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2005 James C. Howland Gold Prize

The National League of Cities (NLC) recognizes cities and towns that have turned ideas into accomplishments. The James C. Howland Awards for Municipal Enrichment recognizes and highlights communities that have preserved and/or enriched a high quality of life in cities, towns, and villages. The King Library was recognized for the strategic location linking city and university and the increased breadth of service resulting from pooled resources. The library was selected out of a field of 101 nominations overall. The King Library Project is also included in the NLC's Examples of Programs for Cities database.

 

News Release: December 7, 2005 -

San José Earns Howland Award from the National League of Cities

Release issued by National League of Cities (Washington, DC)

San José, Calif., is one of eight cities selected to receive the prestigious 2005 James C. Howland Award for Municipal Enrichment at the National League of Cities’ Congress of Cities in Charlotte, N.C., on December 9th. San José Mayor Ron Gonzales and City Manager Del Borgsdorf will be accepting the award on behalf of their city.

San José was the Gold Winner in the Population over 500,001 category for its collaboration with San José State University to create the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. The King Library is both a public and academic library, built where the city and campus meet so that it can be shared by the entire community. The library is much larger than either the city or the university could have built individually, and the wealth of information the library can offer is much broader since they now offer combined resources.

"Great cities have great libraries, and we're very proud that the King Library in San José has received this national recognition with the Howland Award," said San José Mayor Ron Gonzales. "Our unique partnership between City Hall and San José State University has become a national model as a creative and successful solution that enriches the quality of life for our residents through community innovation and vision."

Other winning cities include Alpharetta, Ga., Fayetteville, N.C., Colorado Springs, Colo., New Brighton, Minn., Casper, Wyo., Des Moines, Iowa, and Austin, Tex. These cities were selected for their efforts to enhance the quality of life in their communities. Public- private partnerships, innovative collaborations and citizen engagement were the hallmarks of their programs. Each city received a cash award, which will be donated to community non-profit organizations of their choice.

The James C. Howland Awards for Municipal Enrichment are named in honor of the founding partner of CH2M Hill, a consulting firm that the National League of Cities has partnered with since the inception of this awards program. The purpose of the award is to highlight and encourage community efforts that have preserved and enriched the quality of life in cities and towns. The National League of Cities is the largest national organization for American cities and towns. NLC serves as a resource and advocate for 18,000 cities, towns and villages of all sizes, which collectively serve 225 million people. Additional information about the Municipal Award is available on NLC’s website.