Birmingham Public Library Blog

  Lisa Faulkner, author of " Minutes with the Master: A Devotional for the Revelations of Life" Through her new book Minutes with the Master: A Devotional for the Revelations of Life,  author Lisa Faulkner aims to share innovation she has displayed throughout her career to help clients achieve their goals.  Come meet Faulkner at The Birmingham Public Library 2024 Local Author Expo Presented by the T ri-County (Alabama) Chapter of The Links, Inc.  is this Saturday, November 2. She is among 32 authors from across Alabama at the expo, happening from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Central Library in downtown Birmingham, 2100 Park Place.  This year's theme is  "AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Publishing." Faulkner says she earned the moniker of being "an amazing storyteller" through her jobs as a staff writer for the Birmingham News Human Interest section, a senior producer for Creflo Dollar Ministries, Senior Producer and Marketing Manager for In Touch M...

Betty Collins Smith is featured at the 2024 Local Authors Expo this Saturday. Betty Collins Smith of Forestdale was inspired to give back to others over 40 years working alongside her husband, the Rev. Morgan A. Smith, as he pastored churches in metro Birmingham. Even after her husband has passed, Collins Smith continues to minister, but this time through books. A retiree of the Birmingham News Classified Advertising Department, Betty Smith is the author of two Christian fiction books,  "Samson: No Ordinary Superhero," and "The Rise of TEHH."  She will be among 32 authors featured at the 2024 BPL Local Authors Expo this Saturday at the Central Library downtown, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., sponsored by the Tri-County Alabama Chapter of the Links, Inc. Betty Smith is a Baptist minister, Sunday School teacher, Bible teacher, motivational speaker and a writer of church plays and skits. She’s a product of the Birmingham Easonian Baptist Bible College. In a Q&A with BPL ...

  The Birmingham Public Library 2024 Local Author Expo Presented by the T ri-County (Alabama) Chapter of The Links, Inc.  is this Saturday, November 2. Come meet 32 authors from across Alabama from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Central Library in downtown Birmingham, 2100 Park Place.  This year's theme is  "AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Publishing."  Our featured speakers are:  *  Dr. Idrissa N. Snider (Author)  *Maurice Harley (BPL Network Systems Administrator )  - He will discuss AI's impact on book publishing. * Dr. Fred Jones (Coach, Author, and Intellectual Property Attorney).   The authors expo is free for attendees. Come meet local authors, buy their books and hear speakers sharing tips on how to get your books published, and  learn about  how AI' is impacting the book publishing field.  Below are the participating authors (listed alphabetically) along with the title of their books: Barbara Anderson  ...

  Author Sonya "Sam" Mitche ll  Do have a passion for photography? Do you want to learn how to get the most out of your picture-taking? Then drop by the  Birmingham Public Library's 2024 Local Authors Expo  on Saturday, November 2,  and meet Birmingham author Sonya "Sam" Mitchell, author of  "Picture the Picture."   She will be among 32 authors at the free book expo, taking place from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Central Library downtown. The expo is presented by the Tri-County Alabama Chapter of the Links, Inc.   Sonya debuted her self-published inspirational coffee table book,  Picture the Picture , last year after hosting her first book release event at the Central Library in April 2023.   She also did a talk about her picture taking book  last October at the Southside Branch Library and another at Smithfield Library.  Picture the Picture   is a captivating album of photographs of seemingly mundane obje...

Mary Anne Ellis of BPL's Southern History Department, aka the Steam Punk Librarian The "Steampunk Librarian" reemerged today as the Birmingham Public Library staff celebrated Halloween 2024. For years, Mary Anne Ellis has used Halloween as a time to transform herself from a mild-mannered Southern History Department Librarian into the "Steampunk Librarian." Several patrons and fellow employees love taking photos with her.  "It's my way of paying tribute to the steam punk movement depicted in science fiction movies, a world run by steam or diesel power instead of electricity," Ellis said.  A website,  The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences , is dedicated to the steampunk movement. It says: "Steampunk is an inspired movement of creativity and imagination. With a backdrop of either Victorian England or America's Wild West at hand, modern technologies are re-imagined and realized as elaborate works of art, fashion, and mechanics." Authors  J...

