The Library at The Gardens
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Archives & Rare Book Room | Art Gallery | Catalog | Honors & Memorials | Thyme to Read | Contact Us
About The Library
The Library at Birmingham Botanical Gardens is part of the Public Libraries in Jefferson County, making it the only public horticultural library in the United States. Simply present your blue or black library card to check out one of over 8,000 books, DVDs, audio books and magazines from our circulating collection. As a full-service public library, we can access all of the vast resources of the entire Public Library System in Jefferson County. Stop by today and dig into our collection - your knowledge is sure to grow!
Hours of Operation
Monday - Friday | 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Saturday | 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Sunday | 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
The Library Offers:
- Large selection of new gardening books
- Children's section. Click here for the Kid's Catalog!
- Over 65 different circulating gardening and horticulture magazines
- Archives and Rare Book Room
- A large collection of DVDs
- Free internet access
- Free Wi-Fi
- Magic School Bus DVDs
- Eyewitness books and DVDs
- Resource material for Hands-on Activities Science Program (HASP) modules on Living Things, Organisms, Plant Growth and Development, Butterflies, Ecosystems and Earthworms
- Multiple copies of Peterson's First Guides: Forests, Trees, Urban Wildlife, Butterflies & Moths and Caterpillars
- The entire Discovering Alabama series on DVD
- Teacher Resource Area with lesson plan materials
- Used books & magazines for sale
- Friendly staff and volunteers to help with all your gardening questions
CLICK HERE TO SEARCH THE CATALOG OR RESERVE A BOOK
Complete list of newest available titles at JCLC
Contact Us
205.414.3920 | phone
205.414.3922 | fax
Got a gardening question? Email us 
Original brochure for The Library at The Gardens
Film Screening
Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf
February 21 - 6 p.m.
February 23 - 2 p.m.
This gorgeous, meditative documentary immerses viewers in Piet Oudolf's work, taking us inside his creative process. From his aesthetic theories to his strikingly abstract sketches to the ecological implications of his ideas, the film poetically reveals how Oudolf upends conventional notions of nature, public space, and, ultimately, beauty itself.
This screening is free to the public.
When: January 9
Title: Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life: The Plants and Places That Inspired the Classic Children's Tales
Author:Marta McDowell
When: February 6
Title: The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
Author: Lisa See
When: March 6
Title: Cutting Back: My Apprenticeship in the Gardens of Kyoto
Author: Leslie Buck
When: April 3
Title: Ecoviews Too: Ecology for All Seasons
Author: Whit Gibbons
When: May 1
Title: Truffle Boy
Author: Ian Purkayastha
When: June 5
Title: Listen to the Land: Creating a Southern Woodland Garden
Author: Louise Agee Wrinkle
Title: The Forbidden Garden
Author: Ellen Herrick
When: August 7
Title: The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Creative
Author: Florence Williams
When: September 4
Title: The Secret Wisdom of the Earth
Author: Christopher Scotton
When: October 2
Title: Gifts of the Crow: How Perception and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans
Author: John Marzluff and Tony Agnell
When: November 6
Title: Maman's Homesick Pie: A Persian Heart in an American Kitchen
Author: Donia Bijan
When: December 4
Title: Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone
Author: Jenni Ferrari-Adler
Honors & Memorials
Don't see a book in the library that you think we should have? We accept suggestions and donations. You can also choose to memorialize or honor a relative, friend, or professional colleague and help grow The Library at Birmingham Botanical Gardens at the same time.