Margaret Splane | Library Assistant Ⅲ, Development Participate in Unwrap a Good Read by giving the gift of reading this holiday season!

  Looking for a job or career change? The Birmingham Career Center is coming on the road to the Central Library in downtown Birmingham to make your job search even easier.   On Thursday, December 2, between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., the Birmingham Career Center will host its first mobile registration event. Come to the first floor of the Central Library, 2100 Park Place, and register for employment in the Alabama Works program. "This is a first," said Cheryl Williams, employment services supervisor for the Birmingham Career Center, located at 3216 Fourth Avenue South.  "We have been in this environment (since the COVID-19 pandemic) in which not as many people come into our center anymore. We are going to places like the Birmingham Public Library where people congregate to help them get jobs."  The Birmingham Career Center is a part of the Alabama Career Center System .  Attendees will be able to sign up on the Alabama Works site, a network where job seekers from g

  By Russell Lee|Library Assistant III at Five Points West Regional Library /Group Fitness Instructor Downtown Birmingham YMCA During the holiday season, we all struggle with scheduling and eating sensibly. I am offering some fitness tips that I give to my exercise participants that are simple and realistic. 1. Be active for 15 minutes minimum every day! 2. Drink lots of water! Eight glasses a day is good but not essential. Just hydrate.  3. The holiday season is a time when we tend to indulge in the pleasures of food. It is okay to treat yourself on occasion but not every day.  4. A nice morning brisk morning walk does the body good.  5. Mental health is just as important as physical health.  6. When you are driving contract your gluteal (buns) muscles and abdominal (tummy) muscles at red light or whenever you come to a stop. Do not hold your breathe.  7. When sitting for long periods of time extend the legs or stand on occasion to disengage the knee joints.  8. If it is cold outside

By William Anthony | Citizen Services Department, Central Library I honestly cannot imagine Italian cinema without the grace and wisdom behind the inimitable Federico Fellini ’s vision.   Picking my favorite Fellini film is far from an easy task. Virtually all of this director’s movies are perfect.   However, if you twisted my arm to select my all-time favorite Fellini movie, I would choose his 1963 film, 8½ .  

Check out a copy of The Poet's Dog from the BPL today.   By Caleb Calhoun | Library Assistant Ⅱ, Powderly Branch Library  And we sleep for the last time together— In a heap— In front of the fireplace— In the quiet cabin. The Poet’s Dog by Patricia MacLachlan is the kind of story that the phrase “Children’s Literature” was invented for.

Want to learn how to sew? Join Springville Road Regional Library's Needle Arts Program. By Judy Dick| Springville Road Regional Library Do you have a passion for quilting and sewing? Or are you new to both crafts and want to take your skills to the next level? Then join  Springville Road Regional Library's   Needle Arts Program. No experience is needed, and we welcome new people. Springville Road Library began offering quilting seven years ago through its Block of the Month Quilting class. Shirley Forest, President of the East Jefferson Quilting Association, has been teaching participants how to make beautiful quilts since its inception. She is a friend to a diverse group of loving and caring women.  Five years ago, Judy Dick, a Librarian Assistant III at Springville Road Library, began teaching teens and women how to sew simple fun things.   This fun group gathered sewing machines and thread from friends, patrons, and family. The  sewing class has sewn over 50 cute masks fo

Sarah Collins Rudolph will appear at the 2021 Local Authors Expo. Author: Sarah Collins Rudolph  Book Title: The 5th Little Girl: Soul Survivor of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing (The Sarah Collins Rudolph Story) My favorite quote that I live by : “Love wins.” How to buy her book: The 5th Little Girl is available on Amazon.com by clicking here   You can also check out The 5th Little Girl from Birmingham Public Library locations by clicking here.  Birmingham, Ala.- The Birmingham Public Library’s 2 021 Local Authors Expo is this Saturday, November 20. BPL is spotlighting some of the 25 poets who will sell their books as well as the three keynote speakers: Ashley M. Jones, Alabama's first African-American poet laureate; Eunice Elliott, a former NBC 13 anchor turned author/comedienne; and Dr. Fred Jones, a book coach.   Come Saturday and meet Sarah Collins Rudolph, co-author of The 5th Little Girl: Soul Survivor of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing. Four little black gir

  Berkeley Rae Owens book cover. Madelyn Elizabeth Grant book cover. Author names: Berkeley Rae Owens and Madelyn Elizabeth Grant  Title of books: Black Entrepreneurial Excellence Series for Kids featuring Alonzo Herndon by Madelyn Grant and Phyllis Wheatley: The First African-American Poet and Book Publisher by Berkeley Owens  Favorite quote that you live by:  Berkeley: “Words are powerful.” –By my Mom, Shanta Owens.  Madelyn: I have a favorite poem that I live by entitled “The Man Who Thinks He Can” by Walter Wintle. I memorized the poem. It’s also posted on my bathroom mirror.  About the authors: Madelyn Grant and Berkeley Owens are 12-year-old seventh-graders at the Alabama School of Fine Arts . They are also first cousins. In Madelyn’s spare time, she enjoys developing entrepreneur business plans, playing basketball, and playing soccer. In Berkeley’s spare time, she enjoys cooking, playing basketball, and running track. Berkeley is the daughter of Rahman and Shanta Owens a

