Founded in 1915 as the Birmingham Association to Provide Recreation and Aid for the Blind, this organization sponsored readings for the blind, circulated Braille books through the Birmingham Public Library, taught Braille classes, sponsored a lecture by Helen Keller, and employed a teacher to instruct blind children in their homes. The collection contains minutes of meetings, list of members, constitution and by-laws and a brief history.

Birmingham’s first library was organized in 1886 for the public schools. In 1891 it became a subscription library for the general public. In 1908 The Birmingham Library Association was founded to establish a free public library and by 1909 had abolished user fees. The City created an independent Library Board in 1913. For decades the library was housed in various locations including the old City Hall where it was destroyed by fire in 1925. In response libraries from throughout the U.S. sent books to rebuild the collection. Local civic-minded citizens raised funds to build a new library, which opened on April 11, 1927 and served as the city’s main library until 1984. Today the library operates a central library, research library and 19 branches. This collection contains reports on library activities and development.

This collection, gathered by the staff of the Birmingham Public Library, contains vintage bookplates from throughout the United States and other countries. The bookplates are arranged in three series (libraries; families, individuals, and organizations; and designers) and arranged alphabetically within each series. The collection also includes a small number of publications relating to bookplates.

Newspaper clippings compiled by the staff of the Birmingham Public Library’s Southern History Department on the controversy surrounding an attempt to close several library branches. Also contains material on the bond issue to fund the construction of a new Central Library building.

One volume containing hand-written circulation records. Library patrons are listed by name, and the books checked out are indicted by a number, but not by title, along with date of check out and return.

These files contain material relating to the history and activities of the East Lake Branch Library.

The collection consists of articles from various Birmingham newspapers about the Birmingham Public Library. The articles cover such events as the fire which destroyed the original library, the building of the new Central Library in 1927, the opening of the first branch library in Alabama for African Americans and other branch libraries, exhibits, acquisitions and programs.

During the spring and summer of 2002 the Birmingham Public Library celebrated the 75th anniversary of the opening of the 1927 central library building, now the Linn-Henley Research Library. In April, as part of this celebration the library sponsored a children’s birthday party for the building. Children from Advent Episcopal School and St. Paul’s Cathedral School brought greeting cards to the party and these cards were placed in a fifty-year time capsule.

This collection contains photocopies of clipping files holding newspaper clippings, magazine articles, pamphlets, and other materials relating to Alabama African Americans, African American organizations, and events. The staff of the Smithfield Branch Library compiled these files.

This scrapbook contains newspaper clippings, photographs and other material relating to the construction and grand opening of the Woodlawn Branch Library.

Wylam, Alabama, to the west of Birmingham, originated as a mining town housing employees of the nearby coal mines and steel mills. It was incorporated in 1900. It later became part of the City of Ensley and in 1910 was incorporated into the City of Birmingham. The material in this collection was compiled by librarians at the Wylam Branch Library of the Birmingham Public Library. The first half of this collection contains materials recounting the history of several institutions and churches in the Wylam community. The second half is devoted to material relating to World War II. Most of the items are photographs and newspaper clippings.

Virginia Pounds Brown is a Birmingham author and historian. This collection contains material collected for a proposed history of the Birmingham Public Library, including correspondence and other material relating to some members of the library board, some library branches and special collections, library directors and a draft of the history.

These files contain material relating to the East Lake Branch Library.

This collection contains photographs, correspondence, and an assortment of papers of Martha Matthews. The collection primarily consists of letters from Martha’s mother: Addie Norton Matthews. Very few letters from Martha to her mother are contained within this collection. There is a scrapbook and loose collection of Martha’s photographs of American soldiers engaging in “R&R” in Germany and other locations in western Europe after the war.