James B. Carey Library receives John Sessions Memorial Award

James B. Carey Library receives John Sessions Memorial Award.

CHICAGO –The James B. Carey Library, School of Management and Labor Relations, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, is the 2007 recipient of the John Sessions Memorial Award presented by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA).
The award is named in honor of John Sessions, former American Federation of Labor/Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) co-chair of the AFL-CIO/ALA Joint Committee on Library Service to Labor Groups. The plaque, supported by a donation from the AFL-CIO, is given to recognize a library or library system that 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.
“Under the stewardship of Constance Finlay, the James B. Carey Library has been transformed in recent years into a dynamic agent for providing in-depth and specialized information resources and services to a wide range of the labor community that includes students, scholars, union leaders and public policy practitioners,” said Theodora T. Haynes, award committee chair. “The Library’s recent successful initiatives document past and present work of labor and range from collaborating with the Public Employee Relations Commission on building a comprehensive database of collective bargaining contracts to mounting a historical exhibit and Web site honoring James B. Carey.”

“Carey was an influential labor leader and the first President of the International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine & Furniture Workers (IUE),” Haynes added.
The award will be presented at RUSA Awards Ceremony on June 25, 2007, from 4 to 6 p.m., during the ALA Annual Conference in Washington.

=======

From-- "A fifty-five year partnership: ALA and the AFL-CIO."(American Library Association, American Federation of Labor, Congress of Industrial Organizations)
From: Library Trends | Date: 6/22/2002 | Author: Meyers
IN 1946, THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION (ALA) established with the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) the Joint Committee on Library Service to Labor Groups. Since then, the committee has been a beacon for service to labor, and the link between the organizations has been integral to public learning and beneficial to both unions and libraries.
To deepen the impact and awareness of special services to labor, the joint committee developed the John Sessions Memorial Award in 1980. Named after the key labor representative on the committee, the award recognizes a library or library system for significant work with unions. Through the award, a handsome plaque given to the winning library, librarians have become more cognizant of the history and contributions of organized labor. Over the past two decades, the award has identified libraries across the country that have strengthened the library-labor collaboration and have increased awareness of workers' concerns. The public library winners in a cross section of communities have helped find career services for the unemployed and workers considering career changes. Award winners from academic libraries have made union archives more accessible, and special libraries have built a bridge between local union history and the community. The wide range of activities carried out by Sessions winners proves that no single approach characterizes "library service to labor," but that in fact examples of outstanding services can be verified or replicated in different settings.