FOSL Donates $2500 for Library Staff Development

The Friends of Smyrna Library approved a $2,500 donation to augment the Library Staff Development and Continuing Education budget. This contribution is to help fund new training programs that were not announced prior to the annual city budgeting cycle. Please note that the City of Smyrna funds staff development very well.

This is another example of how your book sale purchases and membership dues help us fulfill our mission of supporting and enhancing the library! Adding the extra level of support for the staff like this is especially gratifying for our organization!

FOSL Funds Summer Fun for the Kids!

The Friends of Smyrna Library approved funds to purchase a Cotton Candy Machine for children’s events at the library. We are eager to give it a test drive very soon during the Summer Reading Program! 

This is another example of how your book sale purchases and membership dues help us fulfill our mission of supporting and enhancing the Smyrna Public Library!

Professor Albert Way Presents Keynote Lecture

Kennesaw State University Professor Albert Way presented the keynote lecture for the 6-week long "Dust, Drought & Dreams Gone Dry" series of events held at the Smyrna Public Library in March and April. 

Dr. Way discussed  "A Southern Dust Bowl? Soil Erosion in the South". He examined how soil erosion in the Southeast US was actually more severe than in the Great Plains during the Dust Bowl Era.  The presentation included tracing the historical roots of the problem back to the 1700s and how it started being effectively resolved starting in the 1930s.

Photo (l to r): KSU Professor Dr. Albert Way, Smyrna Library Director Mary Moore, KSU Professor Dr. Kay Reeve

Biography:

Albert G. Way received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Georgia and joined the faculty of KSU in 2011. He teaches classes in recent U.S. history, Georgia History, and Environmental History. Dr. Way’s research interests focus on the environmental and agricultural history of the American South. He is the author of Conserving Southern Longleaf: Herbert Stoddard and the Rise of Ecological Land Management (University of Georgia Press, 2011), and The Art of Managing Longleaf: A Personal History of the Stoddard-Neel Approach (with Leon Neel and Paul Sutter, UGA Press, 2010). He is currently working on a book-length project tentatively titled Not Naturally a Grass Country: Environment, Plant Genetics, and the Quest for Agricultural Modernization in the Humid World, which examines the use of scientific expertise to transform agricultural landscapes in the American South and other humid regions. He has received fellowships from the Smithsonian Institution and the Institute for Southern Studies at the University of South Carolina.

Professor Kay Reeve Conducts Movie Discussion

Kennesaw State University Professor Kay Reeve led a discussion on Ken Burns’ film “The Dust Bowl” today. The discussion was held at the Wolfe Adult Recreation Center at 884 Church Street in Smyrna. Professor Reeve started out by introducing scenes from “The Dust Bowl” and discussed places and events in the film in a historical context.  

Biography:

Kay Reeve is a Professor of History and History Education. She received her B.S. in Secondary Education (History & English) from Texas Tech University and taught at the high school level before returning to earn her MA in European History from Texas Tech University, and her PH.D in American History from Texas A&M University. Prior to coming to KSU in 1991, she taught at Auburn University and Auburn University at Montgomery.

Her specialty is the History of the American West, with special emphasis on the roles played by geography, environment and diversity in the history and culture of the region. She has published studies on aspects of the art and literary colonies in Northern New Mexico and, most recently, an article in the Journal of the West on interdisciplinary approaches for teaching the history of the West with literature, film, and fine art, as well as traditional scholarly sources. She also teaches the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, America to 1890, and courses in the American Studies and the MED programs.

Spring Reading List & Featured Book

Featured Book

Before I Go

by Colleen Oakley

Other Recommended Reading Selections

A Spool Of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

American Sniper by Chris Kyle

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Believer by David Axelrod

Crash And Burn by Lisa Gardner

Data And Goliath by Bruce Schneier

Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs

Desert God by Wilbur Smith

Easy Love by Kristen Proby

Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James

Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James

Gray Mountain by John Grisham

H Is For Hawk by Helen Macdonald

It's What I Do by Lynsey Addario

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Mean Streak by Sandra Brown

Motive by Jonathan Kellerman

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

Obsession In Death by J. D. Robb

One Night: Unveiled by Jodi Ellen Malpas

One Wish by Robyn Carr

Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou

Private Vegas by James Patterson

Prodigal Son by Danielle Steel

Quiet by Susan Cain

Ruby by Cynthia Bond

Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay

Spring Chicken by Bill Gifford

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

The Assassin by Clive Cussler

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Escape by David Baldacci

The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins

The Immortal Who Loved Me by Lynsay Sands

The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

The Son by Jo Nesbo 

Total Control by David Baldacci

Compiled by FOSL Volunteer

FOSL Announces 85 Volunteer Opportunities

FOSL announced 85 volunteer opportunities today as part of its 2015 Volunteer Service Program.  The roles include leadership positions, program committee support, technical jobs, teen service hours and help with the Jonquil Festival book sales.

The Board of Directors is being expanded and candidates for 7 new positions are being sought.  Individuals who sign-up for program committees will have the option to lead them or participate as a contributor. Immediate technical needs include graphic artistry and technical writing. Many of the roles being filled can be performed independently from home. This gives people with busy schedules who want to volunteer new ways to contribute much needed assistance.

FOSL encourages and supports community service for college-bound teens. Depending on your student's community service requirements we can develop a service program for him or her. Duties can include: computer research and documentation development,
working during the Jonquil Festival book sales, co-managing a FOSL event, social
media promotion and more.

The annual Spring Jonquil Festival book sale is April 25 and 26. 60 Volunteer jobs are available.

FOSL is 100% staffed by dedicated volunteers. Their participation ranges from weekly duties in the library to once a year support for an event to ensure its success. We value each and every hour of their support.

Thank you for your volunteer interest! Please click this link to see the job postings.

FOSL Co-Sponsors Visit By Acclaimed Children’s Illustrator & Author James Ransome

Acclaimed children’s author & illustrator James Ransome appeared tonight at the Smyrna Public Library.  Mr. Ransome discussed his work and demonstrated how he creates illustrations for children's books.

Tonight’s program was sponsored by King Springs Elementary PTA and the Friends of Smyrna Library.  Mr. Ransome presents at King Springs Elementary school tomorrow.

About James Ransome:

James Ransome is an award-winning illustrator of dozens of children's picture books. He is also the author of books such a New Red Bike!, My Teacher and Gunner, Football Hero. Ransome has received both the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration and the IBBY Honor Award.

He lives in Rhinebeck, New York with his wife Lesa Cline Ransome, a writer of children's books. They have collaborated on a number of books together including Satchel Paige, Light in the Darkness, and Freedom's School.