  Author Roxie Pearson is an advocate for victims of domestic violence.  What:  2024 BPL Local Authors Expo Presented by Tri-County Ala Chapter of The Links, Inc. When:  Saturday, November 2, 10:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m.  Where:  Central Library, 2100 Park Place in downtown Birmingham About the author:   Roxie Pearson is an author featured in  Victorious Women of Purpose.  The book is a collection of real-life stories about women overcoming many challenges. In her case, Pearson shares her story of dealing with domestic abuse over a 30-year marriage. Each woman featured has a different story, and their journey has taken them on different paths. The greatest common denominator of the seven women featured in the book is each of them have emerged from their trials victorious. Come meet Pearson and other writers participating in the  2024 BPL Local Authors Expo  this  Saturday, November 2 at the Central Library downtown. The free event, be...

Joyce E. Brooks, 2024 BPL Local Authors Expo participant. Joyce E. Brooks latest book is "Give It To Me Now! A Lesson in Sharing." Come meet author Joyce E. Brooks and 30 other writers at the Birmingham Public Library 2024 Local Authors Expo Presented by Tri-County Alabama Chapter of the Links, Inc. this Saturday, November 2, 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., in the  Central Library . Joyce E. Brooks is owner and managing member of Brooks Consulting, LLC, whose mission is to assist businesses and organizations gain a competitive advantage by focusing on leadership development, organizational strategy, and individual well being. She holds a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from the University of South Alabama and a master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Brooks started her corporate career over two decades ago as an electrical engineer at Alabama Power Company, where she gained experience in power delivery, marketing, govern...

  Like spoken word poetry? Join the Birmingham Public Library’s Bards & Brews at 6:30 pm this Friday, Nov. 1 at Woodlawn Theatre , 5503 1st Ave. North. It will be the first time Bards has gone there. Yoshi, who won the Bards Poetry Slam for the first time in May 2024 and finished 2nd in the September slam ,   will be the featured poet.  “We're excited to partner with the Birmingham Public Library as our passion for community development is in line with the work of the public library system,” said Will Mason, owner of Woodlawn Theatre. “Education is a huge component of my work with Mason Music and Mason Music Foundation, and to put a cherry on top, my mom was a librarian her entire working life, so I figured we should probably say yes to this opportunity.”  Bekah Fox, general manager of Woodlawn Theatre, said hosting Bards & Brews Open Mic Night this Friday fits perfectly with Woodlawn Theatre "because it encompasses the essence of what we do here in ...

  Stephanie Smith, who goes by pen name Samantha Lewis, author of  I Want my Darn Skates What: 2024 BPL Local Authors Expo Presented by Tri-County Ala Chapter of The Links, Inc. When:  Saturday, November 2, 10:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m.  Where:  Central Library, 2100 Park Place in downtown Birmingham About the author:  Stephanie Smith, using the pen name Samantha Lewis, is the author of  I Want My Darn Skates . The book is a memoir about a woman who grew up poor and experienced family drama. She leans on faith to overcome many challenges.    Stephanie Smith says she is a true living testimony that God can bring you through trials and tribulations. Using the pen name Samantha Lewis, Smith has written her first book, I Want My Darn Skates, a memoir about a woman who overcame family drama, extreme poverty and other trials by leaning on her faith in God. Come meet Smith    and other writers participating in the  2024 BPL Local Authors Expo...

  Reginald Thomas wants young people to dream big. A veteran author, Thomas in 2022 released the  children's book  "A Big Dream"   The book is about a little girl who wonders because she doesn’t know what to think of her big dream. Her father assures her that the sky is the limit. You can do or be whatever you decide to be in life. He also wrote   "A Big Dream"  activity workbook  that has educational activities that includes word puzzles, letter and number tracing. Thomas will be among 30 authors at the 2024 BPL Local Authors Expo, presented by the Tri-County Alabama Chapter of the Links, Inc.  on Saturday, Nov. 2. The free authors event will be from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Central Library downtown .   In an interview with BPL, Thomas said he loves writing children's books that help build reading and literacy.  "A Big Dream"  was inspired by his grandsons, Steven and Benjamin. He hopes readers learn "that dreams do com...

