The NYC Library Awards Could Give $20,000 To Your Local Library Branch

BROOKLYN, NY — Forget about the upcoming Academy Awards. Don't fret about Valentine's Day. Stay focused on what matters: The NYC Library Awards is back! The annual competition, supported by the Charles H. Revson Foundation and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, will be awarding $20,000 to five New York library branches, and $10,000 to five runners-up, in an acknowledgement of their service to the community.

Last year, the Sunset Park Library received a $20,000 award, the only Brooklyn branch to do so. According to the awards program, the branch intends to use its winnings for art and music equipment for kids, plus a "staff development and team building workshop."

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There's also an additional $20,000 prize that will be awarded by the Heckscher Foundation for Children, in recognition of a library branch's "Outstanding Service to Children and Youth."

The winning libraries will be selected based on a variety of criteria, including circulation and program data, site visits, and the opinions of a philanthropic committee.

But there's another key component at play: nominations from those who count on their library branch. You can nominate a branch between now and March 13 using an online nomination form that's available in ten languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Russian and Arabic. Nomination forms will also be available in library branches themselves.

In 2016, more than 19,000 nominations were received. The top ten finalists will be announced in June, and winners will be announced in September or October.

You can learn more about the NYC Library Awards on the program's website.

Pictured at top: The Sunset Park Library. Photos by John V. Santore.