Jane Taylor, an associate professor of English at Dalton State College, is the scheduled feature speaker at Friends of the Library’s annual membership meeting, Monday June 20, at the community room of the Calhoun-Gordon County Library.

Her subject will be “The Economy of Words,” which will utilize Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” to illustrate how even the shortest of short stories can be effective works of literature through the economy of “choosing just the right words.”

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. People interested in attending, including members and non-members of “Friends,” are advised to call President Roberta Charbonneau at 678-773-5655 for complete information. There is no admission charge.

Taylor is a full time professor at Dalton State presently teaching freshman English at the university, one an introductory type course, the other advanced.

Her resume includes a stint at The Nashville Tennessean, where she was a zone reporter later promoted to the business desk before becoming public relations director/part-time teacher at Dalton State.

“I loved newspaper work,” she says. “It was, to me, a dream job, very exciting and demanding. I covered Williamson County and events in Franklin, Tenn., at the beginning and then was promoted to the business desk. There, I covered the big Kroger strike in the late 80s, among other things. But that was very exciting, interesting work.”

She is also happy in the classroom, especially the advanced class in which students are intrigued with reviews and conversation of short stories and the works of well-known authors.

She will share some of those conclusions at the May 20 gathering and will also share a fascination with words, thoughts of a few favorite authors and other items of interest to loves of books, reading and writing.

The Dalton State professor says she is particularly fascinated with expression of thoughts while using an economy of words. “I like writers who are efficient with words,” she says.

She was asked, kiddingly, if she thought Tolstoy could have told “War and Peace” in maybe 300 pages she laughed and said, “Probably.”

Taylor also headed up the schools public relations department when he first arrived, teaching a couple of classes at the same time.

“It was,” she said, “like to two full-time jobs.”

Meanwhile, she spends her spare time reading, including “a lot of Jonathan Kellerman’s works,” exercising and hiking, and time with three grandchildren.

Friends of the Library is a well-known local organization that primarily creates fund-raising events from which proceeds go to the Calhoun-Gordon County Library. Its used book sales, since 1998, has raised just under $30,000, according to organization officials. Last year, it provided $6,500 toward the purchase of new books, targeting children, teenagers and adults and including audio books, reference and genealogy materials.

“Friends” also operates the Book Depot on Court Street, selling used hard- and paper-back books and providing books, magazines and tapes/records/CDs to Gordon County citizens in numerous ways.