8 January 2025
The American Library Association (ALA) is now accepting submissions for the 2025 John Cotton Dana Award (JCD). The John Cotton Dana Award is one of the most prestigious awards given to up to eight libraries for outstanding library public relations. The $10,000 awards will be provided by the H.W. Wilson Foundation and honors the best library marketing efforts nationwide. Applications for the JCD Award should be submitted electronically and received by March 3, 2025.
Libraries of all types and sizes are encouraged to submit entries for a John Cotton Dana Award. Entries may be submitted by any library, Friends group, consulting agency or service provider, unless they are represented on the JCD committee. Entries should showcase a strategic communications campaign from the past year, such as rebranding, promoting archives, awareness initiatives, community partnerships, or special events. Highlighting innovation, marketing, and new technologies while clearly outlining your goals reflects the key elements of winning campaigns.
Submission documentation is expected to show the scope and effectiveness of the campaign. Entries for the John Cotton Dana Award are organized around needs assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation. Examples of these documents may include initial assessments and research, processes for implementation, goals met, creative output, media releases, media coverage and other metrics that establish results.
The awards are managed by Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures (Core), a division of ALA. All John Cotton Dana Award judges are associated with the Core division. Up to eight winners from libraries with a wide range of budgets, both large and small, will be selected and honored at the ALA’s Annual Conference in June 2025.
For more information, including entry documents, visit the JCD Awards website. The 2025 John Cotton Dana Award winners will be announced in June 2025 by ALA and EBSCO Information Services.
About the John Cotton Dana Award
The John Cotton Dana Award was inaugurated by The H.W. Wilson Company at the 1946 annual conference of the American Library Association. It was named after John Cotton Dana (1856-1929), a librarian called the father of the modern library. The Awards are funded by the H.W. Wilson Foundation.