Upcoming Mobile Career Center Visits

Are you a jobseeker? Visit the CobbWorks Mobile Career Center in the Smyrna Public Library parking lot on Wednesday, August 1 or Wednesday, August 8 from 11am-3pm (both days). 

Work Source Cobb will help you with job searches, resume writing, and provide you with free computer time and printing.

Upcoming Perseid Meteor Showers

Planning to enjoy the upcoming Perseid meteor showers? According to EarthSky.org, "the best showing will probably be during the predawn hours on August 12 and/or 13. Perseid numbers often reach 50 or more meteors per hour." No special knowledge or equipment is needed to enjoy them, but if you'd like to read up on meteor showers and constellations of the night sky, Smyrna Library has you covered. Pop in for a great guidebook to learn more.

http://4la.co/1M5GJJ

Building Trades Career Workshop

Are you interested in a career in the building trades? "Build Cobb" will talk about this free training program for Cobb County residents at Smyrna Library on Wednesday, July 25, at 11:00 a.m. See you then!

Summer Reading Program: Congrats, Winners

Congrats to Erin S., Scott M., and also Vicki C. (not pictured) -- all winners in the Adult Summer Reading prize giveaway. There is still time to participate. The Friends of Smyrna Library are giving away one more set of baskets. Pick up an entry form at the front desk on the first floor. Last day to enter is Sunday, July 22.

July/August 2018 Display Gallery Exhibit: Fused Glass by Jennifer Benson

The July/August 2018 Display Gallery exhibit has opened – Fused Glass by Jennifer Benson.  Ms. Benson’s exhibit is on display through August 30. The Display Gallery is located on the 2nd floor of the Smyrna Public Library. The Display Gallery exhibits are sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

Artist Statement:

Jennifer became interested in fused glass art when she wrote a feature news story on glass artist, Patti Quinn, owner of Aurora Radiant Glass Art. Patti invited Jennifer to create a fused glass plate with her… and later offered her a job. Jennifer worked with Patti in her studio for over a year before she moved full-time into education.

In 2011, owner and glass artist, John Phillips, reintroduced Jennifer to fused glass art at Fire and Light Glass Studio. In 2012, at the encouragement of friends and family, she applied to her first juried art show and was accepted.

“I love how the glass medium is such an excellent metaphor for the human condition. Just as we can only reach our potential when faced with the fire of life’s trials and tribulations, fused glass must be fired in the kiln to become what it never could be without it. The real beauty and potential of the glass is only revealed through the fire! Sometimes the glass doesn’t come out of the kiln the way we expect, but just as life does not always go the way we expect or end with our mistakes… glass can always be reworked… and sometimes those unexpected outcomes can turn into the impetus for inspiration and creation of artwork more beautiful than originally conceived!”

Today, Jennifer lives in Mt. Airy, Georgia where she is the owner of Jennifer Benson Glass Art. She continues to develop her glass skills, seek new challenges, and create glass art and artisan pieces for beauty and function.

July/August 2018 Art Gallery Exhibit: Chinese Calligraphy by the Atlanta Chinese Calligraphy Association

The July/August 2018 Art Gallery exhibit has opened – Chinese Calligraphy by the Atlanta Chinese Calligraphy Association.  The exhibit is on display through August 30. The Art Gallery is located on the 2nd floor of the Smyrna Public Library. The Art Gallery exhibits are sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

Artist Statement:

The Atlanta Chinese Calligraphy Association was formed in July 2012. Our President is Yaohua Luo and our Vice President is Yiling He.

Since our founding we have been promoting Chinese calligraphy through holding workshops and participating in community events.

First Sunday Lecture: What’s With All the Peaches?

First Sunday Lecture
What’s With All the Peaches?
How the Georgia Peach Became a Southern Symbol

Sunday, July 8, 2018
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Smyrna Library, Meeting Room

Speaker: Dr. William Thomas Okie, author of The Georgia Peach: Culture, Agriculture, and Environment in the American South

Imprinted on license plates, plastered on billboards, stamped on the tail side of the state quarter, and inscribed on the state map, the peach is easily Georgia’s most visible symbol. Yet Prunus persica itself is surprisingly rare in Georgia, and it has never been central to the southern agricultural economy. Why, then, have southerners - and Georgians in particular - clung to the fruit? In this presentation, Kennesaw State professor William Thomas Okie will explain how the peach became such an important cultural icon for the South even as it became increasingly difficult to grow over the course of the twentieth century, and what that tells us about culture and agriculture in the American South.

Speaker Bio: William Thomas Okie grew up in the Georgia peach belt, studied history at Covenant College and the University of Georgia, and serves as associate editor of the journal Agricultural History. As Associate Professor at Kennesaw State University, he teaches American history, food history, and history education. He lives with his family in unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia. The Georgia Peach: Culture, Agriculture, and Environment in the American South (Cambridge University Press, 2016) is his first book.

The First Sunday Lecture series is sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library and Smyrna Library.

FREE ADMISSION.