ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


6 36 / C&RL News

A w ard-w in nin g PR supports
colleges' missions

 

B y C o n n ie  V in ita D o w e ll

The John Cotton Dana special 
aw ard winners

T he College of William and Mary (Williams­burg, Virginia) and Gustavus Adolphus Col­
lege (St. Peter, Minnesota) w on 1994 John

ton Dana Public Relations Special Awards for
effective PR programs that advanced the librar­
ies’ leadership roles in furthering their colleges
missions.

At William and Mary, the library wanted to
be a leader in the college’s tercentenary cel­
ebration and to foster staff involvement in it.
“A 3OOth anniversary comes along but once in
the lifetime of an insti­
tution. O ur college’s 
te r c e n te n a r y  w as a 
y e a r-lo n g , c a m p u s ­
w id e c e le b ra tio n  of 
this second oldest in­
stitution of higher edu­
cation in the U.S. Our 
library had the oppor­
tunity to becom e inti­
mately involved in the 
planning for the cel­

T he lo g o  u sed  to  p r oebration, both with an fu n d ra iser at G ustav
internal committee and
as part of the campuswide steering commit­
tee,” said Nancy H. Marshall, dean of libraries.

Their John Cotton Dana Special Award rec­
ognized the library “for contributing to the edu­
cational and cultural enrichment of the college’s
300th anniversary by promoting innovative pro­
grams throughout the year involving the com­
munity and furthering the university’s tradition
of public service.”

 C
 

’ 

 

 
 

m
us

 

 

With thousands of individuals participating 
in more than 30 activities, the year-long cel­
ebration offered something for everyone: schol­
ars, alumni, students, retired citizens, staff, and 
the general public. These programs included a 
monumental exhibit of the college’s history, 
alumna and movie star Glenn Close donating 

oht­er papers and signing her ALA READ poster, 
and a seminar on Scholarly Humanities Com­
munication in the Electronic Age. In addition, 
the library was also the chosen venue for many 
campuswide events planned by other depart­
ments of the college.

The outcome, according to Marshall, was a 
higher profile on campus for the library and 
more exposure than usual. Most of the library’s 

ideas, activities, and 
events were the result 
o f te a m w o rk . T he 
many interesting and 
m u ltip le  in itia tiv e s  
tak en  by the library 
an d  th e  e n th u siasm  
and extra efforts of the 
library staff were the 
most important factors 
in the program’s suc­
cess. A pproxim ately 

o te  th e  R oyal Affair $29,000 was raised by 
 A d o lp h u s C ollege. the library in connec­

tion with the tercentenary celebration.
Gustavus Adolphus College, named after the 

Swedish king, has close ties to Sweden as does 
its library, Folke Bernadotte Memorial, named 
after the Swedish diplomat who was assassi­
nated while on a peace mission to Palestine in 
1947. One of the college’s major programs is a 
Nobel Conference, an annual gathering of sci­
entists including Nobel laureates. The library’s

Connie Vinita Dowell is college librarian at Connecticut College a n d  a Jo h n  Cotton D a na Award judge; 
e-mail: cvdow@dsys.cc.conncoll.edu

cvdow%e2%80%b9Sdsys.cc.conncoll.edu


638 /C&RL News