Birmingham Public Library July News and Events


Retro Gameplay at Inglenook Branch Library 

Summer Learning programs continue at Inglenook Branch Library. Patrons from the Inglenook Recreation Center stopped by the library and branch manager Karnecia Williams led them in some Nintendo Retro gameplay.

Pratt City, Titusville Library Adult Patrons Paint on Canvas at Palette Party with Cherie Hunt
All summer long, Birmingham artist Cherie Hunt is teaching Birmingham Public Library patrons—even novices—how to paint. Recently, Hunt has brought her Palette Party program to adults at Titusville and Pratt City Branch Libraries. Hunt’s class provides participants step-by-step instructions that take them within an hour from a blank white canvas to their very own canvas masterpieces. Read More


John Paul Taylor of Real Life Poets and participants at civil rights poetry camp

Civil Rights Through the Eyes of a Young Poet Summer Camp Held at Central Library
Several area teens gained knowledge about Birmingham’s past and learned how to express their feelings about the city’s role in the civil rights movement through the spoken word, thanks to a weeklong teen poetry camp held at the Central Library July 9-13. Read More


My Trip to the American Library Association Annual Conference 

As a child, my place of solace during the long summer breaks (yes—back then we had three months vacay from school) was the local public library. The winding stacks of books and numerous magazines fueled my appetite for learning and adventure well into my years of high school and college. Read More


Local Author Workshops – “Every Writer Needs an Editor: The Editor's Role in Honing a Manuscript” with Speaker Liz Reed

July 21, 10:00-11:00 a.m., Central Library
Free and open to the public
If you are seeking to get a book published or desire to become an actual author, make plans to be at a Local Author Workshop taking place on Saturday, July 21, 10:00 a.m., at the Central Library.
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Childhood Fondness for Rodgers and Hammerstein and Libraries Inspired BPL Storyteller

by Lynn Piper, Five Points West Library
It seems as if I’ve always known that Rodgers and Hammerstein were great Broadway musical showmen—I’m not sure how I knew. I learned their songs “Do-Re-Me,” “O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A!,” “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” “Edelweiss,” “Climb Every Mountain,” and “It Might as Well Be Spring” in third grade. I saw The Sound of Music on my eighth birthday but I didn’t know it was by Rodgers and Hammerstein. My love of music and musicals was rivaled only by my love of books and I quickly found the play collections in my school library. Read More



Upcoming Events

Local  Author Workshops – "Every Writer Needs an Editor: The Editor's Role in Honing a Manuscript" with Speaker Liz Reed
July 21, 10:00 a.m., Central Library

18th Annual Math & Science Fun Day
July 28, 1:00-5:00 p.m., Five Points West Library

Bards & Brews
August 3, 6:30-9:00 p.m., Central Library

Hiroya Tsukamoto Guitar Concert
August 7, 6:00 p.m., Central Library

Local Authors Expo
August 11, 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., Central Library