07/13/12 Culver-Union Township Public Library is privileged to hold the dedication ceremony of the Rita Lawson Science Fiction/Fantasy Collection at 2 pm on Saturday July 21, in the in the upstairs lobby of the Library. Rita was the Treasurer of CUTPL’s Board of Directors, a former Culver schoolteacher and an avid science fiction and fantasy reader who shared her love of science fiction with countless students through the years.
With encouragement and recommendations from Rita, CUTPL Technical Services Manager Polly Thompson Wolf built our basic adult science fiction collection. Rita’s family thoughtfully donated her extensive personal science fiction collection to the Library, and Rita’s friends and relatives contributed funds to the Library in her name to augment and publicize this collection. We currently own approximately 1381 titles in the adult science fiction/ fantasy collection and we continue to use the gifts of these benefactors to add more science fiction and fantasy works. Many science fiction novels belong to a series and we try to purchase complete sets in the series.
To meet community needs, the Library will be inaugurating a Science Fiction Book Club on this occasion and Polly Thompson Wolf will attend the dedication to talk about this newest addition to CUTPL’s book discussion groups.
Rita’s husband Latham and daughters Kelly and Abby will be present at the dedication and will say a few words about Rita’s wish to cultivate a love of reading and about her enthusiasm for this particular literary form. The Friends of the Culver Public Library are providing light refreshments after the event.
Architect Abby Lawson designed the area in the library lobby which shelves the collection, and the Lawson family has lent us Rita’s extensive fantasy dragon collection, which will be displayed on the shelving on a rotating basis.
We invite Rita’s many friends, former students and all those who are interested in promoting science fiction to the dedication ceremony to honor Rita and the Lawson family as benefactors of the Library.