The 72nd Annual National Book Awards Ceremony took place on November 17th at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.  Awards were presented in the categories of Young People's Literature, Translated Literature, Poetry, Nonfiction and Fiction.  The winning titles in each category are listed below along with descriptions of the books provided by the publishers.  Young People's Literature  Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the feeling took root—that desire to look, to move closer, to touch. Whenever it started growing, it definitely bloomed the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. Suddenly everything seemed possible. But America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite

Cedric Threatt has self-published 20 books.  He will appear at Saturday's BPL Local Authors Expo  Author : Cedric Threatt (he goes by pen name C.L. Threatt) Title of book(s) : Threatt has written 20 books since 2003. His latest is “The Discussion: A Necessary Dialogue for Change”  Favorite quote that I live by: "God has a purpose for every man, and a man for every purpose."  Author website: www.cedricthreatt.com – You can also buy his books by searching his name on Amazon.com  Birmingham, Ala. -  Desire to meet 25 Birmingham area authors and gain writing advice from three respected speakers who will share their publishing journeys? Then make plans to be at the Birmingham Public Library’s 2021 Local Authors Expo  from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. this Saturday, November 20, at the Central Library downtown.  BPL is spotlighting several of the authors and the three speakers: Alabama Poet Laureate Ashley Jones , Book Coach Dr. Fred Jone s and former NBC 13 anchor Eunice Ellio

  Dr. Fred Jones, Book Coach & Trainer Speaker: Dr. Fred Jones, The Book Coach Book: Dr. Fred Jones Speaks, PUBLISH ME NOW!  Favorite quote that I live by: "The most expensive thing you will ever pay is attention to the wrong people."  Website:   www.drfredjones.com   Birmingham, Ala. - I f you are a budding author or even an experienced writer desiring to turn your book into a best seller, take notes at this Saturday's 2021 Birmingham Public Library Local Authors Expo as Dr. Fred Jones speaks. Dr. Jones, author of  Dr. Fred Jones Speaks, PUBLISH ME NOW!    and one of three speakers at the event, is known as "The Book Coach/Worthologist" who helps authors master the art of taking a book from idea to fruition. Dr. Jones has authored several books and is creator/host of an online class that helps budding authors across the country write Amazon best-selling books and build a business based on their writings. In a Q & A interview with BPL’s PR Depart

Quincie White, author of Soft Targets, My Memoir                                                                         Author : Quincie White Book Title: Soft Targets, My Memoir   Favorite quote: From her mom (Dorothy Brown) “No Deposits, No Withdrawals” (Meaning, if you don’t invest in it, you shouldn’t expect anything to come out of it).   How to buy her book: Available on her website, www.quinciewhite.com or on Amazon.com by clicking here  Soft Targets, My Memoir .   Birmingham, Ala.- The Birmingham Public Library’s 2021 Local Authors Expo is this Saturday, November 20. BPL is spotlighting some of the 25 poets who will sell their books as well as the three keynote speakers: Ashley M. Jones, Alabama's first African-American poet laureate; Eunice Elliott , a former NBC 13 anchor turned author/comedienne; and Dr. Fred Jones, a book coach.  Come Saturday and meet Quincie White, author of Soft Targets, My Memoir , a personal look at her experiences in the U.S. Army and how t

See Ashley M. Jones at the Local Authors Expo. Photo by Amarr Croskey. The Birmingham Public Library (BPL) Blog is highlighting Alabama authors and speakers leading up to the FREE  Local Authors Expo this Saturday, November 20 .  Keep reading to learn more about one of our key speakers and Alabama's Poet Laureate : Ashley M. Jones.

See which Indigenous storytellers North Birmingham Library recommends. Photo by Pamela Gordon. By Karnecia Williams | Librarian Ⅱ, North Birmingham Regional Branch Library Stop by the North Birmingham Library to see their new display celebrating Native American culture for Native American Heritage Month ! 

Books-by-Mail Patron Mrs. Thompson recently celebrated her 100th birthday.  This is a typical Books-by-Mail delivery bag. By Fontaine Alison|Books by Mail The Birmingham Public Library's Books-by-Mail service is thankful for our loyal patrons. We love the challenge of finding books they will enjoy. Mrs. Thompson, one of our most enthusiastic readers, presents a real challenge: She celebrated her 100th birthday in October, so it's hard to find titles she has not read!   She has kept a reading journal since the mid-1980s, logging over 1,200 books. Congratulations, Mrs. Thompson! Books-by-Mail is a free service provided by the Birmingham Public Library and the Public Libraries in Jefferson County (JCLC). This service is for readers who are unable to get to the library due a  permanent or temporary disability.   How does Books-by-Mail work? You choose your reading interests or request specific titles, and we'll mail you books (or audiobooks on CDs) in a returnable library bag.

Birmingham's Hugh Hardy Jr. is author of the Maysa Brown trilogy.  Author name: Hugh Hardy Jr. Title of books: Maysa Brown series (3 books) - Maysa Brown: Rise to Power , Maysa Brown: A World in Turmoil and Maysa Brown: A Season of Change  What is your favorite quote that you live by ? "A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed." - Henrik Ibsenby How to buy the books: Hardy's Maysa Brown book series can be purchased online through Amazon books and Barnes & Noble. The books can also be checked out at local libraries throughout Birmingham and Jefferson County Library Cooperative (JCLC) members.  Birmingham, Ala. - As a longtime employee of the Birmingham Public Library before retiring last year, Hugh Hardy Jr. has always had a fascination  with books. In 2018, Hardy put his thoughts into action and penned  his first novel, Maysa Brown: Rise to Power .     In the summer of 2019, Hardy released the second book in the series, Maysa Brown