Heppler Receives National Council on Public History Book Award

The National Council on Public History (NCPH) recently announced that the winner of its 2021 Book Award is Digital Community Engagement: Partnering Communities with the Academy (University of Cincinnati Press, 2020). The book was co-edited by Rebecca S. Wingo, University of Cincinnati; Jason A. Heppler, University of Nebraska at Omaha; and Paul Schadewald, Macalester College. Heppler is the Digital Engagement Librarian at UNO Libraries.

The book Digital Community Engagement: Partnering Communities with the Academy is available open access, in addition to being available for purchase. Heppler shared, "We're thrilled and humbled to receive the NCPH Book Award, a true testament to our contributors and community partners who shared their time, stories, and experiences in what we see as essential models informing future partnerships with communities and the academy." The authors donated their award from the NCPH to the Rondo Center of Diverse Expression (R/CODE), which is the non-profit organization of Dr. Rebecca Wingo’s community partner.

The National Council on Public History (NCPH) is a nonprofit membership association that inspires public engagement with the past and serves the needs of practitioners in putting history to work in the world. NCPH builds community among historians, expands professional skills and tools, fosters critical reflection on historical practice, and publicly advocates for history and historians.

Members of the organization include historical consultants, museum professionals, government historians, professors and students, archivists, teachers, cultural resource managers, curators, film and media producers, historical interpreters, policy advisors, and many others. Members confer at the annual meeting each spring and share their expertise in a scholarly journal (The Public Historian), quarterly newsletter, and multiple online formats, such as the NCPH blog History@Work.

UNO Libraries fulfill the UNO mission through dynamic services, highly qualified and adaptive personnel, unique and extensive collections, and accessible learning spaces and environments. With its two locations, Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library on UNO’s Dodge Campus and in KANEKO-UNO Library located in Omaha’s Old Market, UNO Libraries provides UNO students, faculty and staff, and the Omaha community with the resources and materials needed to excel academically and professionally.

Located in one of America’s best cities to live, work and learn, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is Nebraska’s premier metropolitan university. With more than 15,000 students enrolled in 200-plus programs of study, UNO is recognized nationally for its online education, graduate education, military friendliness and community engagement efforts. Founded in 1908, UNO has served learners of all backgrounds for more than 100 years and is dedicated to another century of excellence both in the classroom and in the community.

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