Large Print Book Pop-Up Sale Starts Today

Shop the new Large Print Book Pop-Up Sale in the Smyrna Public Library atrium this week. Just $1 each!

Award-Winning Magician Ken Scott Headlines Summer Reading Program Finale

The Summer Reading Program wrapped up yesterday morning with a wonderful finale featuring award-winning magician Ken Scott at the Community Center.  The Friends of Smyrna Library also want to recognize Rebecca Power and her incredible Youth Services Team for once again exceeding all expectations delivering an exceptional summer program for Smyrna’s kids.  THANK YOU!

After the event the kids were provided gift books by the Friends of Smyrna Library.  The Annual Summer Reading Program is a signature sponsorship of the Friends of Smyrna Library. 

Summer Reading Program: Escape the Library

Escape the Library
2023 Summer Reading Program Event
For ages 5 and up PLUS an adult

Friday, July 14, Saturday, July 15, and Monday July 17 by appointment
Smyrna Library, Meeting Room

Work together to solve clues that will lead to a hidden surprise before time runs out. Each group will be required to register for a timeslot and will have 30 minutes to complete the Escape Room.  

If you are unable to attend at your previously scheduled time, please remove your sign-up or notify the library. It is important to arrive promptly for your scheduled time so that your group has sufficient time to complete the escape room. To maintain the schedule for subsequent participants, additional time will not be allocated for late arrivals. 

At least one adult is required to participate with any registered group. The total number of children and/or adults who participate should be limited to 8. 

Summer Reading Program: Touch-a-Truck

Thanks to everone from the fire department, police department, public works, and the recycling center for today's Touch-a-Truck event in the Smyrna Public Library parking lot. 

The kids had a great time exploring all of the vehicles and meeting everyone who keep Smyrna strong.

Wanted: Your Used Books

Do you have gently used books that you no longer need?  You can donate them to the Friends of Smyrna Library at the library lobby circulation desk.  We especially need children’s books (all ages) for our August book sale and New York Times fiction bestsellers.       

Thank you for your donation.

Summer Reading Program: Journey with Monarchs!

Cobb County Water System Presents: Journey with Monarchs!
2023 Summer Reading Program Event
For ages 4-7 years old

Friday, July 7th at 10:30AM
Smyrna Library, Meeting Room

Join us as Cobb County Water System presents an epic storytime featuring Señorita Mariposa by Ben Gundersheimer, with rhymes in both English and Spanish, about the monarch butterfly's 3,000-mile journey to Mexico. Experience the variety of people, places, and animals the monarch sees on its trip. We'll learn about what these butterflies need to survive on their long migration and then craft a monarch stick puppet with fluttering wings!

2023 Teen Volunteer Summer Service Projects Program Concludes

We had 10 awesome teens volunteer this evening to close out our 2023 Teen Volunteer Summer Service Projects Program.  Nineteen local teens volunteered over 60 hours since the end of May. They helped us complete much needed mini projects and kept our Friends of Smyrna Library Bookstore stocked weekly.  

They did a great job organizing our clearance sale tonight – all books with Pink Dots on the Pink Cart and the Bottom Bookshelves are only 25 cents!  The Top Shelf has almost new New York Times Bestsellers for $2.  Everything in between is 75 cents or $1.  

THANK YOU, Teen Volunteers!  Y’all did a great job over the last 6 weeks!

First Sunday Lecture: The Battle of Ruff's Mill, July 4, 1864

Thank you to Phil Ivester of the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District for the informative and moving lecture on Sunday, July 2, about the The Battle of Ruff's Mill, July 4, 1864. We had a full house, so a big thank you to the community for supporting the program!

