Ipswich, MA (PRWEB) June 22, 2012

Library Journal is looking for libraries that are deeply engaged with their community and where the community is equally engaged with the library. A new award, the LibraryAware Community Award, will recognize those cities and towns and their libraries, or library systems, that have demonstrated their ability to make the community aware of what the library can do for themand have delivered on that promise. The award will be given by Library Journal and underwritten by LibraryAware, a product of the NoveList division of EBSCO Publishing.

This award will illuminate the value that communities throughout the United States and Canada derive from their libraries and highlight the outcomes of work by librariesthrough the development of effective programs, services, partnerships, and communicationsthat result in better communities and an increased understanding of how libraries contribute to a communitys well-being. The award will demonstrate why libraries deserve the resources necessary to deliver services that result in healthier, more prosperous, and more engaged cities and towns, says LJ editor-in-chief Francine Fialkoff.

NoveList Vice President Duncan Smith says the community is as vital to the success of any library as libraries are to successful communities. We want to live in communities where people see themselves as part of the future, as part of the solution. We want communities where the spirit of inquiry is alive, where not only the librarians and library staff but the citizens themselves embrace self-directed learning. It is in the public library where a community extends its capacity to imagine.

The LibraryAware Community Award will be given annually to a community of any size and its library during National Library Week. It will be presented to the city or town officials and the library director. The city or town will receive a plaque identifying it as a LibraryAware community. The winning library will receive $ 10,000, with second place receiving $ 7500, and third place receiving $ 5000. The first winners will be announced in June 2013 and the winning library will be featured in an article in Library Journal that same month.

THE CRITERIA

The LibraryAware Community Award will go to a library whose community is aware of, and recognizes, the librarys role: