Blogs

A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler

Release Date: March 10, 2020

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In Oak Knoll, a verdant, tight-knit North Carolina neighborhood, professor of forestry and ecology Valerie Alston-Holt is raising her bright and talented biracial son. Xavier is headed to college in the fall, and after years of single parenting, Valerie is facing the prospect of an empty nest. All is well until the Whitmans move in next door―an apparently traditional family with new money, ambition, and a secretly troubled teenaged daughter.

In celebration of Black History Month, I have chosen some of my favorite books featuring either black creators or protagonists from various age ranges, you can click on the picture of the book or the title to be taken to the entry in the catalog where you can check on it's availability and place it on hold.

Picture Books

You are going to want to add our February Librarian Book Club pick to your "must read" list. 

Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin

Release Date: February 18, 2020

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In Spring 2020, the Special Collections Department will begin a new community digitization project, and we need your help!

The project, “Huntsville in Retrospect,” focuses on scanning and photographing family records and other items of historical value. However, instead of you coming to us, we are going to you. We plan to schedule six locations around Madison County – at community centers, churches, libraries, and anywhere else we can find – where you can bring in personal family records for us to digitally copy for the archive. The best part? You get to keep your family records!

The first scanning day will be held at the Historic Huntsville Depot on March 3 and 4, 2020. 

Elizabeth Burton interned at the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library, while receiving her Masters in Library and Information Studies at the University of Alabama. 

New year means new book picks! We are really excited about the first pick of the year- American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins.

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Read reviews on Goodreads.

Already being hailed as "a Grapes of Wrath for our times" and "a new American classic," American Dirt is a rare exploration into the inner hearts of people willing to sacrifice everything for a glimmer of hope.

When Marquez McClinton was in third grade, he discovered his interest in poetry could possibly be something more than just a way to get a girl’s attention. His teacher noticed it too and encouraged him to keep writing. It was the same year that he also performed his first spoken word poem.

Today (and over 100 poems later), he has a new band with bassist Michael Cummings called the SPINSHIPS. They recently performed their first TEDx program in Huntsville last year and produced their first music video (see below).

He is a performer on the rise as well as a part of our library family- Marquez can usually be seen greeting and assisting patrons at the Madison Public Library as a Library Clerk.

With Thanksgiving behind us, the holidays now begin in earnest with a continuing focus on family and togetherness, it is also a great opportunity to introduce your children to the practices and cultures of others that celebrate this time of year. Below are some book suggestions to share with your loved ones from our collection, for a more extensive look feel free to take a look at our guide for Winter Holiday Books:

Books Featuring Multiple Holidays

 Lawyers in the Library: Free legal aid clinic comes to Downtown

Starting in December, the Downtown Huntsville Library, through a partnership with the Madison County Volunteer Lawyers Program (MCVLP) will offer regular legal aid clinics to the public called “Lawyers in the Library.”  The clinic will be held on the third Thursday of the month, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in meeting rooms C and D on the second floor.*

 We love debut novels that get a lot of buzz before publication, which is why we are so excited about "Such a Fun Age," by Kiley Reid. You will have to wait all month before it is released, but place your hold now.

We promise, it will be worth it.

Release Date: December 31, 2019

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From Goodreads: