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Collection in Co-Lin library named after retired founder Carolyn Vance Smith
Carolyn Vance Smith, Founder and Co-chairman of the Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration, announced she plans to retire on June 30, 2015, after 26 years at the helm of the award-winning annual conference.
Dr. Ronnie Nettles, President of Copiah-Lincoln Community College, which helped found the Celebration and has been a co-sponsor all 26 years, said, “All of us at Copiah-Lincoln appreciate Mrs. Smith’s efforts and all that she has done for Co-Lin and the community. We are delighted that she will remain as a volunteer supporter of the conference.”
In addition to assisting with the NLCC, Smith will take an active, volunteer role in the establishment of a new archival collection at the Willie Mae Dunn Library at Co-Lin’s Natchez campus.
“In honor of Mrs. Smith, we have named this collection the Carolyn Vance Smith Center for Natchez Literary Studies,” Nettles said. “All the records from the first 26 years of the NLCC will be collected in the new center.”
“In addition, books, manuscripts, papers, photographs and other objects will be housed there. We are particularly interested in acquiring materials by authors who have been influenced by Natchez,” Nettles said.
“It is an exciting and incredible honor for our library to serve a role in preserving part of the Natchez literary tradition and to also provide a home for a collection we believe has potential for tremendous growth,” said Beth Richard, Director of the Willie Mae Dunn Library.
“This center will bring visitors and researchers to Natchez,” stated Teresa Busby, Vice President of the Natchez Campus for Copiah-Lincoln Community College.” Those interested in the history of Mississippi, and Natchez in particular, will discover a treasure trove of research material. We are delighted to house this Center and look forward to invaluable contributions by Mrs. Smith.”
Smith, a longtime instructor of English and journalism at Copiah-Lincoln, founded the NLCC in 1989-90. The first conference, held in June 1990, attracted more than 1,000 people, including the literary giants Eudora Welty, Robert Remini, and Margaret Walker.
Since that time, a who’s who of internationally-known authors have spoken at the conference on subjects based on Southern culture and traditions.
Because of its significance, the NLCC has won dozens of awards for outstanding programming, Nettles said. These include a National Endowment for the Humanities Matching Grant, an annual Mississippi Humanities Council grant, the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts and an Olympic Award for humanities-based programming.
“Mrs. Smith is highly qualified to be an adviser to the new center for literary studies,” Nettles said. “She holds degrees from Mississippi University for Women and Vanderbilt University and is the author of many non-fiction books. A well-known leader of numerous organizations, she has won top awards for her work.”
Nettles stated Copiah-Lincoln plans to open the center for literary studies later this year.
