Lietuvos etnologija / Lithuanian ethnology

Based on the theoretical approach to invented traditions, the article looks at the award traditions created by the staff of the Ukmergė Vladas Šlaitas Public Library. Awards can be seen as a means to establish the power of the governing group; on the other hand, positive initiatives can be found within a team, where the prevailing tradition of electing the best members of the community strengthens the professional identity. This raises the problematic question of the research: were the award traditions which were introduced during the Soviet years only automatic actions, or did they acquire distinct interpretations and become important?