Roger Stephenson, Jock Webb – Gip’s Place, Bessemer, AL Pigment ink print on archival paper, 2022, 43” x 37” Two art exhibitions – Roger Stephenson’s knockout photo exhibition of musicians and the delightful Helen Keller Art Show of Alabama – are approaching their final days at downtown’s Central Library . Stop, Look & Listen is on view in the Fourth Floor Gallery and has been extended through Saturday, November 2. The Helen Keller Art Show of Alabama , on display in the First Floor Gallery, draws to a close this Thursday, October 31. A vast assemblage of works by Roger Stephenson, Stop, Look & Listen, features a trove of black-and-white photographs of locally and internationally known blues and jazz musicians. Stephenson specializes in performance photography, and his images portray the artists at their most expressive moments. “I love the challenge of capturing expressions and gestures to create an image that communicates with the viewer,” he says. Originally from Yorkshire...

  Who will be crowned the inaugural 2024 Ms. Titusville Branch Library ? Join Titusville Branch, at #2 6th Ave. Southwest at 11:00 a.m. today, Wednesday, October 30, as four beautiful longtime supporters of both the Titusville Library and the Titusville community compete for the title of 2024 Ms. Titusville Branch Library.   The contestants are:  *  Ms. Patricia Hendrix  *  Ms. Debra Japal  *  Ms. Rosia Underwood  *  Ms. Andrea Whitfield   Titusville Branch Manager Reba Williams said, "The Titusville Library is honored to present the First Ms. Senior Titusville Library Pageant, an esteemed celebration of the synergistic qualities of intellect and aesthetic grace embodied by our community’s distinguished senior women.  "This event serves as a testament to the principles of lifelong learning, creative expression, and personal resilience, underlining the intrinsic connection between cognitive enrichment and inner beau...

If you are looking to gain a better grasp on your personal finance situation, look no further than the Birmingham Public Library (BPL) and a new series of live learning webinars being offered by Weiss Financial Ratings. The current webinar topics are: Investing, Banking, Insurance & More: How to Use Weiss Financial Ratings Online Medicare & Medicare Supplement Insurance: How to Pick a Plan & Get the Best Rate Beginner’s Guide to Investing The webinars are free and are presented on Tuesdays at 1pm CST and on Thursdays at 10am CST. To view the full 2024-2025 schedule and register for the webinars click here .  Since 1971, Weiss Ratings has been a leader in providing independent financial research and analysis on banking, insurance, and investment options available to consumers and business professionals. Their online database, which can be accessed on the BPL website , is a powerful resource that can be used by library patrons to research banks, credit unions, insurance ...

  Dr. Idrissa N. Snider, author of " Unmasking Authentic Black Female Identity"  The 2024 Birmingham Public Library  Local Authors Expo is this Saturday, November 2. Sponsored by the  Tri-County Alabama Chapter of the Links, Inc.,  this year's expo featuring over 30 authors is happening from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Saturday at the Central Library, 2100 Park Place in downtown Birmingham. BPL  is spotlighting several participating authors this week. Today's spotlight is on Dr. Idrissa N. Snider, author of "Unmasking Authentic Black Female Identity" and  one of the speakers at this Saturday's Local Authors Expo. She is a member of the Tri-County Alabama Chapter of the Links, Inc., the event sponsor. Dr. Snider is committed to educating and inspiring others to excellence. Her scholarly interests lie in Rhetorical Criticism and Womanist Studies, focusing on black women’s resistance to controlling images and stereotypes. She is also attentive to studying mo...

  Charlena Bray, author of "To Live...To Die... To Life: Stories of Eternal Connections" The 2024 Birmingham Public Library Local Authors Expo is this Saturday, November 2. Presented by the Tri-County Alabama Chapter of the Links, Inc., this year's expo featuring nearly 30 authors is happening from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Saturday at the Central Library, 2100 Park Place in downtown Birmingham. BPL is spotlighting several participating authors, including Dr. Idrissa N. Snider, who happens to be members of our 2024 Local Authors Expo sponsor, the Tri-County Alabama Chapter of the Links .    This spotlight is on Charlena H. Bray, author of To Live...To Die...To Live: Stories of Eternal Connections. Charlena Bray is a minister and elder at The Guiding Light Church in Birmingham , where she has been a member since 1989. Over these 30 plus years, she has served families who have experienced loss through the death of their loved ones in making final arrangements, throug...