Wayne State’s Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs has been awarded the 2008 John Sessions Memorial Award for its online resource: “No Greater Calling: The Life of Walter P. Reuther, 1907-1970.”
            The American Library Association (ALA) offers the John Sessions Memorial Award to libraries or library systems that have recognized the history and contributions of the labor movement toward the development of the United States.
            “We are especially proud of this honor because it acknowledges our commitment to providing access to the archival record of the American labor movement – a founding principle of the Walter P. Reuther Library,” said Mike Smith, director of the Reuther Library. “This award is particularly special for us since it also honors the 100th anniversary of the birth of Reuther, one of our nation’s great labor leaders and, of course, the namesake of our institution.”
            Walter P. Reuther’s life is chronicled in "No Greater Calling: The Life of Walter P. Reuther, 1907-1910," which includes a biography of Reuther, over 600 of the best photographs of Reuther in a searchable database, print and audio speeches, and a teachers guide for the fifth through eighth grades that meets state and national classroom standards.
            The John Sessions Memorial Award was established in 1980 to honor libraries that have conducted significant work with the labor community. Members

--more--

(2) Sessions Award

of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) of the ALA serve on the award’s jury committee. This year’s award will be accepted by Smith for the Walter P. Reuther Library at a ceremony to be held in June during the ALA’s 2008 Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif.
            The Walter P. Reuther Library also enjoys a rare distinction of having earned the John Sessions Memorial Award for a second time – the Library also received the award in 1994.

# # #

Wayne State University is a premier institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 11 schools and colleges to more than 33,000 students.