For immediate release | April 15, 2014
LHRT awards Winsor Prize for essay exploring library services, military and intellectual freedom
CHICAGO — The Library History Round Table has awarded Kate Stewart the 2014 Justin Winsor Prize. Stewart, an archivist at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, received the award for her essay "The Man in the Rice Paddies Had Something to READ: Military Libraries and Intellectual Freedom in the Vietnam War."
The award, $500 and a certificate, is presented annually to the author of an outstanding essay embodying original historical research on a significant subject of library history. The winning essay will be considered for publication in Information & Culture: A Journal of History. The award is named in honor of the distinguished 19th century librarian, historian and bibliographer who was also ALA's first president.
The award committee especially appreciated the creative, effective use of primary sources and the focus on an understudied area, library services to the military. Stewart also brings attention to an important figure in library history, Ruth Rappaport. The author expertly weaves together aspects of social and cultural history in her exploration of the role of recreational reading during wartime. This essay appeals to those interested in histories of readership, military history and print culture as well as libraries and biography.
The Library History Round Table of the American Library Association exists to facilitate communication among scholars and students of library history, to support research in library history, and to be active in issues, such as preservation, that concern library historians. The round table sponsors conferences, publishes a newsletter and presents awards such as the Justin Winsor Award to promote excellence in library history research.
More information on the Library History Round Table is available at our website: http://www.ala.org/lhrt.
Featured News
March 15, 2025
ALA statement on White House assault on the Institute of Museum and Library Services
An executive order issued by the Trump administration on Friday night, March 14, calls for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the nation’s only federal agency for America’s libraries.
February 10, 2025
American Library Association launches public supporter program
The American Library Association launched a new supporter program on February 10, 2025, inviting the public to join the fight to protect libraries and library professionals at a pivotal moment in our country’s history.
January 26, 2025
ALA to U. S. Department of Education: Book bans are real
The American Library Association responds to the Department of Education's dismissal of complaints about censorship and discrimination: the "effort to terminate protections... advances the demonstrably false claim that book bans are not real."
January 22, 2025
New ALA Initiative Asks Advocates to “Show Up for Our Libraries”
Today the American Library Association (ALA) launched Show Up for Our Libraries, a campaign to harness the collective power of library advocates to influence elected leaders and policymakers.
January 13, 2025
American Library Association extends support to libraries affected by Los Angeles wildfires
The American Library Association extends our deepest sympathies to those who have been affected by and to those who have lost everything during the Los Angeles area fires.
December 10, 2024
PLA provides funding to more than 100 public libraries as part of $2.7 million effort to boost digital literacy
The Public Library Association (PLA) has selected more than 139 public libraries across 42 states to host digital literacy workshops, powered by a generous $2.7 million contribution from AT&T.
December 9, 2024
The American Library Association Receives Transformational Gift to Fund Scholarships
James W. Lewis has made the largest individual bequest to the American Library Association in the association’s history.
December 5, 2024
Telgemeier, McCloud chosen as National Library Week honorary chairs
Award-winning author and illustrator Raina Telgemeier and cartoonist and comic theorist Scott McCloud have been selected Honorary Chairs of the American Library Association’s National Library Week, April 6-12, 2025.
November 14, 2024
American Library Association launches national search for executive director
The American Library Association (ALA) has reopened its search for an executive director in partnership with executive search firm Isaacson, Miller. The search will be led by a steering committee comprising ALA member leaders.
November 11, 2024
Cronk, Jamison, McCauley seek ALA presidency for 2026-2027
Lindsay Cronk, Tulane University, New Orleans; Andrea Jamison, Illinois State University; and Maria McCauley, Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge, Massachusetts, are candidates for the 2026-27 presidency of the American Library Association.