Union activist wins Sanford Berman library award

Nilsen was honored for her lasting contributions to the workplace at Hennepin County Library, the award committee said.

The award was established in 1999 to honor Sandy Berman, head cataloger in the Hennepin County Library system for 26 years. It has been presented semi-annually by AFSCME Locals 2822 (Support Staff and Related) and 2864 (Librarians) to a library employee who has made a unique and invaluable contribution to the community-at-large through his or her work in Hennepin County Library.

"On a daily basis, Solveig Nilsen was an inspiring example of what it means to be a librarian," the committee noted. "She understood that service at the information desk is vital to those who enter our buildings—and that no information request is ever trivial. . . She was a fearless, articulate advocate for quality customer service and for improved relations between management and staff."

Ten years ago Hennepin County librarians voted overwhelmingly to organize with AFSCME. As one of the five "Founding Mothers," Nilsen was an integral part of that organizing drive and in several contract negotiation sessions.

Her most lasting contributions include her continuous membership on the Labor-Management Committee, serving as the local\’s first Steward, and her work on the library\’s Dignity and Respect Initiative, the committee said. "In these roles she brought a highly regarded sense of fairness, and an unerring ability to work through difficult, even thorny, tension-filled moments calmly and rationally. Solveig modeled respect and dignity in all her actions long before these concepts became part of the HCL vocabulary."

Nilsen was presented with the award at her retirement reception on Aug. 24.