2007 John Cotton Dana Award Winners Announced

ALA Cognotes has listed the seven libraries that have been awarded the 2007 John Cotton Dana Award: Congratulations to all seven winners but especially to our New Jersey winners at Ocean County Library hooray!!!!

Ocean County Library, New Jersey, for “Hurricane Katrina—Partners in Caring.” In immediate response to the devastation, Ocean County Library raised more than $120,000 in cash to help restore services, and established a lifelong bond with the Hancock County Library in Mississippi. Using a variety of creative methods and an aggressive public relations campaign, Ocean County’s initiative and outreach brought staff of both libraries and the two shore communities together to make a difference.

Brooklyn Public Library in Brooklyn, New York, for “Brooklyn Reads to Babies.” This model early literacy program, with appealing multi-lingual materials, had the ambitious goal of reaching every family in Brooklyn. Combining research, outreach through more than 30 strategic partners, and creative use of appropriate communication tools, led to a tremendously successful PR campaign with measurable results.

Douglas County Libraries in Castle Rock, Colorado for “Page to Stage Productions.” The library used the unique power of live theater connected with children’s literature as an outreach tool. A professional production based on James Marshall’s popular book, Miss Nelson is Missing, reached over 10,000 children in schools and libraries throughout the county, driving up Summer Reading participation by 10% and doing it all for a cost of less than $1.00 per audience member.
`

Huntsville-Madison County Public Library, Huntsville, Alabama, for their public relations campaign promoting “The Big Read: Huntsville Reads ‘The Great Gatsby.” Their thoughtful, comprehensive and well-executed campaign used multiple public relations strategies including community partnerships to target diverse audiences. Their efforts resulted in renewed interest and enthusiasm for their “one book” program by the community and the media, and achieved a dramatic increase in participation over the previous year’s project.

Milner Library at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois for “Honoring Illinois State University’s First Librarian Angeline ‘Ange’ Vernon Milner.” This was an extensive awareness campaign to bring new life to a legendary library ghost on the 150th anniversary of her birth. A public relations effort refocused local perception, transforming the legend of a very real leader in the library profession from a campus ghost haunting the collections, to the groundbreaking professional and scholar she was.

The Office of Commonwealth Libraries in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for “Pennsylvania: One Book, Every One Child,” a comprehensive statewide campaign to reach 560,000 preschool children, provided stimulating literacy experiences and encouraged lifelong learning. The program donated the charming book Inside Mouse, Outside Mouse, to 641 public libraries and 15,000 early care and education programs, and additional supporting resources including author visits, a museum trunk, print materials and a resource website.

The Wyoming State Library in Cheyenne, Wyoming for their state wide campaign, “Wyoming Libraries: Bringing the World to Wyoming,” involving every library in the state. This highly creative and visually expressive awareness campaign combines Wyoming lore and cowboy culture with global literary and travel icons: A windmill atop the Eiffel Tower fills a watering trough for grazing cattle, raised the profile of the library to state-wide administrators and lonesome cowboys as well. Winning entries will be featured in the next issue of the LAMA journal, Library

Read the CogNotes here




library marketing