The Pritzker Military Library is a research library for the study of military history in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded in 2003 by COL (IL) James N. Pritzker, IL ARNG (Ret.) to be a non-partisan institution for the study of "the citizen soldier as an essential element for the preservation of democracy".[1] Originally located at 610 N. Fairbanks Court in the Streeterville neighborhood, the library now resides at 104 S. Michigan Ave in the Loop. The library is supported by donations and membership.
The collection of the Pritzker Military Library includes over 30,000 books, periodicals, videos, artwork, posters, rare military ephemera, over 9000 photographs and glass negatives from the American Civil War and Spanish-American War through the present day, letters and journals from American soldiers, and a sizable collection related to Winston Churchill.[2] The collection is open to members of the public, but membership is required to take materials out of the library.[3]
Programs at the library are free and open to the public, and have included interviews with Medal of Honor recipients such as Paul William Bucha and Gary L. Littrell, retired military figures such as Gen. Anthony Zinni and NASA Capt. Jim Lovell, as well as military authors such as Doris Kearns Goodwin and W.E.B. Griffin. It has also hosted exhibitions by artists such as Steve Mumford and members of the Midwest Air Force Association.[4][5][6] Programs are webcast live on the library's website and archived for later viewing or listening in streaming media or as podcasts. The programs are downloaded at a rate of 2,000 per month per program. They are also broadcast on Chicago PBS affiliate WYCC Channel 20. The Library's 2006 schedule was named an Official Honoree of the 2007 Webby Awards.[7] It was also named an Official Honoree in two categories, Live & Broadcast Events and Podcasts, in the 2008 Webby Awards.[8]
In 2007, the Library announced that Civil War historian James M. McPherson would receive the first annual Pritzker Military Library Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing. The award includes a $100,000 honorarium,[9][10] it is one of the richest literary prize endowments in the world.
The Pritzker Military Library was named one of 10 recipients of the 2009 National Medal [1] for Museum and Library Service, the nation’s highest honor for museums and libraries. The annual award, made by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) since 1994, recognizes institutions for outstanding social, educational, environmental, or economic contributions to their communities.
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