Tribute for Friends of Smyrna Library First President, Lillie Wood

Lillie Wood was President of the Friends of Smyrna Library until Spring 2001. She was instrumental in establishing the foundation that enabled our group to succeed for over 30 years. Mrs. Wood passed away on June 20 at the age of 89.

We have added to a collection of books setup in her memory. Thank you to Clare Isanhour and the Bennett Woods neighborhood for your support for this memorial project.

Congratulations to the Adult Summer Reading Program Winners!

Congratulations to Nancy L., Jennifer V., and Erin C., for winning the three grand prizes in the C drawing. The Friends of Smyrna Library funded the Beanstack app that made an all-virtual Summer Reading program possible this year. 

Additional thanks to our friends at Cabot Creamery and Dairy Queen (Spring Road) for donating prizes.

Successful Virtual Summer Reading Program Concludes

And the final numbers are in! Way to go Smyrna Library Kids, that's a lot of reading. We hope you enjoyed using Beanstack, earning badges, and participating in all of the virtual programming this year. We know it was a very different Summer Reading Program than we've had in the past but we had fun and hope you did, too. 

Virtual First Sunday Lecture: A Short History of Bird Feeding in America

Thank you, Professor Van Detta, for today's informative lecture on the history of birdfeeding in America.  

"A Short History of Bird Feeding in America"Professor Jeff Van Detta

Program Summary

Professor Van Detta's presentation is based on the book Feeding Wild Birds in America: Culture, Commerce, and Conservation. The presentation also incorporates fascinating material from the works of Francis Merriam, including her 1889 classic, Birds Through An Opera Glass; the works of Roger Tory Peterson and David Allen Sibley; and Professor Van Detta's own personal experiences in feeding birds in Smyrna. 

He uses a richly illustrated PowerPoint to engage the audience and to explain how the extraordinary history of backyard bird feeding (1) informs us about feeding our own local backyard birds today; and (2) helps us to support their annual nesting season and the sojourn of migratory birds in our area during spring and fall.

Speaker Biography

Professor Jeffrey Van Detta has been a lawyer for 33 years, a resident of Georgia for 32 years, and a law professor and legal scholar for 21 years. He has been a knowledgeable amateur bird feeder since summers during the 1960s and 1970s that he spent in Northern Alabama with his maternal grandmother. He has also been a principal in a local bird feeding store.