KIRSTEN GUDMUNDSE
Associate Professor David Whittaker and BYU Studies were presented a research and reference award in October.
At a national banquet, the Western History Association chose the book “Mormon Americana: A Guide to Sources and Collections in the United States” for the 1996 Dwight L. Smith Award.
This award is prestigious because it is given only once every two years, said Whittaker, editor and co-author of the book.
“The book was awarded the top prize for reference works and bibliography from the Western History Association,” he said. “It is very nice to have the book receive national attention.”
John Welch, editor in chief of BYU Studies, agrees that receiving the Dwight Award is quite an accomplishment.
“The award is a very prestigious award, and it recognizes that we are producing very respected and useful material,” he said. “It is a great honor to be recognized for this award. BYU Studies has always tried to publish the highest scholarly material possible and to promote multi-discipline study of gospel topics and church-related topics.”
The award-winning book was not supposed to be a book at all, rather a special edition of the BYU Studies publication.
“We began the project in 1987 while David was the book review editor for BYU Studies. He began with a dozen articles and studies, and, gradually, the collection grew until we had around 35 articles,” said Welch. “The project became too big to do as a special issue, so we decided to use the information as a separate research tool.”
The book contains research, essays and articles relating to LDS Church history.
“There really were 31 different authors for this book. There are essays and research compiled from their collections and other libraries across the country,” Whittaker said. Whittaker is an associate professor of history, a senior librarian and curator of two of the Harold B. Lee Library’s Special Collections and Manuscripts — the Western and Mormon Manuscripts.
The book was published to be used as a research tool to help those seeking more information on LDS topics such as history, architecture, folklore, literature, performing and visual arts, photoarchives, science and the prophet Joseph Smith.
“The first part of the book focuses on the articles written by archivists from all the major libraries in the country that have significant Mormon doctrines and collections,” Welch said. “The second part contains research organized by topics.”
“For example, if you wanted to research Mormon architecture, Mormon scientists or Mormon authors, then you will find lengthy essays about each subject and where to go to find important material for those topics,” he said.
Whittaker decided to create this book because of his interest in LDS Church history.
“I have a deep faith in Mormon history. I also find it very interesting. My university assignment is to bring in new Mormon collections and prepare them for use by serious students of Mormon history,” he said. “I never hate getting up in the morning to do my job.”
Whittaker is disappointed that more students aren’t studying LDS Church history.
“We have such a rich history, and it is exciting to study it. It is really disappointing that there aren’t more young people wanting to study Mormon history,” he said.
The book is available at the BYU Bookstore.
