Birmingham Public Library Blog

Women   working  at  suffrage   headquarters , 1913 BPL Digital Collections The women’s suffrage movement was founded in the mid-19th century by women who had become politically active through their work in the abolitionist and temperance movements. In recognition of Women’s Equality Day , the event is observed annually on August 26. Some of the early organizers included Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott . As early as 1837, Susan B. Anthony , a young teacher dissatisfied with her wages, asked for equal pay for women teachers; Sojourner Truth in 1851, defended women’s rights and “Negroes rights” at a convention in Akron, Ohio. In 1872, Susan B. Anthony campaigned to encourage women to register to vote using the 14th Amendment as justification. On January 10, 1878, The “Anthony Amendment” was introduced for the first time in the United States Congress. If approved it would extend the right to vote to women. The amendment stated “The rights of citiz...

A sound understanding of banks and banking plays an important part in assuring one’s personal financial health. Acquiring such an understanding, however, takes some time and effort. In the world of banking, there exist different kinds of institutions offering a variety of accounts, products, and investment opportunities. But it is not a matter of one size fits all; which banking services are suitable for you depends upon your particular circumstances, needs, and goals. Therefore, in order to make good decisions about banks, you should try to get good, solid information about what is available so that you can compare their offerings with your priorities. Bank on Birmingham (BoB) is a local non-profit organization that was created to provide information to the public about banking products and services. The membership of Bank on Birmingham, which consists of both local financial institutions and community organizations, is particularly interested in reaching low and moderate incom...

The Impossible  Knife  of Memory Laurie Halse Anderson After years spent on the road outrunning bad memories, blue-haired teen Hayley Kincaid and her troubled, army veteran father return to their hometown in New York. Having been home-schooled for the last five years, Hayley cautiously re-enters the world of traditional learning, a repulsive realm populated by high school "zombies" (the in-crowd) and a few rebellious "freaks" like herself. Although she impresses few at first with her snarky attitude, she slowly becomes accustomed to her new life, and even gathers a handful of friends (other "freaks" like herself). In the back of her mind, though, is a fear that no teen should have to worry about: the constant, sickening fear for her father's declining mental health. While the prose lacks the  gritty, lyrical beauty found in Anderson's previous novel,  Wintergirls , this newest offering  succeeds in painting a touching, realistic, and perilous ...

  Renasant Bank is reaching out to help small businesses succeed with a free six-part entrepreneurial success series. Series topics include Financial Management, Networking and Relationship Building, Social Media, Tax Information, Business Plan Components, Human Resources and Access to Capital. Renasant staff and local experts are leading these valuable learning sessions throughout the Birmingham and Shelby County communities. The event is co-sponsored by the Birmingham Public Library System and Trudy Phillips Consulting . Complementary refreshments will be served. Tracey Morant Adams, Senior Vice President Small Business and Community Development Director said of the series, ‘This free series is part of Renasant Bank’s continuing commitment to further the success of small business owners and entrepreneurs in our area. We are pleased to provide valuable tools and insight to help our local community businesses thrive and flourish.” To register for any of the sessions, ple...

The Birmingham Public Library will present a panel discussion on race, redemption, and reconciliation on Friday, September 12, at noon in the Central Library 's Arrington Auditorium as part of the city's Empowerment Week. The event is free and open to the public. The speakers will be Chervis Isom and Nick Patterson, authors of recent books that examine Birmingham during the civil rights movement. Though one author is white and the other is black, the men's stories carry similar messages of change and moving forward. Isom once held racist views as a child growing up in a segregated Birmingham in the 1950s and 1960s. But his opinions eventually changed when a married couple on his newspaper route taught him that it's wrong to judge people based on skin color. He shares his coming-of-age story in The Newspaper Boy . Patterson had always felt that stories of the movement's foot soldiers were ones of struggle and perseverance that needed to live on for generati...

Getting a manicure or pedicure was once only thought to be in the world of celebrities. But in the 21st century women and men consider getting a pedicure or manicure as a part of their biweekly pampering regimen. The nail industry is growing by leaps and bounds, and new techniques blossoming by the minute. A new reality show on Oxygen called Nailed It will be premiering this fall. The industry has introduced an array of colors, shapes, and techniques to choose from such has Acrylic, Gel, Shellac, French tips, and 3D Nail art. Below are some resources to assist in selecting the best method and style for you. Books Cool Nail Art  DIY Nail Art: 75 Creative Nail Art Designs Totally Cool Nails: 50 Fun and Easy Nail Art Designs for Kids Nails, Nails, Nails!: 25 Creative DIY Nail Art Projects Polish You Pretty  Pro Nail Care: Salon Secrets of the Professionals Websites NAIL IT!  Essie  NAILPRO  Nail Gallery Art on Pinterest  Nail...

Quiet: The Power Of Introverts In A World That Can’t Stop Talking Susan Cain Garrison Keillor once did a humor piece called “ Shy Rights: Why Not Pretty Soon? ” If you think that’s funny, you’ll probably like this book. If you just happen to know someone who’s introverted and want to know how they work, you’ll probably like this, too. (By the way, shy isn’t necessarily the same thing as introverted. That’s covered here.) Do you prefer one-on-one talking to group activities? Do you prefer solitude over parties? Do you tend to avoid risk? Dislike conflict? Work better on your own? Feel wiped out after being around people all day? If so, you may be introverted. There’s a test in the book which can help you to be reasonably sure. Introverts make up at least 1/3 of all Americans, and may constitute much more. And yet American culture is an extroverted one, with extroversion often held up as an ideal. How can introverts, who sometimes feel left out, learn to thrive? How can extroverts...

A free workshop to help businesses boost sales through their website will be held on Thursday, September 18, at the Central Library. The session will be from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. It’s free but registration is required at http://movetogreaterservice.com/smallbiz . “A lot of small businesses don’t have the money to do advertising and ad campaigns, so (this workshop) will really be for how to use content marketing and social media to attract the right kind of customers they are looking for,’’ said Andrea Walker, a Birmingham digital strategist and start-up marketing expert scheduled to teach the class. “At the end of the day, I want people to walk away learning something they haven’t learned before and knowing they can do it.’’ Her session will address several topics, including the importance of content marketing, which is how to create and share free content on the web with the goal of attracting potential customers and turning them into repeat customers. The workshop is part of ...