All USA USA Territories: American Samoa (USA); Guam (USA); Puerto Rico (USA); Virgin Islands (USA); Northern Mariana Islands (USA); USA Compact Free Associations:The Federated States of Micronesia (USA) Marshall Islands (USA) Republic of Palau (USA) Canada:Alberta; British Columbia; Manitoba; New Brunswick; Newfoundland and Labrador; Northwest Territories; Nova Scotia; Nunavut; Ontario; Prince Edward Island; Quebec; Saskatchewan; Yukon; International, Israel and Canada.
Awards to USA, Canada, and International libraries for exceptional public relations programs. Examples of eligible programs include innovative partnerships in the community, awareness campaigns, fundraising for a new college library, a year-long centennial celebration, and a summer reading program. In recognition of their achievement, John Cotton Dana award winners receive a cash award from the H.W. Wilson Foundation. The John Cotton Dana Awards are presented at an elegant reception hosted by EBSCO held during the American Library Association annual conference.
Strategic library communication campaigns may be submitted by any library, friends group, consulting agency or service provider.
All types of libraries are welcome to enter, and international entries are also encouraged. The application text must be in English for review.
- College/University
- Friends Group
- Library Associations
- Library Consortia
- Library Foundations
- Native/Tribal
- Public
- Rural
- School
- State
Ineligible
The only exclusions are institutions represented by John Cotton Dana Award Committee members, John Cotton Dana Award Committee members from the previous year, organizational units of the American Library Association, and EBSCO Information Services and the H.W. Wilson Foundation.
Pre-Application Information
Submit on or before March 17, 2023.
Value of in-kind contributions must be stated on the application.
Awards for entries selected will be announced late Spring 2023. All entrants will be invited to attend the John Cotton Dana Awards Reception hosted by EBSCO, the H.W. Wilson, and Core/ALA during ALA Annual Conference 2023, where award‐winning campaigns will be honored.
A JCD application must be a public relations/strategic communication program that occurred entirely during 2022, the 2021‐2022 academic year, or a multi‐year project completed in 2022.