Baltimore County Library, Southfield Public Library, Des Plaines Public Library win L. PeRCy Awards for @ your libraryTM campaign
Contact: Deborah Davis
312-280-2148
dedavis@ala.org
For Immediate Release
July 10, 2002
Baltimore County Library, Southfield Public Library, Des Plaines Public Library win L. PeRCy Awards for @ your library™ campaign
The Baltimore (Md.) County Library and Southfield (Mich.) Public Library have been awarded L. PeRCy Awards from the Library Public Relations Council in the category of @ your library™ and the Des Plaines (Ill.) Public Library received an award for its @ your library™ booklist.
Baltimore County Library was the winner in Division I, representing larger libraries. The library won for a series of bookmarks and ads they produced for National Library Week 2001. The ads featured the @ your library logo, photos of actual library users and quotes about why they use the library. The bookmarks, which served as a staff incentive, also featured the @ your library logo, as well as photos of "behind the scenes" library staff and quotes about why they like working at the library.
Baltimore County Library also is represented on a committee that is planning a statewide @ your library campaign in Maryland. The campaign is a joint effort with the Maryland Library Association, the Division of Library Development Services and individual libraries across the state.
Southfield Public Library was the winner in Division II, which represents libraries serving smaller populations. The library won for its bi-monthly newsletter which is named @ your library™. With a circulation of 5,000, the newsletter lists upcoming events, Web sites and books donated to the library and has columns for the director and the Friends group. It is distributed throughout the community and at the library.
Des Plaines Public Library was the Division I recipient of an award in the Booklist category for its list called "Mysteries in the Windy City @ your library™." The booklist was compiled by a member of the library's Reader's Services staff. Prepared as a color pamphlet, the list includes annotations for 20 books. Several hundred copies were produced and distributed at the library as part of a series of genre-oriented @ your library™ booklists.
The L. PeRCy Awards are given annually by the Library Public Relations Council in recognition of outstanding print public relations materials from libraries in the United States and abroad. All entries must have been produced in 2001. Submissions were judged in six categories: Annual Report, Service Brochure, Program Announcement, Materials/Booklist, Web Page and @ your library™. In each of the categories, awards were given in two divisions based on library budget and population served. This was the first year that awards were given for the @ your library campaign.
"The @ your library campaign is an important milestone for libraries and the American Library Association," said Susan Ferris, chair of the 2002 L. PeRCy Awards. "It was a natural fit for this competition."
This year, 400 entries were submitted, mostly from public libraries, representing an increase over past years. The winning entries were elected by a panel of judges on the basis of originality, visual impact, effectiveness and clarity of message.
"Public Relations in our nation's libraries has traditionally been unappreciated and underfunded. The @ your library campaign and the L. PeRCy Awards are a great way to showcase the work that libraries are doing to promote their programs and services," adds Ferris.
Judges were Nolan Lushington, retired director of the Greenwich (Conn.) Public Library and Southern Connecticut State University Library School professor; Bernard Yudain, journalist and retired TIME Inc. executive; and Joseph Kantorski, Kantorski Design, Inc.
To view the 2002 L. PeRCy winners and learn about becoming a member of the Library Public Relations Council, stop by their membership booth at the ALA Conference in Atlanta during Swap and Shop on Sunday, June 16, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Georgia World Convention Center, Suite B206. Winners will receive their awards at a dinner on Monday, June 17. @ your library™, The Campaign for America's Libraries, is a multi-year public education campaign sponsored by ALA to speak loudly and clearly about the value of libraries and librarians in the 21st century. For more information about the campaign, check out the
website.
