Birmingham Public Library Blog

All Birmingham Public Library locations will open to the public at 11:00 a.m.  Neighborhood branches will stick to their normal schedule of closing for lunch from noon until 1:00 p.m., and closing for the day at 5:00 p.m. All of our remaining libraries will close at 6:00 p.m.

Open Mic Night at Good People Brewing Company, November 1, 2013 Visit the Bards & Brews page on Facebook The Avondale Library hosts the next Bards & Brews SLAM on Friday, January 3, 2014 . Poet sign up begins at 6:30 p.m., and SLAM starts at 7:00 p.m. There is a $5 charge to enter the SLAM contest. Cash prizes to winners. 1st Place is $200, 2nd place is $100 Music is by guitarist and singer Susan Lawrence, 6:30-7:00 p.m. The SLAM is free to attend and is open to the public. Must be 18 and up to attend and 21 to participate. Beer tasting will be provided by Back Forty Beer Co. ID required. Refreshments will be served. For more info, call 205-226-3670 or email hm@bham.lib.al.us.

The True Meaning of Smekday Adam Rex It has finally happened! The hope and fear of every science fiction nerd on the planet has come true. Aliens (the Boov specifically) have invaded Earth! This story is the account of young Gratuity Tucci, a cat named Pig, and a runaway Boov named J. Lo. This bizarre trio embarks on a cross-country road trip to reunite Gratuity with her mother and the rest of the human race. They become unlikely heroes as they save the world from a second alien invasion by the violent Gorg race. This book was great fun. It’s a fantastic twist on the classic road trip story. While the adventures and action are great, this story is really something special when it shows how Gratuity and J. Lo try to understand each other’s cultures. Gratuity is understandably miffed at J. Lo and his species for invading her planet and impatient with his absurd alien customs. He loves eating dental floss and thinks that oranges make fine footwear! But it’s not all about wacky alie...

The exhibit Ladies, Gentlemen and Bazards: The Art of Lois Wilson will be on display in the Central Library's Fourth Floor Gallery from January 6 to February 21, 2014 . Featuring a little known Alabama artist who died in 1980, the exhibit focuses on Wilson’s “found art” where she used wood that she scavenged from demolition sites, parts of furniture that she disassembled, old brushes, ironing boards, toilet seats, and left over food for coloring to take the trash that other people discarded and create art. The art illustrates the issues that were important to Wilson: environmentalism and conservation, racism, spiritualism, the needs of the aged and homeless, and the emptiness of modern American materialism. Laquita Thomson, courtesy of Diego Rojas Laquita Thomson, Associate Professor of Fine Arts at Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tennessee, will give a talk and gallery tour to accompany the exhibit. The talk, titled Alabama Mystic or Alabama Outsider: The Ar...

Open Mic Night at Good People Brewing Company, November 1, 2013 Visit the Bards & Brews page on Facebook The Avondale Library hosts the next Bards & Brews SLAM on Friday, January 3, 2014 . Poet sign-up begins at 6:30 p.m., and SLAM starts at 7:00 p.m. There is a $5 charge to enter the SLAM contest. Cash prizes to winners: 1st Place is $200, 2nd place is $100. Music is by guitarist and singer Susan Lawrence, 6:30-7:00 p.m. The SLAM is free to attend and is open to the public. Must be 18 and up to attend and 21 to participate. Beer tasting will be provided by Back Forty Beer Co. ID required. Refreshments will be served. For more info, call 205-226-3670 or email hm@bham.lib.al.us.

A rendering of the remodeled Inglenook Library The renovation of the Inglenook Library is coming along beautifully and the staff can’t wait to provide the opportunities that it will lend to the Inglenook Community. With more open space, additional computers, and an attractive building design, amongst the many other offerings, patrons will be enabled to interact with resources more comfortably and staff will be enabled to provide services more effectively. We are confident that it will stand out in the community and attract patrons from all walks of life as opportunities will be limitless and creativity will be boundless. Submitted by Karnecia Williams Inglenook Library

Youth are invited to visit any Birmingham Public Library January 2-17, 2014 , to participate in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Scavenger Hunt. Each participant who successfully completes the scavenger hunt may enter their names in a drawing for a free book about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The scavenger hunt is scheduled at all Birmingham Public Libraries during regular scheduled hours. Please check your local branch for hours of operation. Some branches are closed on weekends.

The Sixteenth Street Ambiguity , Marcella Muhammad A special exhibit commemorating the 50th anniversary of the civil rights movement in Birmingham will be shown in the Fourth Floor Gallery of the Central Library , Wednesday, November 6 to Friday, December 27, 2013 . The gallery is free and open to the public. Fairfield, Alabama resident Dr. William E. Colvin curated the exhibit, known as Birmingham 2013: Remembering the Movement that Changed the World . It proposes that the dreams of freedom and civil liberty that African Americans had 50 years are now realities. Nearly 50 pieces created by more than 25 artists from Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida highlight historic moments such as the 1963 bombing of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, marches in Kelly Ingram Park, and more. “These compositions are created to memorialize the Birmingham civil rights movement and celebrate the liberties and freedoms of all citizens,’’ said Dr. Colvin, who is an art professor emeritus for Il...