Professional Awards & Scholarships
Louis Rachow Distinguished Service in Performing Arts Librarianship Award
The Louis Rachow Distinguished Service in Performing Arts Librarianship Award for 2020 was presented at a virtual celebration on Thursday, December 17, 2020.
Theatre Library Association celebrates the excellence of our profession by bestowing the Louis Rachow Distinguished Service in Performing Arts Librarianship Award on individuals who embody its best qualities.
Louis Rachow had a long and distinguished career in performing arts librarianship, highlighted by a quarter century as Curator/Librarian of the Hampden-Booth Theatre Library at The Players, followed by another decade as Library Director of the International Theatre Institute of the United States. His publications, as author and editor, helped to educate several generations of performing arts librarians in the practices and history of the field. Over the course of more than 50 years as a TLA member, he served as an executive board member, President, Vice President, chair of the nominating committee, editor of the newsletter, and liaison to the Special Libraries Association, the Council of National Library Associations, and the Library/Information Network-New York. He remained active in the organization throughout his life, holding the post of TLA Historian and attending events and board meetings whenever he was able. He passed away on August 28, 2017; he was 90.
In recognition of his exemplary record of service, the Distinguished Service Award was renamed in honor of Louis Rachow in 2013.
For more information about the Louis Rachow Distinguished Service Award, contact TLA President, Dr. Francesca Marini.
2020 LOUIS RACHOW DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD WINNER
Nancy E. Friedland is the Librarian for Butler Media, Film Studies, & Performing Arts at Columbia University, a position she has held for more than 25 years. Her work for Columbia has focused on building collections and serving as liaison to the School of the Arts and the Columbia campus. In 2016, she initiated and directed a program entitled Performing the Library providing students with the opportunity to develop exhibition installations and participate in public programming. She has presented extensively on costume design research and streaming video for academic libraries. She currently convenes a discussion group on streaming video. She edited and contributed to the Performing Arts Resources volume entitled Documenting: Costume Design (2010). She contributed to and co-edited, with John Calhoun, Theatre Architecture: Restoration, Renovation, and New Construction (2019). She served as president of the Theatre Library Association and served on the board of Women Make Movies. She co-chaired the SIBMAS TLA New York City Conference in 2014. She currently holds the position of adjunct faculty at San Jose State University’s iSchool.
2020 Professional Awards Committee Members: Drew Barker (Chair), Susan Brady, Jeannie Chen, Karen Nickeson, Kevin Winkler.
Brooks McNamara Performing Arts Librarian Scholarship
Theatre Library Association is pleased to sponsor the Brooks McNamara Performing Arts Librarian Scholarship in memory of the achievements of this beloved theater historian, scholar, educator, and mentor.
Brooks McNamara – beloved theater historian, scholar, educator, and mentor – was Professor of Performance Studies at New York University and founder of the Shubert Archive.
The Brooks McNamara Performing Arts Librarian Scholarship acknowledges outstanding professional accomplishments of promising students currently enrolled in MLIS or archival training programs specializing in performing arts librarianship. The winner receives a $500 check and a one-year complimentary TLA membership.
The scholarship is offered every other year.
For more information about the McNamara Scholarship, contact TLA President Dr. Francesca Marini.
2020 BROOKS MCNAMARA PERFORMING ARTS LIBRARIAN SCHOLARSHIP WINNER
Megan Ralston-Munger
Megan Ralston-Munger recently graduated with her Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in June 2020. Having previously graduated summa cum laude with her Bachelor of Music degree from California State University, Fullerton, she has drawn extensively on her experience in the performing arts as she pursues a new career in librarianship.
During her undergraduate studies in vocal performance, Ralston-Munger received the Jane Rodriguez Memorial Scholarship in 2013 and 2014. Additionally, she won second place in the Senior Women division of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Los Angeles Chapter Competition in 2014, and first prize in the Best Handel Performance division of the Great Composers Competition series in 2017. After an incredible journey of music study that took her from singing opera in Hawai’i to a choir in Paris, Ralston-Munger decided to pursue a career in performing arts librarianship to continue drawing on her love of performance, but in an academic setting where her affinity for academia could also shine.
During the pursuit of her MLIS, Ralston-Munger worked to achieve a varied and inclusive look into the many different kinds of librarianship by pursuing different volunteer and internship opportunities. Her internships included working in the youth services department at Ovitt Family Community Library, working with the performing arts research librarian at University of California, Irvine, and finally an internship at the University Library at California State University, Long Beach.
Ralston-Munger is now the librarian at Ybarra Academy of Arts and Technology, where she is focusing on making the collection as diverse and accessible as possible.
2020 Professional Awards Committee: Drew Barker (Chair), Susan Brady, Jeannie Chen, Karen Nickeson, Kevin Winkler.
Honorary Membership
Honorary Membership is conferred by the Board of Directors upon individuals who have demonstrated longstanding dedication to TLA.
Marian Seldes, Marti LoMonaco, and Louis Rachow, TLA Awards Ceremony, 2009 (Photo: Angela Weaver)
Louis A. Rachow
Bruno Walter Auditorium, Tnew New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
October 9, 2009
Louis A. Rachow served as President of the Theatre Library Association from 1967 to 1972, and from 1981 to 1983. In the years in between, he was Editor of BROADSIDE. Prior to his position as Library Director of the International Theatre Institute of the United States, he was Curator/Librarian of the Hampden-Booth Theatre Library of The Players from 1962 to 1988. His published works include editorship of the Gale Information Guide Performing Arts Series and Theatre and Performing Arts Collections published by Haworth Press. A long-time member of the American Library Association, American Society for Theatre Research, the New York Library Club, and Archons of Colophon, he is currently a Vice President of the Episcopal Actors Guild and Co-chair of its Archives Committee. He received his MS in Library Service from Columbia University.
Marian Seldes
Bruno Walter Auditorium, Tnew New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
May 30, 2003
“Dr. Marian Seldes–she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Julliard one week ago today–is popularly known in the theatre community as the “actor’s actor,” a consummate professional at her art and a wonder to behold in any role she cares to undertake. She has just been nominated for her fifth TONY award–as Best Featured Actress in a Play–for her performance in the recent revival of Dinner at Eight here at Lincoln Center–and on Sunday she will receive the prestigious Edwin Booth Award bestowed annually by the Players Club. Dr. Seldes has won numerous awards honoring her excellence as an actor but I hope, today, she is about to earn her first for excellence as a researcher, bibliophile, and great and true friend to the Theatre Library Association. In our 66 year history, she is only the second person to be honored with a Lifetime Membership Award, so we do not bestow this award lightly. She frequently has graced the book awards with her elegance, intelligence, and savoir faire as an awards presenter; in fact, she’s done it 4 times in the past 10 years, and many times before that, sometimes pinch-hitting at the last minute for a presenter who has fallen ill. No matter how late the call, she still manages not only to read the book but also to have incisive, engaging, and often moving commentary to share.” – Marti LoMonaco