Birmingham Public Library Blog

What can you do with a library card? Explore the fun ways to use your local library as the Birmingham Public Library (BPL) joins the Public Libraries in Jefferson County (PLJC) in celebrating National Library Week Sunday, April 10 through Saturday, April 16, 2016 . Is your library card worn out? Libraries in Birmingham and Jefferson County will be exchanging library cards for free that week, waiving the usual replacement cost of $3. All previous library cards are still valid at any of the 40 locations in Jefferson County. The popular annual $5 Fine Coupon will also be available for printing from the website  PublicLibrariesInJC.org  or pick one up at your local library. New services include online or telephone library card renewal and expiration dates have been extended from one to two years. National Library Week (April 10-16) celebrates the dynamic changes happening in today's libraries. This year's National Library Week theme, “Because Transformation is Essential t...

Ukulele time at Avondale Library! BPL on Flickr If you’ve been dreaming about playing the ukulele but need some help to get started, the Avondale Regional Branch Library has a class just for you. Ukulele 101 will take place on Saturday, April 30, at 9:30 a.m. Designed for the absolute beginner, this 45-minute introduction will provide enough information to get you strumming. Class size is limited, so register in advance by calling 205-226-4003. The class will be taught by Avondale Library’s very own Mrs. Eve: “Once you start strumming, you will never want to stop. It just makes you happy.” The class is an extension of the library’s Uku-Lending Program, brain child of storyteller Eve Parker. After reading several articles about similar programs being offered at libraries in Maine, Nebraska, and Georgia, Mrs. Eve began dreaming. Thanks to her hard work and a generous donation of 13 ukuleles from Fretted Instruments in Homewood, the dream became a reality. As of today, ov...

Manager Thracie Pace and customer in new first floor location In a move officials say will make it more convenient for patrons, the Birmingham Public Library (BPL)’s Friends Bookstore has relocated from the second floor to the first floor of the Central Library. The Friends Bookstore held a soft opening in its new location near the Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard entrance on Monday, April 4. An official grand opening and ribbon cutting will take place on Monday, April 11, at 11:00 a.m. , said Thracie Pace, Friends Bookstore manager. Link: BPL Blog – " Birmingham Public Library Friends Bookstore Moving to First Floor of Central Library "

Do you have ancestors from Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia? If you answered yes, you need to attend our next Beyond the Basics of Genealogy workshop, Digital Dixie. In this workshop, you will discover digital genealogy resources that you never knew existed from these original Southern colonies and learn search strategies to find untapped information and locate your ancestor. Digitization has changed the amount of genealogy resources available, and it is even easier to do genealogy at a distance. However, not all digital genealogy resources exist in popular genealogy databases, such as Ancestry.com or FamilySearch.org, and Digital Dixie is about those digital genealogy resources that are located in places online you may not have ever thought to look. Digital Dixie will cover how to locate digital collections, how to search effectively, and how to track and organize your digital research. You will learn tips and tricks to navigate these digital sour...

When you think of your ideal community, what comes to mind? This is the question that was posed to students in eighth grade or younger in an art contest hosted by East Lake United Methodist Church. The instructions were simple: “Show us what you dream for your community!” The church received over forty diverse and unique entries, and chose two sites at which to host the art. The first, Ruffner Mountain Nature Center, hosted the students’ entries March 28 through April 1, and the art currently resides at our very own East Lake Branch Library until Friday, April 8. The contest will award $50 to the winner, who will be announced April 10 via social media. People in the community are encouraged to stop by to view the artwork and vote on a favorite piece. Be sure to support your young local artists and their ideas for community improvement by visiting and voting! Check out the Facebook page for the event here . Christina Tidmore East Lake Branch Library

Left to right: Mary Beth Newbill, head of BPL's Southern History Dept.; Catherine Sloss Jones, president and CEO of Sloss Real Estate Company, Inc.; Angela Fisher Hall, director of BPL; Ven. Geshe Lhakdor, director of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives; Jim Baggett, head of BPL's Archives Department During his recent trip and lecture tour to Atlanta, Birmingham, and Dallas, Ven. Geshe Lhakdor visited the special collections of the Birmingham Public Library. Ven. Geshe Lhakdor has served the Dalai Lama as his translator and religious assistant since 1989, accompanying the Dalai Lama to conferences and forums throughout the world. He has translated books by the Dalai Lama into English and is a trustee of the Foundation for Universal Responsibility, Jim Baggett and Geshe Lhakdor discuss items housed in the Archives Department at BPL director of the Central Archive of the Dalai Lama, a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute of Tibe...

The Central Library will host a free documentary screening highlighting a Birmingham accountant’s move from corporate America to stand-up comedy. “The Truth" Up & Coming will air on Saturday, April 16, at 2:00 p.m., in the Arrington Auditorium on the fourth floor of the Linn-Henley Research Building . The documentary by Birmingham filmmaker Sonya “Sam” Mitchell first premiered last fall during the Sidewalk Film Festival in downtown Birmingham. The 15-minute short film features Carla “The Truth” Youngblood, who a few years ago moved from a successful career as an accountant to pursue a dream of being a stand-up comedian. Youngblood performs at venues across the Southeast. Mitchell is the founder of MY Entertainment , a film production company. The Central Library held a screening last October of her first documentary, "Jesse Speeks , ”  which shares the story of a 26-year-old Birmingham man who has autism. That film was featured in the 2014 Sidewalk Film Festiva...

As usual, this year’s NCAA Basketball Tournament has lived up to expectation.  The fireworks began in the first round with Michigan State .  Michigan State won the Big Ten Tournament with a 66-62 victory over Purdue.  Last year, Michigan State felt slighted by the selection committee after receiving a #7 seed in the NCAA Tournament and ultimately advancing to the Final Four .  This year, they were granted a #2 seed and considered a favorite to win the NCAA Tournament.  Middle Tennessee State had other ideas and defeated Michigan State in the first round, 90-81. Undoubtedly the best comeback win of the NCAA Tournament came in the second round with Texas A&M defeating Northern Iowa in double overtime, 92-88. With 44 seconds left in regulation, Texas A&M erased a 12-point deficit to force Northern Iowa into overtime.  Good defense led to four Northern Iowa turnovers and a tied game by the end of regulation.  With 5.9 seconds left in over...