Crime Scene Library returns to library in October

Our popular culture seems to be obsessed with crime. People are apparently fascinated by crime content of all kinds:  through TV, movies, podcasts and books. Crime horrifies us, but that doesn’t stop us from wanting to know the twisted, sensational details.

But did you know you can feed your obsession at the library? Join us for Crime Scene Library 2023 (CSL), a true-crime event covering two Saturdays in October, when you’ll get all the chills and thrills you’re seeking.

CSL will begin at Headquarters Library, 300 Maiden Lane in Fayetteville, at 3 p.m. Saturday, October 21, with author Dale M. Pollock’s discussion of his vintage crime mystery “Chopped: A Novel.” Pollock explores the 1849 Webster/Parkman trial, when the earliest use of forensics and court stenography were used. Learn the origins of the novel, the implications of writing historical fiction and the forbidden romance surrounding the infamous trial.

CSL’s main event will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, with a daylong lineup. The keynote speaker, author, lawyer and college professor Cathy Pickens, will examine our fascination with true crime.

Other sessions throughout the day include speakers including:

• Amanda Lamb, WRAL reporter and author, on “Podcasting Is the Future.” 
• Khalid Lodhi, director of the forensic science program at Fayetteville State University, on “Bed Bugs Solve Crimes: New DNA Vectors and their Role in Criminal Investigation.”
• Christine Mumma, executive director of the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence, on “Reversing Injustice: How Wrongful Convictions Happen and Take Decades to Fix.”
• Christopher Thrasher, history and political science instructor, Fayetteville Technical Community College, on “The Trial of Ann K. Simpson,” the first woman tried for murder in Cumberland County
• Dave Pauly, Steve Downs and Isis Tutman, from the forensic science department at Methodist University, on “Modern-Day Forensic Science: Latent Fingerprint Processing & DNA Extraction.”
• Methodist University’s Legal Studies Program on “Paralegals and Trial Preparations in Criminal Cases.”
• Fayetteville Police Department Forensic Unit with an interactive crime scene to explore

Check out the complete case file at cumberland.lib.nc.libguides.com for more information about presentations, door prizes, interactive activities and suggested books, music and videos you can borrow for free.

Crime Scene Library 2023 is possible by the support of Friends of the Cumberland County Public Library. For more information about this or any other library program, call (910) 483-7727, stop in at any of our eight locations or visit cumberlandcountync.gov/library.

Sabrina Taylor is an adult services librarian at the Hope Mills Community Library.

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