The Library at the Gardens
Use your library card here!
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:
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Large selection of new gardening books
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Children's section. Click here for the Kid's Catalog!
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Over 65 different circulating gardening and horticulture magazines
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Archives and Rare Book Room
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A large collection of DVDs
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Free internet access
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Free Wi-Fi
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Magic School Bus DVDs
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Eyewitness books and DVDs
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Resource material for Hands-on Activities Science Program (HASP) modules on Living Things, Organisms, Plant Growth and Development, Butterflies, Ecosystems and Earthworms
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Multiple copies of Peterson's First Guides: Forests, Trees, Urban Wildlife, Butterflies & Moths and Caterpillars
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The entire Discovering Alabama series on DVD
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Teacher Resource Area with lesson plan materials
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Used books & magazines for sale
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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
205.414.3920 | phone
205.414.3922 | fax
Got a gardening question? Email us 
2020 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
Explore our 2020 Book List:
When: Tuesday, January 7
Title: Save Me the Plums
Author: Ruth Reichl
When: Tuesday, February 4
Title: Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country
Author: Pam Houston
When: Tuesday, March 3
Title: The Lost Art of Mixing
Author: Erica Bauermeister
When: Tuesday, April 7
Title: The Story of Alabama in Fourteen Foods
Author: Emily Blejwas
When: Tuesday, May 5
Title: Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste
Author: Bianca Bosker
When: Tuesday, June 2
Title: The Peach Keeper
Author: Sarah Addison Allen
When: Tuesday, July 7
Title: The Genius of Birds
Author: Jennifer Ackerman
When: Tuesday, August 4
Title: The Monk of Mokha
Author: Dave Eggers
When: Tuesday, September 8
Title: The Last Chinese Chef
Author: Nicole Mones
When: Tuesday, October 6
Title: Underground: A Human History of the Worlds Beneath Our Feet
Author: Will Hunt
When: Tuesday, November 10
Title: French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew
Author: Peter Mayle
When: Tuesday, December 1
Title: Murder in the Secret Garden
Author: Ellery Adams
Contact Hope Long, director of library services, at 205.414.3931 or hlong@bbgardens.org to learn more about the book club.
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.