Chester Fritz Library (CFL) hosted the inaugural Randy Rasmussen Memorial Lecture on January 26th. This was the first lecture in a series formed to honor Randy’s life and legacy. CFL intends to reinvigorate the library as a place for academic and community engagement by holding events with guest lecturers as well as showcasing the talents of scholars around the greater Grand Forks community and the region. Randy Rasmussen, a beloved and longtime staff member at CFL, had an affinity for film and many of his intellectual pursuits revolved around film studies. In addition to film, Randy also had a passion for fine arts, fantasy and science fiction, fan/popular culture, military history, meteorology, libraries and institutions of memory, and publishing.
During the inaugural lecture, CFL hosted Brain Urlacher, chair of the Political Science department at UND, for a reading and discussion of his new book, The Library of Chester Fritz, which recasts the career of CFL's namesake as a globetrotting dark adventurer. William Caraher from the Digital Press at the University of North Dakota - which published The Library of Chester Fritz - and Patrick Henry from the Department of English joined him for a panel discussion of their plans to advance scholarly and literary publishing at UND in a changing publishing landscape.
A community of people who share a love for Randy, a passion for communicating research, and an intellectual curiosity for alternate history and literary publishing came together to make a successful event. We hosted 70 people that night, with 50 in person and 20 on Zoom. A recording of the presentation will be available on the UND Scholarly Commons.
The next lecture will take place on April 13th at 4:30pm. CFL will welcome UND Provost Eric Link to present on “Understanding Science Fiction.” In this illustrated talk, Link will introduce audiences to the field of science fiction film and literature. More information can be found on the Randy Rasmussen Memorial Lecture Series webpage.