The Library History Round Table (LHRT) of the American Library Association announces Amanda Belantara and A.M. Alpin as the inaugural winners of the Innovation and Advocacy in Library History Award

CHICAGO - Established in 2022, the Innovation and Advocacy in Library History Award recognizes recent, substantive contributions either to Library History Round Table (LHRT) or to the wider library history community. This award honors those who have promoted library history in exceptional or new ways or who have reached audiences that have not been engaged previously.

Amanda Belantara is an instruction & outreach librarian, School of Professional Studies, and A. M. Alpin is director of the Library Lab, both at New York University. The recommendation letters strongly affirmed the fantastic work done by Belantara and Alpin for their work creating Rule No. 5, an interactive physical and digital exhibit that uses one of the iconic rules of S. R. Ranganathan as a starting point to reveal the hidden bibliographic labor of building and maintaining library collections. Belantara and Alpin's exhibit offers a new exploration of library history through interactive artworks that center library worker's experiences.  Housed in the atrium of NYU’s Bobst Library, Rule No. 5 consists of 6 sculptures: “Infinity,” “Cataloging & Classifying,” “Curating & Collecting,” “Radio,” “Secrets,” and “Impermanence,” each having significant visual and aural components.  The digital exhibit is available here: https://www.ruleno5.org/

The award committee was Sheila Devaney and Erik Nordberg.

About the Library History Round Table

Founded in 1947, LHRT is an inclusive and diverse organization that supports anyone who is interested in the history of libraries and librarianship. It facilitates communication, provides thought-provoking programs, offers awards for outstanding research, and is active in issues, such as preservation, that concern all library historians. For more information, visit https://www.ala.org/rt/lhrt. 

About the American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, the ALA has been the trusted voice for academic, public, school, government and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library’s role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit www.ala.org.