LEADS from LLAMA

Entries for the 62nd John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award are being accepted now through Dec. 4 by LLAMA. Inaugurated in 1946, the John Cotton Dana Award honors outstanding library public relations programs that support a specific project, goal or activity, or a sustained, ongoing program (e.g. the promotion of a summer reading program, a year-long centennial celebration, fundraising for a new college library, an awareness campaign or an innovative partnership in the community). Winning entries receive $5,000 for their organizations, courtesy of the award’s sponsor, the H.W. Wilson Company.

“Winning campaigns aren’t always those conducted by libraries with the largest budgets,” said Patricia Marvel, chair of LLAMA’s Public Relations and Marketing Section (PRMS) and former John Cotton Dana Award judge. “Winners aren’t necessarily the ones with the flashiest graphics; they don’t have the biggest advertising budgets or a celebrity spokesperson.  Winning campaigns are those that execute a thorough and creative strategic communication plan to solve a problem or satisfy a need, using tools like public and media relations, advertising, marketing collateral and community partnerships.”

“As a sponsor of the JCD award for more than 60 years, we’re proud to see that the spirit of ingenuity in community relations is thriving among America’s libraries,” commented Harold Regan, president and CEO of The H.W. Wilson Company.  “John Cotton Dana would be proud,” added William Stanton, President of The H.W. Wilson Foundation. “We’re happy to be involved in recognizing the best of the best and encouraging new heights of creativity and impact.”
The contest is open to all libraries and agencies that promote library service.  Entries can be for calendar year 2008 (January-December), school year 2007-2009 (Fall-Spring) or any special project that ends in 2008.

To see examples of the 2008 winning entries, visit the LLAMA Public Relations and Marketing Section web page at:  http://ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/llama/llamacommittees/publicrelationsb/publicrelations.cfm

For an entry form, checklist, guidelines and tips, visit the H.W. Wilson web site at http://www.hwwilson.com/jcdawards/nw_jcd.htm

This entry was posted on September 30, 2008 at 2:47 pm and is filed under Awards, Funding Sources. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.