The Library at the Gardens

Use your library card here!

Archives & Rare Book Room | Art Gallery | Catalog | Honors & Memorials | Thyme to Read | Contact Us

The Seed Exchange

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 

2019 Thyme to Read Book Club 

A monthly gathering hosted at the Library at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Join us at 6 p.m., no registration required, to discuss the month's reading selection. For more information contact Hope Long, library director, at 205.414.3950 ext. 110 or hlong@bbgardens.org 

When: Tuesday, January 8
Title: The Ravenmaster: My Life with the Ravens at the Tower of London
Author: Christopher Skaife 

 

When: Tuesday, February 5
Title: The Overstory
Author: Richard Powers

 

When: Tuesday, March 5
Title: The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature-Deficit Disorder
Author: Richard Louv

When: Tuesday, April 2
Title: A Taste for Vengeance
Author: Martin Walker

 

When: Tuesday, May 7
Title: Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World
Author: Aja Raden

 

 

When: Tuesday, June 4
Title: Letters of a Woman Homesteader
Author: Elinore Pruitt Stewart

 

When: Tuesday, July 2
Title: The School of Essential Ingredients
Author: Erica Bauermeister

When: Tuesday, August 6
Title: The Food Explorer: The True Adventures of the Globe-trotting Botanist Who Transformed What America Eats
Author: Daniel Stone

When: Tuesday, September 10
Title: Stir My Broken Brain and the Meals That Brought Me Home
Author: Jessica Fechtor

When: Tuesday, October 8
Title: Pomegranate Soup
Author: Marsha Mehran

When: Tuesday, November 5
Title: Where the Crawdads Sing
Author: Delia Owens

When: Tuesday, December 3
Title: Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World
Author: Tim Marshall

 

Contact Hope Long, director of library services, at 205.414.3931 or hlong@bbgardens.org to learn more about the book club.

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.