The John Sessions Memorial Award is presented annually by the Reference and User Services Association of the American Library Association. It recognizes a library or library system which has made a significant effort to work with the labor community and by doing so has brought recognition to the history and contribution of the labor movement to the development of the United States. John Sessions of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations was co-chair of the AFL-CIO/ ALA Joint Committee on Library Service to Labor Groups.
Award winners
John Sessions Memorial Award
2020-Labor Collections of the Archives and Special Collections of the UAA/APU Consortium Library.."For their consolidation of access to extensive archival materials relating to the history of labor and labor relations in Alaska and their support of the Alaska labor community in which one out of every 5 workers is a member of a union,the Labor Collections of the Archives and Special Collections of the UAA/APU Consortium Library was unanimously selected.
2017. The East Side Freedom Library,an independent library located in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood of St. Paul, Minn. The ESFL has successfully built relationships with organized labor and community groups that facilitate the empowerment, learning, and engagement of working people. It is located in a former Carnegie Library.
2016. The Center for Labor Education and Research,University of Hawai‘i – West O‘ahu “The mission of the labor archive at the Center for Labor Education and Research is to preserve labor history materials for future generations, protect the artifacts and make them accessible for public use, and defend the importance of working class history.”
2014. Local History and Genealogy Department of Toledo-Lucas County Public Library. For outreach efforts to local labor unions, the special labor collection, exhibits and displays of the area and national labor movement, and of the Rogowski-Kaptur Labor History Room, which houses materials with a focus on Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan labor history but also includes materials on national labor history.
2009 Wirtz Labor Library U.S. Department of Labor.A statement issued by the library expressed gratitude and appreciation for the distinction: “The U.S. Department of Labor’s library, established in 1917, is one of the oldest Cabinet-level libraries. As we plan for the library’s centennial, our recent efforts have been to strengthen and revitalize the library and its services – and to provide and promote the library’s resources to a wider universe of customers. As we build upon our rich history, it is our great pleasure to accept the 2009 John Sessions Memorial Award.”
2006 Joan Cassidy - New York State United Teachers headquarters librarian for creating the Albert Shanker 'Where We Stand' database."
2005 Bridgeport Public Library's Historical Collection. Mary K. Witkowski, head of the Historical Collection, accepted the award on behalf of the Bridgeport Public Library. Local labor history, an oral history project with audio and transcripts on-line, and a curriculum created with the help of area teachers. " The library has done a great service to the community of Bridgeport by making available a part of their working class history to the world."
1996 Metropolitan Detroit Professionals Library, UAW Local 2200
1995 Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries and Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives, Labor History Collection, Butte, Montana
1994 Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University
