Birmingham Public Library

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The Birmingham Public Library (BPL) is the name for the library system for the city of Birmingham. It consists of the Birmingham Central Library and Linn-Henley Research Library downtown, as well as 19 branches throughout the city. The BPL is a major part of the Jefferson County Library Cooperative.

The Director of the Birmingham Public Library is Renee Blalock.

History

The Birmingham Public Library was established in 1886, but quickly foundered. It re-opened in 1891 under the auspices of the Birmingham Board of Education, using a large room in the Enslen Building. The public paid a $2 annual fee for membership.

In 1903 the library relocated to the 4th floor of Birmingham City Hall. It was made a free public library by the Birmingham Public Library Association in 1908. The Association was succeeded by a city-created Birmingham Public Library Board in 1913.

The library was destroyed in the 1925 City Hall fire. A new library building, built in part with donated funds, was opened in Woodrow Wilson Park on April 11, 1927.

The central library was upgraded with air conditioning, new lighting and tile flooring with $200,000 in bond funds in 1954. During that project a number of curious items were found stored in the library, including a knee-pump organ; a dress form; a box of shotgun shells; jars of preserved snakes; mounted moose, ram and deer heads; Mexican statuary; and a full suit of Eskimo clothing. Director Fant Thornley said all the items with any value would be preserved, but that the library itself had no space for displaying them to the public.

A new Birmingham Central Library was built across 21st Street North in 1984, designed by KPS Group. The 1927 building was completely renovated and reopened in 1985 as the Linn-Henley Research Library.

Collections

The Birmingham Public Library houses numerous notable collections in its archives, including the Tutwiler Collection of Southern History and Literature and the Rucker Agee Collection of Maps of the Southeast.

Directors

Branches

The Birmingham Public Library has the following branches:

Former branches

2010 closings

In preparing to submit his 2011 Birmingham budget, Mayor William Bell asked Library director Renee Blalock to provide a list of five of the city's 19 branches that she could recommend for temporary closure in order to cut costs. The initial list included the Slossfield, North Avondale, East Ensley, Inglenook and Ensley branches. Blalock subsequently developed a plan to cut $900,000 from the library's budget by closing three of the branches (Slossfield, East Ensley and Inglenook), cutting part-time staff, reducing utility costs, and ending Saturday hours except at the Central library and regional branches.

References

External links

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