Category Archives: library

Alabama, Birmingham, library, News

Erase $5 off of Your JCLC Library Fines

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Next week, April 9-15, 2017, is National Library Week. The entire Jefferson County Library System in and around Birmingham, AL will be observing the week with various programs and highlighting library services.

One of the highlights this year is this coupon that erases $5 worth of your library fines:

Erase Your Library Fines

All you have to do is print out the coupon and present it at any of the 40 JCLC branch locations around town and they’ll take $5 off of your account.

But make sure you do it next week. The coupon is only valid next week April 9-15.

It’s no secret I’m a fan of the entire JCLC system. It’s almost magical how you can reserve/request books, cd’s, dvd’s, games, eBooks, etc. from the website, from ANY library in the system and they’ll delivery that book to your local branch AND notify you when it’s ready for pick up. So cool. And that’s just the items in the catalog!

All of the online database research sources, free theater events, after school programs, community kids programs, movie nights, etc. are all in their own universe of awesomeness.

So if you’re in and around Birmingham, AL, it’d be worth your time to learn all about the JCLC system and what they can help you with.

Book Column, library

Bicycle Library Serving Homeless Patrons

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I stand by my claim that book people are, as a whole, the coolest people on the planet. This story of a bicycle library making its way around to serve books to the homeless is just one more point of proof.

Since 2011, Street Books has been pedaling around Portland, Oregon, once a week, delivering books to people who can’t check them out from the library. Yes, the public library is free, but to use the printer or check out a book, you often need things like a driver’s license or proof of residence or a utility bill. These are things that people living on the fringes of society do not have.

They even have a very short video on Vimeo which captures the spirit of what being a book lover is all about:

I love this quote:

“Because there’s a freedom that comes from kind conversations about books.”

The power of books and literature is often lauded by those of us fortunate to have plenty to read, but we often forget about the real world transformative power that books can have.

The books do get returned and exchanged for others, but if a homeless patron can’t find a bike library again, they are encouraged to just pass the book along to someone else who would like it.

It seems like every city in the world could benefit from people caring for others, through books, just like this. Kudos to the folks behind the bicycle library movement and Street Books.

Alabama, Birmingham, Book Column, Bookstores, library

Birmingham Library Bookstore

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The Friends Bookstore at the Central Library re-opened in a new location in April 2016. The library bookstore is now on the first floor now just to the left of the checkout desk, as you come in the main entrance. The big bright windows are fantastic to browse by (though I hope the spines don’t fade!).

library bookstore

 

I stopped by to check it out and found some great finds. You probably will too. Most everything in there runs between $.50-$3 range depending on if it’s a mass or trade paperback or hardback.

The library bookstore constantly runs sales and updates the community about recent donations. So I highly recommend signing up for their newsletter list.

Anyway, here are a few photos I snapped back in April when they first opened.

library bookstore

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If you want to see what the shop looked like on the second floor, here is the 2011 photo tour of it.

Alabama, Birmingham, library, News

$5 Fine Coupon for JCLC Libraries

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Here is a coupon for a $5 credit to be applied to your library fines at Jefferson County libraries. You must print the coupon out and take it to a JCLC branch next week April 10th – 16th.

jclc_nlwcoupon

The $5 coupon is part of the JCLC library system’s celebration of National Libra$5 ry Week which is next week. According to the full press release there are a few other new things of note:

  • they are going to start allowing folks to renew library cards via the phone as well as online (though I can’t find where)
  • there is an instance when the $3 cost is waived for replacing a library card
  • expiration dates for library cards has been extended from one year to two years

So, if you use the Jefferson County Library system, grab the coupon and knock out some fines!