By Robin Gibson
Lutz Branch Library
It’s the number of years in a century, the number of tiles in most Scrabble games and the number of Senators in the United States Senate — 100.
The ancient Romans used the letter C to represent it, and the one letter symbol was replaced with three digits, 100, to represent the same value. And, if we all live long enough, it is the required age to have Willard Scott celebrate your longevity and recognize your name on television on the side of a jelly jar.
The Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2014. In preparation for the event, the Library History Roadshow is touring the county gathering memorabilia and documenting stories from each library.
The roadshow comes to the Lutz Branch Library on July 28 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The community is invited to visit the library that day and share any photographs or memorabilia, such as bookmarks, old library cards, newspaper clippings and the like. Digital images will be made of all items, and the originals will be immediately returned.
Oral and video histories will be gathered during the day from those who have memories of the Lutz Branch Library and its establishment in the community.
Susan MacManus, Ph.D., political analyst and noted Lutz historian, will be the guest speaker at 1 p.m. MacManus and her mother, the late Elizabeth Riegler MacManus, have written two books on the history of the Lutz and Land O’ Lakes area.
MacManus’ latest book, Going, Going…Almost Gone: Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Pioneers Share Their Precious Memories, will be the subject of her presentation. Copies of the book are available for checkout at the Lutz Branch Library and will be on sale after the presentation. A book signing will follow. The Friends of the Lutz Branch Library will provide light refreshments during the roadshow for visitors.
This will be a memorable day at the Lutz Branch Library, and the community is encouraged to participate and enjoy the festivities of the Library History Roadshow.
Visit the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library online at http://hcplc.org to discover all the great free summer activities for children, teens and adults at the library.
—Robin Gibson is the head librarian at the Lutz Branch Library at 101 W. Lutz Lake Fern Road in Lutz. Call (813) 273-3652 to learn more about the library’s services.
