Thursday, May 25, 2023

Thanks for the Beautiful Flowers!

This is the third bouquet of amazing flowers brought in by Library Customers this spring. We should have posted pictures of the others too. Our customers have amazing gardens and generous spirits.

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Thank You, American Legion Post 160 of Smyrna Auxiliary!

Thank You, American Legion Post 160 of Smyrna Auxiliary, for the free coloring book gift packets. The library has a display of fiction and non-fiction books commemorating Memorial Day and those who have given their life in service. Be sure to pick up coloring books for your children while visiting the display.

Monday, May 22, 2023

2023 Young Adult Summer Reading Program Announced

Teen Summer Reading Challenge 2023

WHO: Ages 13-18
WHAT: Reading incentives to keep you reading all summer.
HOW: Sign up for a Beanstack account online by clicking here or download the Beanstack app for Apple or Android and keep track of how much time you read each day by logging your minutes with your Beanstack account. Read 10 hours by July 31st and earn free prizes!

What kind of reading can I log for the challenge?

  • Required summer reading for school? YES!
  • Manga/Graphic Novels? YES! Check one out here
  • Audio books? YES! Check one out here.
  • Does it count when I read to my younger sibling? YES! Scroll down to find out how to also earn volunteer hours for reading to younger kids.   
  • My favorite magazine? YES! Check one out here.
  •  

    WHY: What’s in it for you? Besides building vocabulary and comprehension skills as well as reducing stress levels (all proven benefits of reading) you’ll earn free stuff! Every teen who completes the summer reading challenge will win a prize pack including a Dairy Queen coupon, a free book, and a cool prize of your choice as well as an entry in the grand prize drawing for a pair of Beats Wireless Earbuds. 

    TEEN VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY
    “Read All Together Now” is a buddy reading program that provides an opportunity for younger children to foster confidence by reading with a teen. Teens who sign up to be reading buddies will receive volunteer service hours for their time. Teen participants seeking volunteer service hours are responsible for providing any required paperwork for service verification.

    Teens interested in earning volunteer service credit can register here to be a buddy reader. By participating in the "Read All Together Now" program, teens will be available to read to registered children (ages 4-7). Teens are not expected to teach or support reading skills to younger children. They will simply be a "buddy" with which to read. Child participants may bring a book they would like to read or choose a book from those provided by the library.
    BONUS: You can also track the time spent buddy reading towards your goal in the Beanstack app.

    Thank You, Fielding Lewis Chapter, NSDAR, Marietta

    Thanks go to the Fielding Lewis Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, Marietta, GA for their recent donation to the Smyrna Public Library.  The funds were used to purchase new books for the genealogy collection. Come take a look the next time you are in the library.

    Get Ready for Summer Pop-Up Sale

    The Get Ready for Summer Pop-Up Sale is on until Sunday at 3 pm.



    Saturday, May 20, 2023

    Young Adult Summer Reading Program Volunteer Opportunity

    Young Adult Summer Reading Program.  Sign up to become a Buddy Reader!



    Friday, May 19, 2023

    2023 Summer Reading Program Announced


    The Friends of Smyrna Library volunteer group is excited to once again sponsor the Smyrna Public Library Summer Reading Program.  This year’s theme is “All Together Now”.

    Summer Reading Program & Events and Activities

    Events and activities for all youth, from babies to high-schoolers. Registration begins Friday, May 19, 2023. 

    READING CHALLENGE

    Use Beanstack to track and log your reading. Earn a virtual badge for each hour logged. Read and log at least 10 hours of reading in order to receive your "Completion Badge" and receive your prize! Each participant who earns a completion badge will receive a certificate, BragTag, bookmark, sticker, coupon to Dairy Queen on Spring Rd, and a free book (courtesy of the Friends of Smyrna Library). 

    Additionally, all participants who complete the reading challenge will be entered into a Grand Prize drawing. One winner from each of the following age categories will receive the listed prize:

    Ages 4 and under: Jumbo Double Octagon Builders set
    Ages 5-7: Squishmallow 8 pack. Figures may vary from pictured.
    Ages 8-12: MYNT3D Super 3D Pen 

    NEW UPDATE:

    Download the Beanstack app for Apple or Android and track on the go!

    Students enrolled in Cobb County Public Schools can now link their school Beanstack account to their Smyrna Public Library Beanstack account. It's easy to do and reading minutes logged will benefit both the school AND the library. Minutes will only need to be logged once but will apply to both accounts. 

    For instructions on how to link an existing Cobb County student Beanstack account to a Library account, click here. If you need additional help with this process, stop by the library or email Rebecca Power, Youth Services Librarian. 

    PROGRAMS & EVENTS

    EVENTS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

    Magic shows, science shows, touch-a-truck and more! Click here to visit the Smyrna Library calendar to view detailed information about all of the special events to keep everyone learning and entertained all summer long. 

