When two Macalester College historians scrambled to convert a century-old Carnegie library into a hub of St. Paul immigrant and labor history, they werent thinking about national library awards, but they got one this week.

The East Side Freedom Library also has captured the attention of Michonne, the world-famous zombie slayer from AMCs hit television series The Walking Dead.

Over the past three years, the husband-and-wife team of Peter Rachleff and Beth Cleary have filled the nooks of the Freedom Library on Greenbrier Street with as many as 15,000 items. Many are books from local authors, immigrant narratives such as the official Hmong Archives, and Minnesotas labor history.

Theres also work space for a Karen refugee weaving group, art retreats, author talks, films and two separate meditation circles.

The 8,000-square-foot structure, which dates to 1917, even hosts childrens singalongs and Solidarity Saturdays, where seasoned labor activists and others who identify as being left of the ideological center can sip teaon rocking chairs while pondering how quickly their political fortunes have turned since the last election. For the labor movement, these are interesting times.

There has never been a more important time to be building these kinds of bridges than now, Rachleff said Tuesday. Saturday we had a History Day workshop in the morning for kids doing History Day projects, followed by a childrens story hour for younger kids. Saturday afternoon we had Karen teenagers doing digital storytelling, with five-minute videos kids did at Washington Technology Magnet School.

The calendar for the rest of the week includes two author talks, a discussion about labors influence on progressive politics in Richmond, Calif., and a presentation on school funding from the St. Paul Federation of Teachers.

Its all part of a new role for theformerArlington Hills Library, andan unusual addition to the Payne-Phalen neighborhood.

Rachleff, a former Macalester College labor historian, and Cleary, who teaches the history and practice of theater at Macalester, acknowledge that since signing a 15-year lease with the city in 2014, theyve made a few changes. Among them, the couples part-Alaskan Malamute rescue dog,Orso, now lolls about the bookshelves.

Some of those changes have reverberated with the American Library Association, which on Monday recognized the East Side Freedom Library with the John Sessions Memorial Award. Sponsored by the AFL-CIOs Department for Professional Employees, the award is given each year to one library or library system that recognizes the contributions of the labor movement to American history and development.

And Walking Dead actress Danai Gurira, who plays the sword-wielding survivor of an apocalyptic zombie outbreak, sent Rachleff and Cleary a sizable donation this Christmas, one large enough to bring tears to Rachleffs eyes.

I think that its not often that teachers get support from their students, and its very meaningful to both Beth and me, Rachleff said Tuesday.

Both professors had the Iowa-born, Tony Award-winning actress in class during her undergraduate years at Macalester. Cleary directed Gurira in several main-stage plays.

The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis will soon showcase one of Guriras plays Familiar which revolves around a Zimbabwe-American woman who brings her white fiance home to meet her parents in Minnesota. Guriras ancestral roots are from Zimbabwe.

Rachleff pointed to DVD copiesof Guriras work on a table at the library dedicated to local artists. Recognized for its cinematography, the 2013 Sundance Film Festival entry Mother of George focuses on the cultural challenges confronting a Nigerian family living in Brooklyn.

More information about the library is online ateastsidefreedomlibrary.org.

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East Side Freedom Library wins national award and a gift from a Zombie hunter - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press