There is still time to bring in canned food donations

Have fines?

We are still accepting non-perishable food for the

Food for Fines

drives until September 30th.

All public libraries in Jefferson County are participating.

Food collected here at IPL will be given to the Irondale Exchange Club for their Christmas in Irondale Program.

September is also National Library Card Sign-Up Month.

If your library card needs to be replaced, you may get a new one in September for FREE!

The rest of the year, there is a $3 fee for replacing library cards.

Books for Sale

Thank you to all the volunteers who made our annual Book Sale at the Whistlestop Festival such a success.

The weather was beautiful, the food smelled good, the music was great and there was something for everyone at Whistlestop this year.

We still have a great selection of books for sale.

Our sale will be ongoing and we will regularly add items.

Computers are now available

Thanks to a very efficient IT department, our new server was installed quickly and the public computers are available.

Computer Maintenance

The Public Computers at IPL will be down Monday for maintenance.

We are having a new server installed.

The computers will be available again on Tuesday.
Other libraries throughout Jefferson County have computer services.

Irondale and Its Library

In July, Irondale Public Library celebrated 60 years. Over the next year, we'll post monthly installments on the story of this library and its place in the community.

Irondale gets its name:

On October 5, 1887, twenty-nine residents of a small mining and railroad community outside of Birmingham, AL petitioned for incorporation. On October 19, the town of Irondale was incorporated.

The name of this small community was taken from an old furnace just west of town called the Cahaba Iron Works. People in the community called the area Irondale furnace.

Today, the ruins can be seen along a walking trail in Mountain Brook.

The town grows into a city:

Adding to the growth of Irondale were the railroads. The Georgia/Pacific completed its track through Red Gap in 1883 and in 1905 the Seaboard Railroad began running through Irondale into Birmingham. In 1951 Irondale became home to Norris Yards, one of the first automatic switching yards.

The city gets a library:

Also in 1951, the city of Irondale rented a small room to house 800 books provided by the Jefferson County Free Library.

The small one-room library was located on First Avenue South adjoining a barber shop. Mrs. Gladys Ramsey was the originator and first volunteer librarian. Mrs. EmmaLee Heritage was later employed as permanent librarian on September 1,1951. This first library was only open for two hours, two days a week.

Prior to the opening of the Irondale Public Library, the Jefferson County Book Mobile was a regular visitor to the community.

September is Library Card Month

Replacing a library card is FREE during the month of September.

Do you have library fines?

Food for Fines is back!

Throughout the entire month of September $1.00 in fines will be waived for each food item donated for up to $10.00 per library card holder.

This only applies to overdue fines, not lost items.

Visit JCLC's website for a list of what types of food can/cannot be accepted.

Donations will be accepted at all Jefferson County public libraries throughout the month.

The food collected at Irondale Public Library will be donated to The Irondale Exchange Club to be distributed to local families in need. Questions? Call 951-1415 or email us (irondalelibrary@gmail.com).