    INFANTS, TODDLERS, AND PRESCHOOLERS (ages 0-5)
    Age appropriate, thematic storytimes available:
    • Infants and Toddlers (0-2 year-olds)
    Tuesdays & Wednesdays - 10:30 a.m. 
    • Preschoolers (3-5 year-olds)
    Thursdays - 10:30 a.m.

    TWEENS: CREATIVITY CLUB (ages 8-12)
    Hands on activities designed for tweens aged 8-12. 
    Click on the link below to visit the Smyrna Library calendar to view dates and detailed descriptions of activities. 
    • Creativity Club

    Fridays - 3:00 p.m.
    TEENS (ages 13-18)
    For more information about the reading challenge and events for Young Adults, click here to be redirected to our YA Summer Reading page.

    Monday, May 15, 2023

    2023 Teen Summer Volunteer Orientation Scheduled for May 28

    Middle School and High School Teens (age 13 and up) are invited to participate in our Teen Volunteer Program. An Orientation will be held at 2:30 pm on Sunday, May 28, 2023. It will be followed by a Service Event from 3 pm to 4 pm.
    Location:
    Smyrna Public Library
    Downstairs Meeting Room
    Agenda
    Orientation:
    About Friends of Smyrna Library
    Teen Volunteer Program Opportunities (Summer & Year Round)
    Badges, Time Reporting, Sign-Up Genius
    Library Tour
    Q &A
    Service Event:
    Break Down Library Lobby Pop-Up Sale
    Restock the Friends of Smyrna Library Bookstore
    Set up Meeting Room for Story Time.
    Thank you for volunteering!

    NOTE: Teens who have previously attended the orientation can arrive at 3 pm to volunteer. eMail questions to FOSLvols@gmail.com. If you cannot attend this Orientation another will be scheduled for June. Date TBD. 

    Friday, May 5, 2023

    May Lecture: Coronation Tea & Talk


    Smyrna Library's lecture this month explored the history and symbolism of the Coronation Ceremony of King Charles III on May 6. Dr. Amy Dunagin from Kennesaw State University presented a wonderful and informative lecture. What a great excuse to drink tea and wear fancy hats!

    Lecture Summary:

    We enjoyed tea and light refreshments of tiny sandwiches, biscuits, and scones before the lecture by Kennesaw State University professor, Dr. Amy Dunigan about the coronation of King Charles III, King of the United Kingdom.  

    Coronations have served to legitimize new English monarchs since Anglo-Saxon times. Many elements of the ceremony date back centuries, including the anointing, which marks the monarch as chosen by God to rule.  In the last coronation ceremony in 1953, the anointing of Elizabeth II was deemed too sacred to televise. How might this part of the coronation be received differently now, seventy years later, in the much more secular context of modern Britain? How might the coronation of Charles III serve to shore up the legitimacy of a weakened institution in the twenty-first century?

    Speaker bio: Dr. Amy Dunagin is an assistant professor of history at Kennesaw State University, where she specializes in the cultural and political history of Britain and its empire. She is currently completing a book manuscript entitled “The Land Without Music: English Identity and the Virtue of Unmusicality,” in which she explores why the English cultivated a reputation as an unmusical people in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, even as they aggressively asserted national superiority over Continental Europeans in a host of other spheres.  Dunagin holds an interdisciplinary doctorate in history and musicology from Yale University.  


    Alcohol Paint on Canvas & Glass by Maxine Kirkland Opens in Display Gallery


    The May/June 2023 Display Gallery exhibit has opened – Alcohol Paint on Canvas & Glass by Maxine Kirkland.  Ms. Kirkland’s exhibit is on display through June 30.  The Display Gallery is located on the 2nd floor of the Smyrna Public Library.

    Display Gallery exhibits are organized by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

    Pastels by Paula Landry Opens in Art Gallery


    The May/June 2023 Art Gallery exhibit has opened – Pastels by Paula Landry.  Ms. Landry’s exhibit is on display through June 30.  The Art Gallery is located on the 2nd floor of the Smyrna Public Library.

    Art Gallery exhibits are organized by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

    Artist Statement:

    Paula Landry is a pastel artist living and working in Smyrna, Georgia.  After many years of teaching art in the Cobb County School District, she has spent her retirement years focusing on expanding and exploring her own artistic skills. With a BFA in Art Education  from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master’s  from the University of Georgia, Paula has studied and has shown work everywhere from France to the small towns of the Southeast.  Paula’s portraits and landscapes reflect the vibrant colors found in the Georgia landscape.  She is often commissioned for her informal child portraits.

    Thank you for taking the time to view my paintings. If you are interested in purchasing any of them, please e-mail me at landrymp@gmail.com.