Birmingham Public Library Blog

Be sure to visit your favorite Birmingham Public Library branch during National Library Week , April 8-14, 2012. If you have ever researched a paper, checked out a bestseller, used a computer, discovered an old photograph, or attended a special program, you know what a great resource your library is every day of the year. To celebrate National Library Week, we are providing a coupon good for $5 to pay your overdue charges. To get a coupon, access The Reader online to print one.

The West End Branch of the Birmingham Public Library is celebrating its 100th Anniversary. An all-day reception will be held on Thursday, April 12, 2012, at the West End Branch Library from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The first West End Branch Library became part of the Birmingham Public Library on April 1, 1912, when the town of West End was incorporated into the city of Birmingham. West End Branch then became the third branch in the Birmingham Public Library system. By 1962 it was time for a new library because the 1912 branch was too small and outdated to house a modern library. The City of Birmingham approved a bond issue for $109,000 for a new building. While the new library was being built, a store front on Tuscaloosa Avenue was used as a temporary library. So it was that the second West End Branch was opened on Sunday, December 9, 1962. It had a separate area for children and adults and a meeting room for programs and community events. At 4,500 square feet, the second bran...

Birmingham Public Library’s (BPL) Southern History Department recently completed a month-long series of after-school programs at Birmingham City Hudson Middle and Green Acres Middle schools. The programs were part of the Birmingham Cultural Alliance Partnership (BCAP) headed by the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI). BCAP seeks to provide quality after-school programming by connecting local cultural institutions such as BPL, the Birmingham Museum of Art , the McWane Science Center , and the Birmingham Botanical Gardens with local middle school students. BPL has been a BCAP partner since its inception in 2000. BCAP has been called a “model after-school program” and in 2006 received the President’s “Coming Up Taller” award. Southern History’s programs were designed to expose the students to the importance and basic techniques of genealogy and family history, which involved discussions on the story behind their names and nicknames and family traditions, interacting with historic...

The team members of Whole Foods Market are part of the local community and they are passionate about supporting the local causes that are important to shoppers and neighbors. Several times a year, Whole Foods Market likes to give back to the community by donating 5% of a day's net sales to a local nonprofit or educational institution on what is called Community Giving Day (or 5% Day). On Thursday, April 5, 2012, the Jefferson County Library Cooperative (JCLC) will be the recipient of this day's donation. The Jefferson County Library Cooperative is a nonprofit organization that links the 40 public libraries throughout Jefferson County, making possible the convenience of "One County One Card." JCLC funds the online catalog , numerous databases , downloadable eBooks and audiobooks , the Books-By-Mail program , and the countywide delivery service that transports borrowed and returned materials between the libraries. Eat well, be well, and support the Public Librari...

Molley Mooney stirring a pot while two small children watch, Gee's Bend, Alabama, 1931-1940. From BPL Digital Collections . The world knows Gee’s Bend, Alabama, for the famous quilts made by many of the women in the community. But long before Gee’s Bend became a phenomenon—the subject of nonfiction books, children’s books and at least one novel, major museum exhibitions, a stage drama, television documentaries and a marketing campaign with quilt images on postcards and coffee mugs—the Birmingham Public Library Archives helped the residents of the community document their history in their own words. In the late 1970s, BPL’s first Archivist, Marvin Whiting, applied for and received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to conduct oral history interviews with the older residents of the Bend and photograph the people and their community. Working with author and storyteller Kathryn Tucker Windham and photographer John Reese, the project conducted approximately 30 inte...

Join Peggy Washington-Polk, Director of the Office of Personnel for the City of Birmingham, as she discusses the importance of knowing what credit is and its proper use; how to read a credit report and what the scores mean; how to qualify for a mortgage; how to pick a real estate agent; and how to learn what mortgage product works best for you. Wednesday, April 4, noon. (This is the only Brown Bag Lunch program scheduled for April.) Feed your body and mind at BPL's Brown Bag Lunch programs . You bring the lunch and we'll bring the drinks. Wednesdays at noon in Central Library’s Arrington Auditorium.

Have you ever noticed how many rewards cards you have on your keychain or in your purse or wallet? Many retail stores, especially pharmacies and some grocery stores, offer special discounts to card holders and often print the amount of money you saved with the card on your sales receipt. Have you ever stopped to think about how much you save with your library card? Just think how amazing it is to come in and gather a stack of books to take to the checkout desk. You use your library card to check out your items and then head home. No money is required. Or from the comfort of your home, you go online to the BPL website and request items to be routed to your neighborhood library for you to pick up. Better still, your library card is good for more than just checking out books. You may enjoy other formats such as our audiobooks or DVDs or downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. It could be that your library card is the best rewards card of all. Business, Science & Technology Department Cen...

Do you know what your teenager is reading? Are you puzzled by the latest teen book series and wonder what all the fuss is about? Well, chances are, you would likely enjoy some of the same books that you will find in your teen's backpack and that are keeping them up late at night, turning the last pages in the wee hours of the morning. Does this come as a surprise? Maybe you've already discovered the joys of reading teen fiction and often lurk in the teen area of the library or bookstore. We understand. Well, teen fiction has changed. The young adult collection is hot, especially with adult readers. There are many teen fiction books that have appeal factors for adults. Teen fiction often includes elements of fantasy, romance, rebellion, dramatic tension and high emotion. Teen dystopian, post-apocalyptic stories and science fiction books are the current trend. Some of the current teen fiction series which would appeal to adults include Beautiful Creatures , Delirium , D...