Lanier Library Association

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Lanier Library Association The Lanier Library Association is a membership/subscription library in Tryon, North Carolina.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a computer able to learn and mimic human thinking. As early as 1997, AI defeated a world...
10/21/2026

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a computer able to learn and mimic human thinking. As early as 1997, AI defeated a world reigning chess champion and has evolved steadily in complexity and power. Speech and image recognition, manipulation and generation, robotics, predictive analytics, and medical diagnostics are a few applications.

Dr. Brandon Schweitzer, Ed. D., Polk County Schools’ Director of Operations and
Technology, is meeting the challenges of AI for local education and Polk County students. He says, “Every major technological change has required schools to reconsider what students need to know and how they demonstrate what they have learned. Artificial intelligence is accelerating that conversation. It presents tremendous possibilities, but also important questions about learning, creativity, accuracy, ethics, and the role technology should play in education.”

Dr. Schweitzer will discuss the evolution, applications, pros, cons, and conundrums of AI, Wednesday, 11/18, 1 PM.

*Comfortable capacity at Lanier, 72 Chestnut Street, Tryon, is 50. To assure a seat, register at www.thelanierlibrary.org

Beth Brand carries on a tradition that goes back at least as far as Mozart writing music that would be credited and perf...
10/04/2026

Beth Brand carries on a tradition that goes back at least as far as Mozart writing music that would be credited and performed under a patron’s name. She is a ghostwriter similar to the uncredited authors of many papal encyclicals, Profiles in Courage, and Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries The difference from them is Beth focuses on topics such as managing a business, entrepreneurship, economics, neo-natal care, raising a teenager, self-improvement, and similar
subjects where she can learn while writing.

Until 15 years ago she was in public relations and writing marketing plans for clients. Then in the midst of the Holiday season, she came to the rescue of a banker friend and enjoyed the challenge of writing to help her meet an unrealistic deadline. That was the beginning of Beth’s ghostwriting career. “Through ghostwriting I can exercise my talents and make friends,” she says. Her Lanier program reveals the history, business,
and personal motivation of the profession.

* Audience size has been increasing. To assure a
seat on Wednesday 10/21, 1 PM, register now at www.thelanierlibrary.org.

On October 1, 1869, an Austrian postal official issued and recognized the postcard as a half-price alternative to a lett...
09/06/2026

On October 1, 1869, an Austrian postal official issued and recognized the postcard as a half-price alternative to a letter. Since then the postcard has steadily connected people across cities, regions, countries, and the world with information, greetings, and personal touches. On October 1, 2026, from 10 AM to 2 PM, Lanier Library will celebrate with others in the world the 157th Anniversary of the little card that has delighted generations. As a celebrant you will get two free postcards featuring the art of Tryon artist Marie King. You just need to bring your sentiments and addresses to write at the Library. There will be pens, free postage, and Library staff will mail your finished cards. Send a smile to someone you love.

When you step into the Pullman Sleeper near the Landrum Train Depot you enter the 70 feet where passengers in ten sleepi...
08/25/2026

When you step into the Pullman Sleeper near the Landrum Train Depot you enter the 70 feet where passengers in ten sleeping berths once clattered from Charleston to Cincinnati with stops in-between. Today, you’ll find only one berth where you can imagine stretching out and rocking to sleep. The rest is devoted to tracing Landrum history from pre-colonial days to the coming of the rails. You can also send a message to yourself from a replica telegraph.

At the next Live@Lanier, Wednesday, 9/23, 1 PM, Carol Browning, Landrum Rail & History Museum Board, will share how the railroad impacted the overall dynamics and economics of Landrum and Tryon and, on a smaller historical scale, why this particular railcar was named Pacolet River and who killed a sheriff on opening day of the route. There will also be the story of how the museum came to be and the railcar got from a collector in Nashville to 211 North Trade Avenue.

*Audience size for Lanier Library programs has been steadily increasing. Comfortable capacity is 50. To assure a seat at 72 Chestnut Street, register now at www.thelanierlibrary.org.

RESERVE NOW ONLINE* FOR WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 1 PMHurricane Helene littered local rivers with shattered homes and window...
07/19/2026

RESERVE NOW ONLINE* FOR WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 1 PM

Hurricane Helene littered local rivers with shattered homes and windows, family keepsakes, appliances, lawn mowers, paint cans, jugs of pesticide, cars, and more. The odds and ends of daily lives were churned and battered and often buried in sediment.

The clean up and restoration continues.

Erica Shanks is the Green Riverkeeper & Watershed Outreach Coordinator at Mountain True, a non-profit organization restoring rivers and river banks with the work of employees and volunteers and community involvement. Erica will talk about the objectives and scope of the task, the funding challenges, the workers and why and how they do it, their safety equipment, and what they may feel when pulling something of probable sentimental value from the mud. She says, personally, it’s tough to wrap her head around the idea of families having endured such a “loss of place.”

