Birmingham Public Library Blog

Playing with your baby is not only important for bonding, but is also an educational experience for your child. We are providing a special time and place for you to come to the public library and spend one-on-one time playing with your child. This five-week program involves children birth through age 3 and their parents or caregivers. The library will have age appropriate toys, books, and art activities just for you and your child. Also, we have invited special guests from the community to join us each week to answer your questions about parenting. 1-2-3 Play with Me emphasizes the role of parents as the first teachers of their children, facilitates early intervention, and teaches strategies for healthy child development and early literacy. 1-2-3 Play with Me Schedule Avondale  Library – September 6-October 4, 2017 – every Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. West End Library – September 12-October 10, 2017 – every Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. Springville Road Library – September 14-Octo...

by Richard Grooms, Fiction Department, Central Library Getting Stoned With Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu J. Maarten Troost Just as in his previous book that I’ve blogged, The Sex Lives Of Cannibals , Maarten Troost has provided another highly readable travel book on the South Pacific which sports a title that is pulpy, doesn’t give a good indication of the book’s contents, and speaks more of crass publisher marketing than author-chosen design. Once again, this doesn’t matter much because the book is entertaining, funny, and insightful. After their Tarawa stay documented in Sex Lives , Maarten and his wife Sylvia, now back home in the U.S., have gotten fed up with their hectic and materialistic life here. They miss the Pacific. Not its craziness, danger, and deprivation, but its simplicity, quiet, and relaxed way of life. Knowing you can’t have that second group without the first, Sylvia jumps at a Vanuatu development aid job. Maarten tags along as usu...

What: Photography exhibit A Romantic Journey by Bre Conley Saxon & Rachel McElroy Where: Central Library , Fourth Floor Gallery When: September 2-October 14, 2017, during library hours. Meet the Artist opening reception is Sunday, September 10, 2:00-5:00 p.m., in the Fourth Floor Gallery. Details: Exhibit features photographs that Birmingham photographers Bre Conley Saxon & Rachel McElroy captured during a trip to Italy. Free and open to the public. Call Jiemin Fan at 205-226-3601 for more information. A new exhibit featuring photographs in Italy by two Birmingham photographers will kick off Saturday, September 2, in the Fourth Floor Gallery of the Central Library.  A Romantic Journey depicts photographs that Bre Conley Saxon of Say Bre Photography and Rachel McElroy of Rachel McElroy Imagery captured during a trip to Italy. A description of the exhibit:  A Romantic Journey b y Bre Conley Saxon and Rachel McElroy It seems an impossible task to write...

by Mollie McFarland, Springville Road Regional Branch Library Ms. Bixby’s Last Day John David Anderson We all have those special teachers that we’ll never forget. They might not come along often, but everyone has at least a couple growing up. Ms. Bixby was one such teacher. Her sixth grade students were enjoying their last year before middle school when they’re blindsided by the news: Ms. Bixby is sick. So sick that she will have to leave them the month before school dismisses for the summer. Her students are shocked and devastated, but Ms. Bixby is calm enough to soothe everyone’s nerves. On her last day teaching, her students were going to throw her a farewell party, or more like a “see you later” party. But she didn’t show up. Without the chance to wish her luck or give her a gift, three best friends set out to find their teacher and give her the last day of school that she deserves. The premise of this story may sound downright depressing, but it’s not what it seems. All...

Emcee Brian "Voice Porter" Hawkins addresses a B&B crowd What: Bards & Brews Open Mic Poetry Event Where: Central Library When: Friday, September 8, 6:30-9:00 p.m. Details: Free and open to the public 18 and older; must be 21 and older to sample beer. IDs will be checked. Bards & Brews returns to the downtown library for an open mic event on September 8. There will be beer and spoken word poetry, as well as a musical performance by SamU'Elle Blackspeare . As always, Master of Ceremonies Brian “Voice Porter” Hawkins will deftly guide both novice and veteran poets through an evening of verse with topics that may include relationships, politics, social justice, and the availability of eclipse glasses for 2024. Local craft beer will be available to sample at the event. The J. Clyde will be serving the beer. SamU'Elle Blackspeare will begin performing at 6:30 p.m. and the poetry will begin just after 7:00 p.m. Join us!

by Jim Murray, Department Head, Business, Science and Technology Department What: Vocational Readiness workshop series When: Every Friday in September 2017 Time: 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Where: Central Library, Linn-Henley Research Library, Regional Library Computer Center, 4th floor Details: The series consists of four workshops:  (1) Vocational Introduction Readiness Workshop, (2) Resume Builder, (3) New Age Online Application Process, and (4) Interview Bootcamp Choosing a career is not any easy undertaking. Likewise, once you’ve chosen a career, finding a job can be a pretty difficult task as well. When you consider that throughout your lifetime you spend more hours at your job than you do anywhere else, you really need to put the time and effort into making good decisions in regards to career selection and job searching. This is not only true for young people who are entering the job market for the first time, but also for adults who are either reentering the jo...

by David Ryan, Business, Science and Technology Department, Central Library MacArthur’s Spies: The Soldier, the Singer, and the Spymaster Who Defied the Japanese in World War II Peter Eisner I got three passports, a couple of visas You don't even know my real name "Life During Wartime" –Talking Heads I’m always interested in how people react in the face of war and the moral questions that follow such conflicts. Will they listen to their "better angels" and fight the good fight, pull the covers over their head and wait for the black clouds to pass, or will they work with the Devil? Some have dubbed Manila the Pacific Casablanca, but there was nothing glamorous about the city, the oppressors, or the choices Filipinos had to make. MacArthur’s Spies by Peter Eisner is the story of Claire Phillips, an American of complex citizenship living in Manila during the occupation, who faced these moral options and chose to fight the good fight. Phillips was no...

by Kelly Laney, Springville Road Regional Branch Library You know those lists of recommended “must reads” that include classic works of literature? I used to go through one of those occasionally and check them off: “Read that, read that, read that…” and smugly considered myself to be fairly well-read and on top of my game. I mean, after all, a lot of us read these musty oldies in high school, right, so why waste any of our precious later years on re-reading them? But our book club at the Springville Road Library, The Reading Roadies, has a tradition of reading at least one classic work of fiction every year. (This year’s pick is Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, if anyone would like to join us for the discussion on September 18 at 6:30 p.m.) Last year we picked Wuthering Heights , and I made an interesting observation. I remember thinking Heathcliff was the bomb and Cathy was fabulous—when I was in high school. As an adult, I just wanted to slap the fool out of b...