BPL Celebrating 2023 National Library Week April 23-29

 

The Birmingham Public Library is joining fellow libraries across the country in celebrating 2023 National Library Week, which began Sunday, April 23 and concludes this Saturday, April 29.

 BPL is encouraging supporters to visit our libraries across the City of Birmingham to explore all the valuable services we offer. The American Library Association has celebrated National Library Week since 1958 every April to focus on the important role libraries play in communities both large and small. The 2023 theme is "There's More to the Story." 

In celebration of National Library Week and National Library Workers Day (April 25th), Mayor Randall Woodfin will present a proclamation to the Birmingham Public Library at Tuesday's City Council Meeting.

Most people know about the wealth of stories available at the library, from picture books and large print to audiobooks and ebooks. But there's so much more to the story of libraries. Libraries are welcoming spaces that bring communities together for entertainment, education, and connection through book clubs, story times, movie nights, crafting classes, lectures, and more.

The Birmingham Public Library offers a wide array of programs, classes and resources, including our BPL Archives Department which helps authors and researchers across the globe world. Bards & Brews, BPL's award-winning spoken word poetry event, has built a reputation as a gathering place for supporters of the arts. Plus, libraries like BPL play a critical role in the economic vitality of communities by providing internet and technology access, literacy skills, and support for job seekers, small businesses, and entrepreneurs. 

If you haven't checked out the Birmingham Public Library lately, you're missing the full story. Stop by for a visit to celebrate our BPL locations during National Library Week, April 23-29. 

Follow BPL on Facebook, on Twitter at @BPL, and on Instagram @BPLPICS, YouTube and LinkedIn. 

Use the hashtag #NationalLibraryWeek to join the online celebration and share what our libraries mean to you.

Click below to learn more on how you can support libraries in your community

https://www.ala.org/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks/natlibraryweek

 Among programs BPL is hosting during National Library Week: 

 * Tuesday, April 25 Birmingham City Council Meeting, 9:30 a.m. Proclamation for BPL

 - In celebration of National Library Week and National Library Workers Day (April 25th), Mayor Randall Woodfin will present a proclamation to the Birmingham Public Library at the City Council Meeting

* Tuesday, April 25, 6:00-7:00 p.m., Meet & Greet, Central Library downtown

Join the BPL Board of Trustees as it celebrates National Library Workers Day by hosting a Meet & Greet honoring three past board presidents - Kimberly Richardson, James Sullivan and Eunice Johnson Rogers - as well as Executive Director Janine Langston and Deputy Director Ka'ryn Davis West.  

 *Central Library Hosting Friends Bookstore Spring Sale, Tuesday, April 25-Thursday, April 27   Come take advantage of great deals on books and other items from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday at the Central Library downtown.

 * History of Black Radio in Birmingham at Powderly Branch Library, 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday, April 25

Join us at Powderly Branch to hear the history behind the mic from the renowned radio personality himself, Director Bob Friedman of the Birmingham Black Radio Museum.

  * The Central Library celebrates International Jazz Day with a free concert at 1:00 p.m. Thursday, April 27, featuring musicians Rory Stuart And Glenn Wilson. 

 * Panel Discussion Spider Martin: Selma to Montgomery March, Saturday, April 29, 1:00 p.m. at the Central Library

 BPL will host a panel discussion about Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery voting rights march. Panelists will be University of Alabama Historian Stacy Morgan in conversation with Brown Chapel AME Church Historian Joyce O'Neal, who witnessed Bloody Sunday up close as a teen. The event will be free and open to the public as well as live-streamed and professionally recorded. The exhibition, Spider Martin—Selma to Montgomery, is on display free for the public during operating hours of the Central Library downtown through April 30, 2023. The exhibit is on loan from ArtsRevive of Selma, Ala., and features historic photographs by James "Spider" Martin selected by Birmingham-based curator, Paul Barrett. The exhibition is sponsored by the Alabama Visual Arts Network.

Below is a listing of celebrations taking place during 2023 National Library Week Monday, April 24 

Monday, April 24  - Right to Read Day, a National Day of Action in support of the right to read. 

The State of America's Libraries 2023  Report was released today, including the America Library Association's release of the Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2022. ALA documented 1,269 demands to remove books from schools and public libraries in 2022, nearly double the 729 attempts to ban books in 2021 and the highest number on record.

Tuesday, April 25: National Library Workers Day, a day for everyone to recognize the valuable contributions made by library workers. 

Wednesday, April 26: National Library Outreach Day (formerly National Bookmobile Day), a day the dedicated library professionals who are meeting their patrons where they are. 

Thursday, April 27: Take Action for Libraries Day, a day to rally advocates to urge members of Congress to protect the freedom to read.