January 2009 P O P U L A R F ORENSIC S CIENTIST D R . B I L L B A S S D O E S A N E N C O R E Mystery writers and readers who joined with attended the 2008 Murder Goes South writer Jon INSIDE THIS ISSUE: book festival at Smyrna Community Center Jefferson to 2 wanted to hear more from Dr. Bill Bass, write a series Jim: Friend to Friends who founded the University of Tennessee of books Michael’s Message 3 Anthropological Research Facility that is under the commonly called the Body Farm. pseudonym 4-5 Murder Goes South The facility consists of a 2.5-acre Jefferson Art on Display 6 wooded plot where bodies are placed to Bass. Those decompose under different environmental include Flesh Evening with the 7 conditions. Bodies may be placed, for and Bone , Friends, example, in shallow graves, in open fields, Carved in Wreath Auction Success in car trunks or under water. Detailed Bone , and The Devil’s 8 records are kept to aid law enforcement Best Friend Spotlight, investigators and forensic researchers. Bones . Remembering Doris Mor- Dr. Bass was head of UT’s In his talks, “I try not to get too ris anthropology department and gruesome,” said Dr. Bass. Still, it is Book Group Discussions 9 Tennessee’s official state forensic realistic enough to inform both readers anthropologist when he founded the body and writers about how mysteries farm in 1981. About 30 to 50 bodies per surrounding deaths were solved. Last year are donated by individuals who year, for example, he revealed how an support the facility’s research. Others examination of the exhumed remains of a come from those being held by medical well-known entertainer helped the family examiners that are not claimed. to find peace with doubts they’d had about whether he’d walked away from a After his retirement, Dr. Bass plane crash, only to suffer and die later. X-rays established conclusively that none of their fears were warranted. The Big Bopper could not have survived the 1959 plane crash that killed him along with Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens, Dr. Bass concluded. Friends of Smyrna Library encourage everyone to take a trip to the ‘Body Farm’ at Murder Goes South on January 24. For more information about Murder Goes South and this year’s guests, please turn to page 5. Dr. Bill Bass signing books with fans at Murder Goes South 2008. Page 2 Friends of Smyrna Library THE LINK January 2009 T H I S I S W H O W E A R E The Friends of Smyrna Library is a non-profit organization that has served the Smyrna Library since 1991. FOSL is a member of the Friends of Libraries USA organization and is one of the most active Friends chapters in Georgia The organization develops and executes various adult programs and helps fund children’s programs to promote appreciation for the library and to grow its membership. To learn more about the Friends of Smyrna Library, visit www.friendsofsmyrnalibrary.org . D I D Y O U K N O W … ? …T H E F RIENDS F U N D A P O R T I O N O F T H E C H I LDR EN ’ S R E A D I N G P R O G R A M . J I M W O O T E N : F RIENDS T O F RIENDS I’m enormously excited about an upcoming event that, I think, has the potential to be the finest in the Southeastern United States. It’s Murder Goes South, a book festi- val for mystery writers and readers that brings together some of the most prominent emerging authors in the entire county. It always amazes me how dedicated and organized the volunteers are who put the weekend event together. One little detail that I continue to find fascinating comes to mind. Ticket-buyers are asked whether they prefer a lunch sandwich of chicken salad, turkey and cheese or ham and cheese. I watch, half-way expecting a fight to break out when somebody forgets which they ordered and takes the wrong one, leaving too few for those who declare a definite prefer- ence. And yet, when the crowd is done, it all seems to have worked out. That’s because Volunteers Page Smith and Joan Stuart are meticulous in matching people and orders – and, just for good measure, they add a couple of the popular sandwiches to the mix. “It always amazes me Two other volunteers should be mentioned, too, in addition of course to Debbie how dedicated and Battiste and Linda Evans who are primarily responsible for pulling the program together. The husband-wife team of Jerry and Eleanor Champey make the most difficult of organized the volunteers logistical and timing problems disappear, for the most part at least. After every Murder Goes South weekend, he is busily engaged in making after-action notes on where glitches are who put the [Murder developed and how to do it differently next year. An example would be whether the tea or Goes South] weekend dessert are served at the Friday night dinner or already on the tables. This year we won’t be doing the Friday night dinner, but it’s likely to return in future years. event together. ” In any event, it is a marvelously informative and entertaining weekend that comes to fruition as the result of a lot of hard work by volunteers. We hope to see you there on January 24. Jim Wooten is the president of the Friends of Smyrna Library www.friendsofsmyrnalibrary.org Friends of Smyrna Library THE LINK Page 3 M I CH AEL ’ S M E S S A G E Happy New Year! Everyone is counting on 2009 being better than 2008 and I hope it’s starting out well for you. The Library is expecting this to be its busiest year ever. “Many Smyrna 2008 was a difficult year for many people. Businesses downsized, employees residents ‘found’ the were laid off, and the average family income declined. As a result families had less discretionary income and were looking for ways to economize. Many Smyrna residents Library and discovered “found” the Library and discovered the many ways they could save money by using us. the many ways they Families filled our Summer Reading Club program and our Family Story Programs. Additional story programs were added to meet the demand and some were could save money by moved to the Community Center to accommodate larger groups. Demand for children’s materials increased dramatically and over 65,000 children’s books were checked out. using us.” This trend isn’t slowing down either. December 2008’s circulation of children’s materials was 13.5% higher than December 2007. We’ve noted similar increases in every other category. The number of library cardholders has increased from 30,663 to 34, 032. Our DVD collection has grown to over 3,000 titles and they were checked out over 26,000 times. (A quick calculation for you – If an average movie rental is $4.00, our users saved over $100,000 last year.) Circulation of adult books reached a new high and patrons used our internet computers over 28,000 times. In addition the Library added services that can help everyone in times of a tough economy. We now have online language software, business research tools and test prepara- tion software to prepare students for standardized tests like the SAT and the public for employment tests like the Civil Ser- vice Exam. These can give you a competitive edge in a tight job market. Check us out today and find new treasures in YOUR Smyrna Library. Michael Seigler is the director of the Smyrna Library. D I D Y O U K N O W … ? …T H E F RIENDS H A V E O V E R 4 7 5 M EMBERS . L O N G T I M E F R I E N D P AS S ES A W A Y Mrs. Mercedes Fleming McKinney, Apostle Catholic Church. Mercedes was age 78 of Smyrna, passed away Friday, also a member of the Friends of Smyrna December 26, 2008. Library since the mid 1990's. For many Mrs. McKinney has been a long- years she was responsible for the art time resident of Smyrna. She had been a gallery and display cases. Her friendship Registered Nurse and a Police Officer in and support will be greatly missed. Decatur, GA before retiring from the Department of Defense as an Employee Development Specialist for over 30 years. She was a member of the St. Thomas the www.friendsofsmyrnalibrary.org Page 4 January 2009 M EMORIES O F M U R D E R G O E S S O U T H “Murder Goes South” returns to Smyrna, Georgia again for another intimate opportunity for you to listen to the authors you love to read and meet others you will forever enjoy. Check out just a few of the memories from past years Murder Goes South and please join us this year to make new memories! Friends of the Smyrna Library have compiled another great line-up of writers and we hope to make this year’s event just as successful and enjoyable as the last. 777ththth Annual Murder Goes South Saturday, January 24, 2009 Mary Kay Andrews autographs books for fans. 9:00a.m.9:00a.m.---- 4:30 p.m. Smyrna Community Center 20O Village Green Circle Smyrna, Georgia Walter Sorrells explaining a technique to April Case.