For immediate release | February 16, 2016

2016 PR Xchange Awards entry forms available

CHICAGO — Libraries everywhere are creating innovative, creative, exciting promotional materials: newsletters, program announcements, reading celebrations, advocacy materials, fundraising messages and more. Now is the time to receive recognition for your library’s amazing work -- entry forms for the 2016 PR Xchange Awards competition are now available.

Read about the 2016 PR Xchange Awards Competition http://www.prxchangeawards.org

Submit your entry online by March 15, 2016 http://tinyurl.com/prxchange-awards-2016

Check out the Frequently Asked Questions http://tinyurl.com/2016-prxchange-awards-FAQ

Need more information? Please contact the PR Xchange Awards co-chairs Mark Aaron Polger and Laura Tomcik at prxchange.awards@gmail.com.

About the PR Xchange Awards Competition

The 2016 PR Xchange Awards Competition recognizes the very best public relations materials produced by libraries in the past year. The PR Xchange Awards Competition is sponsored by the Public Relations and Marketing Section (PRMS) of the Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). The PR Xchange Awards Competition is overseen by the PR Xchange Committee.

Selection Criteria

This year’s competetion will recognize original materials produced during the 2015 calendar year. Entries will be evaluated based on content, originality, and design by a team of experts in marketing, public relations, graphic design and communications, who select the winner(s) in each category. 2016 judging will be in the Chicago area. Please contact prxchange.awards@gmail.com if you are interested in being one of the volunteer judges. If you decide to become a volunteer judge, then you cannot submit an entry this year.

Submit Your Work

Please complete the online submission form for each entry by March 15, 2016. Each library may submit a maximum of seven entries. If you are submitting a printed work, you must print out the confirmation email and mail it along with three hard copies of the work to:

2016 PR Xchange Awards Competition

c/o Laura Tomcik

Buswell Library/Wheaton College

501 East College Ave.

Wheaton, IL 60187

Hard copies must be postmarked by the March 15, 2016 deadline. Submissions that are originally digital should be submitted as electronic submissions. Electronic submissions do not require a printed copy to be mailed out.

Winners

Winners will be notified in early May 2016. Winning entries will be on display during the PR Xchange Event during the 2016 ALA Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. The PR Xchange Award Co-Chairs will contact all those who submitted an entry. Awards will be presented to the winners at the PR Xchange Awards ceremony following the PR Xchange Event in the same space. Award winners need not be present to win, but are encouraged to attend.

About the PR Xchange Event

The PR Xchange is a drop-in style event at the ALA Annual Conference. It will be held on Sunday, June 26, 2016 at the ALA Conference Exhibit Hall, Special Events Area. It’s an exciting event where libraries across the country share their PR and marketing ideas. View and take free copies of award-winning PR materials from the juried PR Xchange awards, as well as promotional materials from libraries across North America. Attendees can learn how to improve their own promotional materials by talking with John Cotton Dana Award Winners, PR Xchange award winners, and other Library Marketing authors and experts. Each year we invite different authors and library marketing experts, as well as John Cotton Dana Awards winners. The PR Xchange Event and the PR Xchange Awards Competition are both overseen by the PR Xchange Committee.

Best of luck to all participants!

Mark Aaron Polger and Laura Tomcik

2016 PR Xchange Awards Co-chairs

PR Xchange Committee

Public Relations & Marketing Section (PRMS)

Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA)

American Library Association (ALA)

prxchange.awards@gmail.com

www.prxchangeawards.org

Contact:

Fred Reuland

LLAMA Program Officer

Library Leadership and Management Association

freuland@ala.org

312-280-5032