I won a John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award

Okay, technically the Houston Public Library is one of the six winners announced for the 2009 John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Awards

Six libraries are winners of the John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award, which recognizes and honors outstanding achievement in library public relations. The John Cotton Dana honor has been awarded continuously since 1946 and is sponsored by the H.W. Wilson Company, the H.W. Wilson Foundation and the Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). It is considered to be the most prestigious of all library awards in the field of public relations.

“The judges enjoyed reviewing the many submissions and were impressed by the quality and creativity of the public relations campaigns being executed by libraries of all types and sizes from across the country and Canada,” said award committee Chair Linda Holtslander. “Public relations and marketing efforts are more important now than ever to communicate the many valuable services and programs provided by libraries to meet the increasing needs of their customers in these challenging economic times.”

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Houston Public Library, Houston Texas, for “A New Chapter,” its public relations campaign for the grand re-opening of the newly renovated Houston Central Library. Recognizing that this event marked “a big step in a new direction” for the library, it leveraged this event into a successful ongoing campaign featuring striking graphics reflecting images of Houston’s diversity, earning significant media coverage, attracting 20,000 people to the reopening event and increasing usage by non-traditional customers.

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Consider that there are more libraries in this country than McDonald’s. So, pardon me if I pat myself on the back for helping win what is “considered to be the most prestigious of all library awards in the field of public relations.”

Kudos go to Donna Jackson, our branding manager, for the “striking graphics” mentioned, to my colleague Blanca Quezada, who helps me every day (without whom I would be lost, literally) and worked tirelessly and effectively to promote the grand reopening, to my former fearless leader Robin Cavanaugh, who brought in partnerships and coordinated logistics, and to Steve Hill, grants coordinator and architect of the awards submission.

And now, I will cease my boasting and gratitude.