Birmingham Public Library Blog

Chef E will give a free soul food cooking demo at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, February 29 at Southside Library.  Want to learn how to cook some delicious soul food? Then make plans now to be at Southside Branch Library this Saturday, February 29, at 2:30 p.m. for "Cooking Healthy Soul Food with Chef E," a cooking demo that will close out the Birmingham Public Library's observance of 2020 Black History Month. The Chef E cooking demo is free but limited to 25 adults. To reserve your spot, call 205-933-7776. Below is a listing of the final four Black History Month programs taking place at BPL.  For more information, click on our website here .  Friday, February 28, 3:15 p.m., Inglenook Branch Library - Black History Month Movie Join us as we watch a movie based on an aspect of black history. Refreshments will be served.  Friday, February 28, 3:30 p.m., Smithfield Branch Library - Black History Month Movie Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am     ...

Jenn Seiler-Patrick |  Five Points West Regional Branch Library I love reading cozy mysteries. If you haven’t heard of that genre before, let me explain some of what I know about it. First, cozy mysteries are generally not very suspenseful, which works for me because otherwise, I’ll stay up all night thinking that every noise is a stranger in my house. Second, they often have cutesy titles. Like some of the ones from my recent reading list. Caught Dead-Handed ,   Tide and Punishment ,  or Toxic Toffee . Third, they usually involve an amateur sleuth who is working to solve the mystery. Finally, if you read quickly, you’ll be happy to learn that cozy mysteries usually come in a series, so you don’t have to worry about what you’re going to read next. I get almost all of my cozy mysteries from Hoopla ! If you haven’t heard of Hoopla, it is an app that lets you listen to audiobooks or read e-books on your phone or tablet. Check them out or visit your local lib...

The Wenonah High School Choir performs during the 2019 Black History Month Concert at Powderly Branch Library  The award-winning Wenonah High School Choir will perform a Black History Month Concert at the Powderly Branch Library at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 25.  The public is invited to sing along as the choir renders various editions of Negro Spirituals and other selections from African-American composers.  Choir director Joycelyn Whatley is in her 20th year of leading this talented choir at Wenonah High. The performance by the Wenonah High School Choir is among several programs and activities being held this week to close out the Birmingham Public Library's annual celebration of Black History Month.

What: Bards & Brews Open Mic Poetry When : Friday, March 6, 2020, 6:00-9:00 p.m. Where : The Purpose Center at Dannon, 2324 5th Avenue North Details: Free to the public aged 18 and up; you must be 21 or older to drink beer samples. Spoken word and craft beer lovers, make plans now to visit Bards & Brews, the Birmingham Public Library's popular monthly spoken word poetry-craft beer program, on Friday, March 6, at the Purpose Center at Dannon in downtown Birmingham. The Dannon Project i s a longtime partner with BPL. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. Musical entertainment by featured artist Al Elliott will begin at 6:30 p.m. and poetry will flow starting at 7:00 p.m. Beer samples provided by  TrimTab Brewing . Both seasoned spoken word artists and novice poets are invited to participate in this Open Mic poetry event. Sign up on site the night of the program. Voice Porter will again serve as host and emcee. In its 10th year, Bards & Brews is a program that ...

What: Let’s Talk about Medicare: Questions and Answers When: First Thursday of each month Time: 12:00–1:00 p.m. Where: Birmingham Public Library – Central Library /Linn-Henley Research Library/4th floor/Regional Library Computer Center (RLCC) Details : Free and open to the public If you have questions about Medicare, you are not alone. As a health insurance program administered by the federal government, Medicare is laden with many policies, procedures, and guidelines that can be very confusing for the average American consumer. Who is eligible for Medicare? What kind of coverage does it provide? Is there more than one plan available? How much does it cost? When should I enroll? These are just some of the important questions that everyone needs answered in order to help them make good, informed decisions about their healthcare coverage. Not getting accurate and up-to-date answers to these questions can mean missing out on valuable benefits that you and your loved ...

Registration is now open for the March 2020 computer classes at the Central Library. Topics include computer skills, career guidance, GED prep, and genealogy. All classes are held in the Regional Library Computer Center . See the complete list of March classes . Pre-registration is required for all classes. Register online through the BPL events calendar . You will receive an automated confirmation confirming your registration.

Marley Dias, 15, founded #1000BlackGirlBooks in 2015 to encourage reading of books about black female heroes.   Readers are Leaders, a youth book club at Inglenook Branch Library , will host a Black History Month program paying tribute to teen author Marley Dias this Wednesday, February 19, at 3:30 p.m. The book club will read books about young heroes, with the spotlight this month on Marley, 15, founder of #1000BlackGirlBooks and author of “Marley Dias Gets It Done and So Can You!” The spotlight on Marley Dias is among 60 free Black History Month programs taking place at 18 BPL locations during February. The Readers are Leaders Book Club  was launched at Inglenook Library in February 2017. Marley launched #1000BlackGirlBooks at age 10 in 2015, using the power of social media with a goal of collecting 1,000 books featuring black female protagonists by February 2016. Her story went viral, gaining media attention across the globe . She has far exceeded her goal, c...

Octavia Kuransky, in photo with Jim Murray of the Central Library, will speak about African Art February 25.   African artwork is big business in the United States, as many African-Americans buy it to reconnect to their ancestral history or attend art shows depicting African culture. But how much do you know about Native African artwork or African-American art pieces born out of slavery? Octavia Kuransky, a docent in training at the Birmingham Museum of Art , will answer many of your questions during her discussion, "What Else They Brought: An Introduction to Native African Art and Contemporary African American Art," to be presented Tuesday, February 25, 5:30-7:00 p.m. in the Central Library ’s Arrington Auditorium, 4th Floor. This African artwork will be discussed at Kuransky's event.  Kuransky said the title reflects how African slaves brought much more than their manual labor to the United States-art is a big part of African slave legacy that still exi...