Lecture Summary:
Speaker: Philip Ivester, Concord Covered Bridge Historic District Board President
 
Mr. Ruff discussed new research and discoveries about the Battle of Ruff's Mill. The Battle of Ruff’s Mill was fought along Concord Road during Confederate General Joseph Johnston’s retreat towards Atlanta. After U.S. General W. T. Sherman’s failed direct assault on Kennesaw Mountain, Sherman reverted to his standard flanking maneuvers, directing a massive army down the Sandtown road under cover of night toward what his maps indicated was Ruff’s Mills on the Nickajack Creek. This flanking operation had the desired effect, forcing Johnston to evacuate the stronghold of Kennesaw Mountain. Sherman anticipated that Johnston would be retreating all the way across the Chattahoochee River–no general would ever think of making a stand with his back so close to a major river. Sherman pressed his commanders to advance forward as quickly as they could to catch Confederate armies in the chaos of a retreat. What Sherman encountered next surprised him: Johnston had previously prepared two major defensive lines north of the Chattahoochee River. The first of these works extended from Smyrna Campground westward along Concord Road toward Ruff’s Mill, curving south to follow Nickajack Creek and its natural defenses. The Battle of Ruff’s Mill, also referred to as the Battle of Nickajack Creek, took place along the western section of this line.

Smyrna-native Philip Ivester, serves as CEO of Kennesaw-based Energy Management firm. His degree is in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech, but he is passionate about Smyrna history, having grown up in the historic Martin Luker Ruff house near the Concord Woolen Mill, Grist Mill, and Covered Bridge. Over the years he has done extensive research into the history of 19th-century communities known as Concord, Millgrove, Nickajack, and Tillman. He is President of the Friends of the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District and Treasurer of the Smyrna Historical Society.

Sunday Lectures are sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.

Glimmer: A Journey Through Glass by Julie Mazzoni and Margery Kellar Opens in Art Gallery

The July/August 2023 Art Gallery exhibit has opened – Glimmer: A Journey Through Glass by Julie Mazzoni and Margery Kellar.  The exhibit is on display through August 31. 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 Statements:

Margery Kellar grew up in the Midwest, graduating from Ball State University with a BS in Art Education. She moved to Atlanta in 1979, employed by Fulton County DFACS in Adult Protective Services, retiring in 2011. She became interested in creating stained glass art when her church was demolished in 2006, seeing the colored windows in shards on the ground. Margery creates window art, cabinet windows, suncatchers, jewelry, lights and lanterns, plant sticks, and does custom work. She also repairs broken pieces. She participates in at least three shows per year: Stone Mountain Highland Games (October), Central Florida Scottish Highland Games (January), and Apple Annies Craft Fair (December). She is a teaching assistant at the Spruill Center for the Arts in Beginning and Intermediate Stained Glass. She is the current president of the Atlanta Glass Art Guild, which has given her a better understanding of the many ways glass is used in art.

Mosaicist Julie Mazzoni finds the splendor in everyday moments and captures it in mosaic. After living in six cities in twelve years while raising four children, a sense of place and home became driving themes in her work, expressed through subjects of nature and people. Julie teaches mosaic classes at The Art Place Mountain View and Spruill Center for the Arts. She has a YouTube channel showing her process from the studio. Julie creates three-dimensional hand-built substrates for her mosaics, but also explores in two dimensions. Her contemporary take on mosaics emphasizes the unique qualities of the medium – the reflectivity and refraction of light on the work, dimensional or sculptural possibilities, the texture of the tesserae, the nature of substrate and the andemento, or flow of the pieces.

Glass Fusing and Slumping by Teresa Barnes Opens In Display Gallery

The July/August 2023 Display Gallery exhibit has opened – Glass Fusing and Slumping by Theresa Barnes.  Ms. Barnes’ exhibit is on display through August 31. 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.

Artist Statement:

Teresa is an artist that loves to work in three dimensional media.  She is comfortable creating art in either clay or glass.  She is an excellent teacher, but is always ready to increase here skills by furthering her own arts education.  She has gone from simply designing dishes and vases in glass to creating the most beautiful picturesque scenes in glass  When you consider the difficulty of making glass do what you want it to do instead of what is wants to do, her art is truly remarkable.

Glass Fusing and Slumping is the art of creating works both functional and artistic using colored glass.  More versatile than leaded or stained glass because of the ability to shape and meld the glass, use colored glass powder to create shadow, and generally being able to paint with glass is very exciting  The results, whether fanciful character studies or a set of one of a kind sushi dishes all share the same dedication and attention to detail that has been the hallmark of her work  Of course, the colors and sparkle are always there.

Artist Website