Eliza Atkins Gleason Book Award

Eliza Atkins Gleason Book Award is presented by the Library History Round Table of the American Library Association every third year to recognize the best book written in English in the field of library history, including the history of libraries, librarianship, and book culture.

The award is named after Eliza Atkins Gleason, the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in librarianship in 1940. Her Ph.D. was earned at the University of Chicago Graduate Library School under advisor, Carleton B. Joeckel. The dissertation was revised and published in 1941 by the University of Chicago Press as The Southern Negro and the Public Library; a Study of the Government and Administration of Public Library Service to Negroes in the South.

The Library History Round Table also sponsors the Justin Winsor Prize (library).

The Library History Round Table, was established in 1947. Historical articles appeared on the 50th anniversary in the journal, Libraries & Culture and the 75th in the journal, Libraries: Culture, History, and Society.