King Library Wins John Cotton Dana Library PR Award

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library is one of seven libraries across the country to win the prestigious American Library Association's 2004 John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award, announced San José State University and the City of San José today. The King Library was recognized for its publicity campaign, which highlighted the groundbreaking partnership between the university and city and led up to the library's grand opening in August 2003.

"The award recipients represent creative and effective public relations campaigns that responded to real community needs and produced real results in terms of improving public awareness and use of libraries, their programs and collections," said Peter Deekle, award committee chair, in an announcement by the ALA last month. "The John Cotton Dana Award is the most prestigious of all library awards in the public relations field and is important not only to the winning library, but also to the communities so positively impacted by these outstanding programs."

The King Library is the first library in the nation to be funded, co-managed and co-operated by a major city and university. An expansive life-long learning center, the King Library serves as an information hub for the residents, students and faculty, employers and employees of the Silicon Valley. The effort required the support of the San José Redevelopment Agency, the California State University System, and the State of California.

A tradition since 1946, the John Cotton Dana Award, sponsored by H. W. Wilson, honors outstanding library public relations, whether a summer reading program, a year-long centennial celebration, fundraising for a new college library, an awareness campaign or an innovative partnership in the community.

This year's seven winners will be honored during the 2004 ALA Annual Conference in Orlando in June.

Contacts: Nancy L. Stake at 408-924-1166, Lorraine Oback at 808-2176