The 2024 John Cotton Dana (JCD) Award winners, recognized for their strategic communications efforts, have been selected. The John Cotton Dana Awards provide up to eight grants for libraries that demonstrate outstanding library public relations. The award is managed by the Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures division of the American Library Association and EBSCO Information Services and consists of $10,000 grants from the H.W. Wilson Foundation.
Barrie Public Library
Campaign: Discover Opportunities with a Barrie Public Library Card
From planning through implementation, Barrie Public Library’s library card sign-up campaign was fun and built upon community spirit and personal connections. Their campaign forged connections within the community through referral cards that were well-designed and truly had the community “sharing the love” of their public library. They were savvy with staff utilization in this multi-channel campaign. Their ongoing evaluation and monitoring led to updating goals and invigorating staff for a highly successful campaign.
Richmond Hill Public Library
Campaign: Richmond Hill Public Library ReBrand
With a need to rebrand, the library developed a campaign that challenged preconceptions and embraced innovation. Their “Yes, at the Library” messaging effectively invited the community to rethink what a library means in today’s world, resulting in an increase of 32% in their patron’s positivity during that single year. The campaign not only showcased what today’s library looks like in terms of design, but also created measurable buy-in from staff and residents within the diverse community, helping mend a major disconnect between the library’s values and the way community members perceived the library as a whole.
Other Winners Are:
Anchorage Public Library (Alaska), Curtis Memorial Library (Maine), Orange County Library System (Florida), Salt Lake County Library (Utah), Spokane Public Library (Washington), and Tacoma Public Library (Washington).
https://www.ala.org/news/2024/06/2024-john-cotton-dana-awards-announced