Birmingham Public Library Blog

Curbside Pickup begins Monday, June 15, at 4 BPL locations: Avondale, 5 Pts. West, N. Birmingham & Springville Road.  What: BPL Curbside Pickup of Library Materials Begins Monday, June 15 Where: BPL’s Avondale, Five Points West, North Birmingham and Springville Road Regional Library branches. When: Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Details: Place your holds (online, BPL app or call us.) When you have been notified that your items are ready for curbside pickup, drive up. We’ll let you know when to leave your vehicle and pick up your items from the designated table. For more information, call numbers below. Be prepared to verify your account with your library card number or driver’s license number  AVONDALE: 205-226-4000  FIVE POINTS WEST: 205-226-4013 NORTH BIRMINGHAM: 205-226-4025 SPRINGVILLE ROAD: 205-226-4081  Book and DVD lovers, your three-month wait is finally over. Beginning Monday, June 15, 2020, patrons of Alabama’s l...

By Shea Robinson | Fiction Department , Central Library Check out this LGBTQ+ lineup in commemoration of Pride Month! These comics, along with many more, are available on Hoopla . The Infinite Loop - Pierrick Colinet A science-fiction series that asks the age-old question, "What would you risk for a chance at true love?" Meet Teddy, a young woman who lives in a faraway future where time traveling is a common practice and her job is to maintain the status quo by correcting time paradoxes. But when she meets Ano, "a time paradox" and the girl of her dreams, Teddy must decide between fixing the time stream or the love of her life, both of which have unique consequences. The Lie And How We Told It - Tommi Parrish A friendship fumbles and falls apart after an uncertain encounter in this graphic novel from a remarkable new voice. Parrish's emotionally loaded, painted graphic novel is a visual tour de force, always in the service of the author's ...

What: 2020 Birmingham Public Library Summer Learning Virtual Week 1 When: Monday, June 8, 2020 through Friday, June 12, 2020 Where: Watch online on Birmingham Public Library Facebook page  Details: BPL is hosting its Summer Learning programs online for the first time. Register at this link http://www.bplonline.org/SummerReading.aspx Craft materials will be provided at Five Points West, North Birmingham, Springville Road, and Avondale Libraries; pick up Wednesday prior to program date. Week 1 of the Birmingham Public Library's 2020 Summer Learning is under way. Between now and July 30, the public will be able to participate in more than 60 free activities for kids, teens and adults. Activities kicked off Monday, June 8, with Tot Time with Mrs. Eve and A Tale of Two Frogs, two programs for toddlers hosted virtually by Avondale Regional Branch Library. On Tuesday, June 9, the BPL Southern History Department hosted an online Intro to Genealogy program and Avondale Lib...

By Russell Lee |  Arts, Music and Recreation Department , Central Library  Gay anthems are popular songs that have become identified with the gay community—particularly gay, although many of these songs became anthems for the rest of the LGBT community. Multiple chart-topping songs have become a rallying cry for gay rights. A lot of the songs labeled as “gay anthems” were not written for that purpose, but due to popularity in the gay community they evolved for that purpose. The lyrics of gay anthems contain themes of perseverance, inner strength, acceptance, pride, and unity. The 2002 book Queer describes themes common to many gay anthems: "big voiced divas"; themes of overcoming hardship in love; "you are not alone"; themes of throwing your cares away (to party); hard won self-esteem; unashamed sexuality; the search for acceptance; torch songs for the world-weary; the theme of love conquers all; and of making no apologies for who you are. According to the ...

Avondale Regional Branch Library is now accepting videos for its 17th Annual Avondale Talent Show. Online Talent Tuesdays is a part of BPL's 2020 Summer Learning activities under way now through July 30.  Social distancing can’t keep us from celebrating our talented young patrons! If you have a talent you want to share, get someone to record you performing. Make sure your video is no longer than 3 minutes. Then, send the video via Facebook Messenger to the Avondale Library Facebook page so that we can share it on a Talent Tuesday! Click here to see a video of the first young participant of Talent Tuesday. For more information about BPL Summer Learning, click here http://www.cobpl.org/SummerReading.aspx

By Mary Beth Newbill | Southern History Department , Central Library  Birth certificates are a genealogist’s dream come true. It’s one record that tells you when and where someone was born and who their parents were (including their mother’s maiden name!). What’s not to love?  Unfortunately, the old adage applies: if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is. While birth certificates are amazing sources for genealogists, they can be difficult to locate or may not exist at all. Let’s look at how you can use birth certificates to further your research and how to locate and obtain them. Birth certificates, at a minimum, will tell you the full name of the individual, the full names of their mother and father, and when and where the birth occurred.   The information provided about a person’s parents may be the best part of a birth certificate. By learning the names of the parents, you’ve automatically taken your research back another generation. I...

By Shea Robinson | Fiction Department , Central Library Quiet Heroes documents the extensive efforts of Dr. Kristen Ries, an infectious disease specialist, and Maggie Snyder, PA-C, during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Salt Lake City, Utah. Due to the area’s religious conservatism and fear of ostracism, a large percentage of the gay community lived in secret and had no access to HIV/AIDS medical treatment. After diagnosing her first patient with HIV in 1982, Dr. Ries became the only medical professional within Utah willing to treat HIV/AIDS patients. Her caseload grew so rapidly that she immediately required the support of another physician to manage it efficiently. With no physicians in the area willing to partner with her, she asked Maggie Snyder—then a nurse—if she would become a physician’s assistant. Backed by the Catholic nuns of the Holy Cross Hospital, the two women cared for thousands of patients that were unable to find treatment elsewhere within the state of ...

By Jim Murray | Business, Science and Technology Department , Central Library  Those traveling north on Richard Arrington Blvd. in downtown Birmingham will be greeted for the next few months with a special hanging banner bearing a special message. The banner is promoting the Birmingham Public Library’s Birmingham Counts! campaign and the message is for all Birmingham residents to complete the 2020 Census questionnaire. The prominent location of the banner on the library’s crosswalk and its clear visibility from the street serve to dramatically emphasize and reinforce the importance of the message. Since January, the Birmingham Public Library has been involved in an effort to get a maximum resident response to the 2020 Census through our Birmingham Counts! campaign . Partners in our campaign include the City of Birmingham Mayor’s Office , the Division of Youth Services , the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District , the Jefferson County Library Cooperative , The Dan...