The prize money has gone up!! LibraryAware from Novelist has given ANOTHER $250 for the prize! With other contributions, Wwe are up to $800!!! Thank you so much Nancy Dowd and Novelist! and everyone listed below.
With another pledge of $100 from Tina Hager we are now up $600!
ANOTHER pledge of $100 from Sue Anderson and the prize money is up to $700!!
A pledge from Andy Woodworth of $100 makes the total up to $800 now!
With the success of the Great Librarian Write-out, I’m going to go for round two! Once again, you have NOW until the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in 2013 to get yourself published in some kind of non-library publication. It must be in print and not online and must be library related. Once again, I’m offering $250 of my own money to start this competition, and once again, I’d love to see anyone else jump in and offer something to up the award. Vendors and professional organizations are always welcome to offer some swag or increase the award!
Once again, it’s time for librarians to get out of the echo-chamber of librarianship and get some good words out to the people. The award is $250 (of my own money) for the best library-related article to be published in a non-library magazine or journal. Yes, that’s right… My own personal money!! That’s how important this is to me!
There are thousands of amazing writers in our profession who write their own blogs and write for our professional magazines and journals, but rarely (or never) do I see an article written for the public in a major national magazine about how libraries help society in some great way. I don’t think there has ever been a time when such articles should be appearing amidst the news of library closures, resource cutting, and layoffs. It’s time that we got the word out about libraries to as many people as possible!!
It seems to me that there are hundreds of topics for articles that could be written that would be applicable to the content of a major magazine. Off of the top of my head I’m thinking;
-Saving Businesses Money (or starting a business) with Library Resources that could be published in;
- Forbes
- Entrepreneur
- Fortune
-Business Week
-How someone learned about their cultural identity at the library that could be published in;
- Ebony
- Latina
- Out!
-Pet Care information that could be published in;
-Dogs
-Cats
-Bark!
But this is only scratching the surface of the possibilities. I could keep going but I think you get the idea. If you want to participate and win $700 for your article published in a non-library journal or magazine, here are the criteria;
-You must be in some way related to the library profession, a library vendor, a patron, a friend of a patron, or at least heard of the idea of libraries at one point in your life.
-It must be a pro-library article speaking positively about the benefits of libraries in some aspect of society and addressing the need for folks to get up and go to the library for some reason or another.
-The article must be printed between February 15 2012, and the first day of the ALA Midwinter Meeting on January 20th 2013
-It must be published in a non-library related magazine or journal with a national (United States) or international circulation. More points will be given to an article in a magazine with the largest circulation, and you will receive bonus points for a feature article.
-You must submit, your name, the title, and date of publication (for verification) by emailing us or commenting below.
The articles will be judged by the members of the Think Tank at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in Seattle Washington in 2013. The winner will be announced January 30th 2013.
If you want to help us up the ante for prize money let us know by commenting below or sending us a message. Also, any money raised through our Café Press store will go towards added prizes and awards and other library advocacy projects as well so feel free to shop away! http://www.cafepress.com/libraryadvocate
Please be sure to sign up for the event on Facebook!!
*This event is brought to you by the members of the Think Tank.*
JP Porcarro
Allen McGinley
Jenn Walker
Tiffany Mair
Andrea Davis
Purchases from The Library Advocacy Store Support Library Advocacy Projects
like the Great Librarian Write-out
Pingback: Page not found | PC Sweeney's Blog
Hey Patrick,
Shannon O’Neill from the Atlantic City Free Public Library, here. I’m not quite sure this applies, as it was published in the NY Times and not a magazine, but I wrote an Op-Art piece that was featured October 15, 2011. The article was titled Checking Out: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/opinion/sunday/checking-out.html. At any rate, if it’s applicable, I’d like to submit it to the Great Librarian Write-Out. Thanks!
Hi Shannon, great article. Yes as long as it was in print in a circulated publication it counts. The problem in this case though, is that it would have counted for last year’s round. The competition runs from January to January or ALA Midwinter to Midwinter. But, I would love to see you publish another one! The more we get in print the better.
Aw man, I’m so bummed that I just heard about this! I’m a librarian and wrote an article about libraries and social justice a few years ago. And I like money.
Anyway, even though it doesn’t qualify, here’s the link for interested parties! http://sojo.net/magazine/2010/05/free-all
Thanks Kate! No worries, there’s no reason why you can’t write again.
Pingback: Listen To My Guest Appearance On The Bibliotech Podcast | Librarian by Day
The rule that it must be in print and not online is rather limited for me. The trade magazine that I have in mind for this one just switched to online only last year to save cost. Bummer.
uuumh! This is a great drive can an international librarian be connected?
Yes! Absolutely.
I had an article I wrote titled, “In Search of those Elusive Library Skills,” published in Practical Homeschooling Magazine, Sept/Oct 2012 issue. The magazine owns the article. I may have to request permission to submit the article for this event.
Terry Numa
Let me know if you get that permission!
So local newspapers don’t count?
Newspapers absolutely count! In fact, the last winner was just an editorial about how libraries had touched his life that was written in the San Jose Mercury Newspaper.
Pingback: Thoughts for the New Year | ALSC Blog
Thanks for initiating this contest, Patrick!
With the permission of the author, I would like to nominate “Public Libraries: Helping Communities Thrive in a Changing World,” by Anne Marie Madziak, MLIS. The article appeared on pages 15-16 of the July 2012 issue of Municipal World (http://www.municipalworld.com).
Municipal World, a monthly print magazine “devoted to promoting effective municipal government,” is read by municipal administrators and elected officials across Canada and beyond. Anne Marie told me she wrote the article because “I wanted to try to influence and expand what they believe about public libraries and contribute to a better understanding of how libraries contribute to municipal priorities and overall community well-being.”
Pingback: Preaching to the Unconverted: Talking to Non-Library Audiences about Libraries » Public Libraries Online