Birmingham Public Library Blog

Kick off your St. Patrick’s Day week celebration with an Irish dance performance at the Central Library !  On Monday, March 13, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., our final installment of the 2023 Winter Music Series features Westwood Irish Dance-Drake Birmingham .

Over the weekend, I used Kanopy to watch Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise: Biography of an Influential Civil Rights Activist and Poet , a 2017 documentary on Maya Angelou's life. Dr. Angelou was a master of words and inciting emotion within her words, as we can read in her beloved works, and it feels almost more intense to hear the words directly from her mouth. To see her recount her own life in detail, and to see the pain that stayed by her side into adulthood and see her smile, full of remarkable joy, regardless, is quite moving.

Looking for something to do during Spring Break? Help us celebrate our community helpers.  What is a community helper? A community helper's job is to help others. Without community helpers, we would be lost! There are different types of community helpers, like firemen and firewomen, teachers, doctors and nurses, policemen and policewomen, garbage collectors, and even librarians.

Flowers are blooming, the pollen is out in full force, and a bee buzzed aggressively past my ear. It’s official—spring is here! Bring the little ones by the North Birmingham branch to celebrate the changing of the seasons with our spring-themed programs!

Celebrate Women's History Month throughout March with the  Birmingham Public Library (BPL) ! We are offering a variety of programs at several  BPL locations as well as informative and engaging displays. This year's theme is " Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories ." Here are programs that the BPL is offering for Women's History Month 2023!

  Jazz guitarist Eric Essix will be musical guest at BPL's A Novel Tasting on April 6. The Birmingham Public Library is thrilled to announce that contemporary jazz guitarist and Birmingham native Eric Essix will be the musical guest at the 2nd Annual A Novel Tasting . This fundraising event for the Birmingham Public Library will take place on  Thursday, April 6, 2023 at the Central Library downtown. Accompanied by his keyboardist, Eric will begin playing at 5:00 p.m. for VIP guests and will continue playing for the main event, set to take place between 6:00 and 8:30 p.m.  A Novel Tasting  will feature a tasting of fine wines, locally crafted beers, and handcrafted spirits. Guests will enjoy elegant catered food, a silent auction, complimentary drinks, a 360 photo booth, and an outside cigar bar.  To purchase tickets, please visit Eventbrite Check out this video of jazz Guitarist Eric Essix inviting you to A Novel Tasting 2023 About Eric Essix  Over a perio...

  Avondale Regional Library is honoring Dr. Seuss and Read Across America with 3 programs. Today, March 2, 2023, schools and libraries across the nation will celebrate National Read Across America Day in honor of the birthday of Dr. Seuss . The beloved children’s book author was born on March 2, 1904.  In May 1997, the National Education Association came up with a big idea to "Celebrate the Joy of Reading"- calling it Read Across America Day in honor of Dr. Seuss.    Read Across America was launched on March 2, 1998, and is the nation’s largest celebration of reading.   “Across the nation, teachers, teenagers, librarians, politicians, actors, athletes, parents, grandparents, and others develop Read Across America activities to bring reading excitement to children of all ages,” the NEA website says. “Governors, mayors, and other elected officials recognize the role reading plays in their communities with proclamations and floor statements. Athletes and ac...

  Photo credit: Nathan Watson of BhamNow. L-R are Uptown Jazz's co-owners:  Patrick Chatman I, Patrick Chatman II, Larry Forest and Rod Conwell. What:  Bards & Brews Open Mic Poetry Celebrates Women's History Month  When: Friday, March 3, 6:30 p.m. Where: Uptown Jazz, 2250-B 9th Avenue North, Birmingham Details: Bards & Brews, the Birmingham Public Library's popular monthly spoken word poetry event, will celebrate Women's History Month at Uptown Jazz . The featured poet will be Blaque Diamond. During this open mic event, attendees are invited to share original works based on the 2023 Women's History Month theme "Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories." Bards & Brews is free. You must be 18 or older to attend, and 21 to buy alcoholic beverages at Uptown Jazz. After the spoken word poetry event, Uptown Jazz hosts a live performance (for a $20 cover charge) by The John Wilson Experience, a jazz saxophonist from Atlanta, originally born in Tusca...