Birmingham Public Library Blog

The Birmingham Public Library (BPL) is partnering with the Rotaract Club of Birmingham and Birmingham City Schools to host a giveaway of school supplies as the 2016-17 school year kicks off. Beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 6, 1,000 bookbags filled with school supplies will be given away—250 each at four Birmingham Public Library locations. Participating locations are: • North Birmingham Regional Branch Library • Springville Road Regional Branch Library • Five Points West Regional Branch Library • Avondale Regional Branch Library This is the ninth year the Rotaract Club of Birmingham, a young professionals civic club affiliated with the Rotary Club of Birmingham, has hosted the school supplies giveaway, said Marcus Carson, a member of its board. Carson said individuals and organizations wanting to support the give-away can do so by giving to the Rotarac Club of Birmingham Foundation on their website . The Rotaract Club of Birmingham is the largest R...

Due to air conditioning issues in the East Building of the Central Library, the Central Library will have temporary new hours until the air conditioning is repaired. For the week of July 25-29, the Linn Henley Research Library and the first floor of the East Building (Fiction Department and Circulation Department) will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The second and third floors of the East Building will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Please check back for updates.

It’s never too late to start building a better understanding of your personal finances and begin developing a plan for the future. To assist you in this endeavor, the Birmingham Public Library (BPL) is partnering with the staff of the Regions Institute for Financial Education at UAB to offer a series of Money Matters workshops at the Central Library on the first Wednesday of each month from July 2016 to May 2017. Please join us on the dates below to take part in discussions about a variety of money management issues and learn ways to help you achieve your economic goals. When:  First Wednesday of the month Time: 12:00-1:00 p.m. Place:  Central Library/Linn-Henley Research Building/Richard Arrington Auditorium Dates/Workshops 8/3/2016 – Your Spending, Your Savings, Your Future 9/7/2016 – Risk and Protection 10/5/2016 – Family Money Skills 11/2/2016 – What Every Woman Should Know About Money 12/7/2016 – Protecting Yourself Against Targeted Fraud 1/4/2017 – Deal...

This has been a fun and exciting summer of television.  I have been a fan of American Ninja Warrior   for several years now, but this year, the networks have taken the competition shows up a notch.  I have added two new team competition shows, American Grit   and Spartan Ultimate Team Challenge , to my list of favorites and hope they will return next year.   American Grit   actually premiered in the spring, but ended in June. American Grit – Four teams of four, guided by military personnel (“The Cadre”), embark on challenges that mirror actual military training.  Some of the challenges included breaking down camp and setting it back up in another location;  building a shelter, purifying water, and making a fire using very basic supplies; and using a compass and map to navigate to a checkpoint out in the forest, then navigating back to the starting point.  The team who wins the challenge gets a reward and is also safe from having a t...

The Pratt City Branch Library is hosting the free workshop Damsel in Defense on Tuesday, July 26 , from 4:30-5:30 p.m.  The self-defense program is being offered as part of the Birmingham Public Library (BPL)’s 2016 Summer Reading. Exercise your right to protect yourself with Damsel in Defense. Instructor Bobbie Floyd will equip, empower, and educate women on self-defense with simple strategies, said Deborah Drake Blackmon, branch manager of the Pratt City Library. The Pratt City Library also has two other summer reading workshops coming up designed to educate the public about two other issues: hospice care and elder abuse. On Wednesday, July 27, from 11:00-11:45 a.m. , Melanie Johnson of Gentiva Hospice will discuss caregiver stress and burnout in the workshop Learn About Hospice Care and How it Can Help You. On Thursday, August 11, from 11:00-11:45 a.m. , Johnson will return to lead a seminar on elder abuse and how many cases of elderly abuse are overlooked. I...

It’s not only baseball season, but also small business season at the Birmingham Public Library (BPL)! BPL is partnering with SCORE ( Service Corps of Retired Executives ) to host a special “double header” of seminars on Thursday July 28, 2016, in the Arrington Auditorium of the Central Library beginning at 12:00 p.m. The seminars are free, but registration is required. To register, please visit the Birmingham SCORE website  and click on the seminar title in the Upcoming Events section. Doubleheader Details Central Library, July 28 How to Use Legal Strategies to Protect Your Business 12:00-1:00 p.m. Whether you are forming a new business or already running an established business, this seminar will help you develop a legal plan to protect your assets and investments. The presenter for the seminar is Josh Andrews , a local Birmingham attorney who specializes in legal issues that are of concern to small business owners and entrepreneurs. Boost Your Sales 1:00-2:0...

Alabama Biography: An Index to Biographical Sketches of Individual Alabamians in State, Local, and to Some Extent National Collections, a W.P.A. Project Sponsored by the Birmingham Public Library On the Ready Reference shelf in the Southern History Department, there is a thick book bound in black, with a spine title reading W.P.A. Index to Alabama Biography —which is why most people wouldn’t recognize the long jawbreaker of a title listed above. Generally known in the department as simply “ the W.P.A. Index ,” this is one of our most frequently used sources for Alabama research: This index to biographical material about Alabamians was begun as a library sponsored W.P.A. Project during the 1930’s. The W.P.A. folded up before the work was completed. The manuscript or typescript was turned over to Southern Collection in this state. Southern staff has found it useful and a great time saver in thumbing through many individual books—books often without indexes or poor ones. (From the...

Registration is now open for staff and the public for the August 2016 Computer Class Schedule . During this month, we include a Basic PC class, Excel 2010, Hiring Process for Jefferson County, as well as our popular downloadables class. All classes are held in the Regional Library Computer Center (RLCC) of the Central (downtown) Library. PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR ALL CLASSES. Please note that registration does not necessarily guarantee you a spot in the class. You will receive an email confirming your registration for classes. You may also call to confirm your registration. To register for any class, please email us at cenrtc@bham.lib.al.us or call 205-226-3681. You may also download and print a pdf copy of the August 2016 Computer Class Schedule to bring to a Computer Commons staff member on your next library visit. Please note that the August 2016 Computer Class Schedule  pdf can be sent to us as an email attachment.