Category Archives: library

Literary Map of Alabama

I ran across this very cool map in the Hoover Library recently, tucked away, back in the non-fiction section. This map roughly plots out many of the significant literary works, people and places around the state of Alabama.

Many you’ll recognize like Zelda Fitzgerald and Fried Green Tomatoes by Fannie Flag. But there are a ton of listings on there that I had never heard of.

This links to a very large image of the map.

The map states that the first book printed in Alabama, was near Thomasville, AL in 1822, and was titled Alabama Justice of Peace by Henry Hitchcock. It also shows that the first history of Alabama written by an African-American writer was History of Alabama for Use in Schools and for General Reading by John W. Beverly, back in 1901.

Some other interesting points:

  • First literary magazine published in Alabama was The Bachelor’s Button by William Russell Smith in 1837.
  • S.H. Goetzel & Co. is listed as the first publishing house in Alabama  and was established back in 1852, down on the gulf.
  • Up around Guntersville, in 1823, Western Arminian was first published which it lists as the first religious newspaper.

If you’re into history, it may be worth going by the Hoover Library to  take a look at the map. I asked and the print is not available for circulation. I did copy down some info off of the margin about the cartographer and the group that printed it, hoping to find a copy for my own wall.

If this map piques your interest then be sure to track down a copy of Philip Beidler’s First Books. It’s a bit academic in tone (which isn’t a bad thing) but packed full of interesting tid-bits about Alabama’s bookish beginnings.

LiteraryMapAlabama04 LiteraryMapAlabama03 LiteraryMapAlabama02LiteraryMapAlabama01

Have you seen this map before?

Book Sales in the Birmingham Area

There are two annual book sales coming up. Both are coordinated by local library friends’ groups and have been worth attending in the past. They are usually a solid mix of used-library books as well as fantastic copies and hardbacks donated by neighborhood folks. Hard to pass up on a sale where good clean hardbacks are only a buck or two, isn’t it?

I know the weather is supposed to warm up and there is some big race in town this weekend, but the annual Book Sale at the Emmet O’Neal Library kicks off tonight. The official date/times are:

*Thursday, February 19th from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Friday, February 20th from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 21st from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 22nd from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

On Sunday only, all the books, in the upstairs area of the sale, will be half-price and all the books in the downstairs area can be included in a $10 “stuff a bag full of books” deal.

*note that the Thursday evening event is for Friends of the Library members only. You can join for $25 online.

Two weeks later, the annual Friends of the Hoover Public Library Blowout Book Sale takes place. I don’t have any pricing specifics on this sale yet, but in previous sales you were hard pressed to find a book over $4. The date/times are:

Saturday, March 7th from 10:00 a.m.- 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 8th from 2:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Also, for more information you can call the Used-Book Store at the Hoover Library at 205-444-7774.

 

 

Book Sale Hoover Library

This weekend there is a massive used-book sale at the Hoover Library. Looks like hardback books will be $1 a piece and paperbacks will run cheaper. Definitely worth checking out.

The sale will be open on Saturday, June 21st, 10:00 a.m–5:30 p.m. and then open again on Sunday, June 22nd, 2:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m.

used book sale

The sale will take place at the Plaza near the Friends of the Hoover Library Bookstore. But be sure while you are there to check out the “extra book room” downstairs. This room is usually full and the books found here are all for sale and always $1. But this weekend it sounds like the $1 fun is spread out through all of their books.

Largest Photo Is of the Inside of a Library

One of the largest indoor photos ever posted online comes in at over 40 gigapixels and is a fly-around-the-room tour of a library! How awesome is this place?

strahov library largest photo

This single image is made up of more than 3,000 images stitched together. If they were printed out the site claims the photo would be 78 feet long!

strahov largest library photo

This gargantuan gigapixel image has been online since 2011, showing the world the largest and smallest details of the Strahov Library. The Strahov Llibrary is in Prague inside the Strahov Monastery.

largest photo of a library

I could just watch this image all day checking out all of the spines in such detail. What an amazing library. This 40 gigapixel image is very cool, but I bet this place is something else when seen in person.