In the 1940s United States labor union members and officials required well-researched information from the perspective of labor and relied on public libraries to provide resources and advice in selecting program labor training materials.[4] Dorothy Kuhn Oko began the labor education service of the New York Public Library in 1947, providing leadership in the adaptation to the changing needs of union members and leaders.[2][4] Oko directed the NYPL labor education service until 1961.[2]
She was a member of the Committee for the Preservation of Labor Reports[5] and, after the AFL–CIO and the American Library Association formed the Joint Committee on Library Service to Labor Groups in 1945, Oko was for many years the "guiding force" of that group.[6][7]
In 1963 Oko co-edited a volume of works reflecting on the relationship between libraries and labor, Library Service to Labor.[6] The book included historical background, theory, and case studies of libraries reaching out to and serving labor organizations.[6]
Oko died July 17, 1971, in New York City.[2]
