Enter by Feb. 1 to Win Two $10,000 Awards

There are two major marketing / public relations awards that have entry deadlines of February 1. Both are open to Canadian and American audiences. We at The M Word wanted to remind you today, since you have one week left to enter--and since there's a lot of prize money at stake! 

John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award

The American Library Association (ALA) is accepting submissions for the John Cotton Dana Award (JCD) Library Public Relations Award contest. The award, which is managed by the Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA) division of ALA, honors outstanding library public relations. Eight grants of $10,000 each will be awarded by the H.W. Wilson Foundation.

All sizes and types of libraries, Friends groups, or consultants can submit their strategic library communication campaigns, rebranding efforts, promotional work, etc.

JCD entries are judged on needs assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation. This focus on True Marketing is what makes JCD one of my all-time favorite awards. Entrants must submit evidence of their processes, research, media releases, media cover or other results achieved, plus evaluation of the results and other documentation and supporting materials that show the scope and effectiveness of the library’s strategic communication effort.

John Cotton Dana award winners receive cash development grants from the H.W. Wilson Foundation. The JCD awards are presented during a fancy reception hosted by EBSCO Publishing during the ALA annual conference.

Entry details are here.   

  

LibraryAware Community Award

The brand-new LibraryAware Community Award emphasizes a library’s engagement with its community and will recognize a library or library system that has demonstrated its ability to make its community “aware” of what the library can do for it—and has delivered on that promise. The award will be given by Library Journal and funded by LibraryAware, a product of EBSCO Publishing’s NoveList Division. (M Word founder Nancy Dowd now works on LibraryAware.)

This award will illuminate the value that communities throughout the U.S. and Canada derive from their libraries. It will highlight the outcomes of work by libraries—through the development of effective programs, services, partnerships, and communications—that result in better communities and an increased understanding of how libraries contribute to a community’s well-being.

The LibraryAware Community Award will be given annually, to a community of any size and its library, during National Library Week (April 14-20, 2013). It will be presented to the mayor, city/county manager, or city council president, along with the library director.

The city/county will receive a plaque identifying it as a “LibraryAware” community. The first-place library will receive $10,000. The second-place library will get $7,500 and third place will win $5,000.

Entry details are here. 

So, what are you waiting for? Both of these awards will deliver big money, great press coverage, and international recognition. Enter your best work by the Feb. 1 deadline!