*Audience size for Lanier Library programs has been steadily increasing. Comfortable capacity is 50. To assure a seat, register now at www.thelanierlibrary.org.

At the next Felburn Nature and Wildlife Series Program, Tuesday July 14, 11AM, naturalist Steve O’Neil will help you dec...
06/25/2026

At the next Felburn Nature and Wildlife Series Program, Tuesday July 14, 11AM, naturalist Steve O’Neil will help you decide which of the following, and more, are fact or fiction.

• Copperhead snakes in the Carolinas will chase hikers.
• Only two types of turtles can crawl out of their shells.
• Corn snakes are green and yellow like corn.
• Some turtles can freeze solid and revive unharmed.
• Baby venomous snakes have more potent venom than adult
snakes.
• Box turtles do not make good pets even if living in a box at
least 4x their size.

During college, Steve studied wildlife and fisheries management, and for over a decade worked as a naturalist and science educator. Positions included The Great Smoky Mountain National Park and Chimney Rock State Park. In 2010, his experiences and passion for nature prompted him to found his non-profit Earthshine Nature Programs. “Reptile Myths, Lore, and Facts” is one of many of his programs.

Live@Lanier popularity has been increasing with audiences exceeding comfortable capacity of 50 at 72 Chestnut Street, Tryon. To assure a seat for future announced programs or to get on Steve’s wait list, register ASAP at www.thelanierlibrary.org.

Questions? Call 828-859-9535.

Limited quantity available at circulation desk.
05/24/2026

Limited quantity available at circulation desk.

Best-selling author Virginia Evans of “The Correspondent” delighted a capacity crowd of 300 at the Tryon Fine Arts Cente...
05/18/2026

Best-selling author Virginia Evans of “The Correspondent” delighted a capacity crowd of 300 at the Tryon Fine Arts Center on Sunday 5/17. The Live@Lanier event was part of the Library’s Distinguished Speaker Series. Her debut published novel, it became the literary sensation of 2025 and remains on The New York Times’ Best Sellers list after 28 weeks. Next, it will be produced as a movie starring Jane Fonda.

In an interview format, she answered questions from Tryon’s Peter Franklin and then from the audience. At the reception afterwards at the library, she chatted with attendees and posed for pictures.

Evans is pleased that “The Correspondent” has inspired an interest in letter-writing among some readers. “If somebody reads the book and decides to write a letter,” she said, “that’s wonderful. Don’t write to me. Write to someone you love.”

The program was free to attend, thanks to support from the Kirby Endowment Fund at the Polk County Community Foundation.

Two recent debut novels seemed to come out of nowhere and explode in popularity. Virginia Evans did not want to publish ...
04/30/2026

Two recent debut novels seemed to come out of nowhere and explode in popularity. Virginia Evans did not want to publish “The Correspondent” until persuaded by her agent to at least try. Allen Levi self-published “Theo of Golden” to see his labor of love in print. Both books jumped to number #1 on the NY Times Best Seller List.

Peter Franklin wanted to know the why and how of such an unlikely event. Are there common factors that sparked the passionate early word-of mouth which jump started sales and rave reviews? Was the timing just right for themes of engagement in an era of increasing isolation? What resonates with readers in a variety of demographics?

Peter is a retired marketing executive for Coca-Cola, former Lanier Library officer, and a life-time reader who loses count of the number of books read in a year.

*Audience size for Lanier Library programs has been steadily increasing. Comfortable capacity is 50. To assure a seat on Wednesday, June 17, 1 PM, register now at www.thelanierlibrary.org.

The Poetry Trio Reading at Lanier LibraryFrom the pages of their many published works, The Poetry Three will read and ta...
04/07/2026

The Poetry Trio Reading at Lanier Library

From the pages of their many published works, The Poetry Three will read and take the audience into worlds of lyrical mind sight, Live@Lanier, Wednesday, April 22 at 6 PM.

Award-winning Patricia Corbus writes sly and funny poems about the enchanting, troubled beauty of human life. Her poems spark with surprises. Award winning Wendell Hawken invites readers to a northern Shenandoah Valley farm to marvel on the edge of the wild. She wants to fulfill poetry’s ancient role of teaching readers how to live. Award-winning Greg Rappleye describes poetry as his “profession pursued with a passion.” That skill and heart-felt drive is evident in “Barley Child,” a book that gives sarcastic voice with a touch of wit to four generations of Irish Americans. All three poets have honed their craft in the same graduate MFA program. Rappleye also teaches English at Hope College in Michigan.

Thanks to members and the community, the popularity of Live@Lanier Programs has grown and audiences have increasingly exceeded the comfortable capacity of 50 seats. * To assure a seat at 72 Chestnut Street, Tryon, register now online at www.thelanierlibrary.org.

Address

72 Chestnut Street
Tryon, NC
28782

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Saturday 9:30am - 1pm
Sunday 1pm - 4pm

Telephone

(828) 859-9535

Website

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