Gale, a Cengage Company Learning Financial Development Award recipient named

For Immediate Release
Tue, 05/16/2017

Contact:

Cheryl Malden

Program Officer

Governance

American Library Association

312-280-3247

cmalden@ala.org

CHICAGO — Mid-Continent Public Library, the largest public library system in the Kansas City metropolitan area—serving nearly 800,000 people across its three-county district—is the 2017 winner of the prestigious Gale, a Cengage Company Learning Financial Development Award. The award is presented annually to a library organization for exhibiting meritorious achievements in carrying out a project to secure new funding resources for a public or academic library.

Mid-Continent Public Library demonstrated successful and creative fundraising with their new Library Lovers campaign. The library utilized a multifaceted approach capable of future growth and serving as a viable model for other libraries. Program leaders utilized community input to create a new affinity program, consistently themed and scaffolded to highlight the importance of members of all ages. They strategically utilized special events and branded products to capture community interest.

Mid-Continent Public Library is commended for how clearly they explained their fundraising efforts and for adding depth to their application through photos and a customer testimonial video. The extra effort to submit a succinct yet detailed program summary elevated the entry.  

Members of the 2017 Gale Cengage Learning Financial Development Award jury were Linda Kopecky, Chair, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Eva Davis, Canton (Michigan) Public Library; Susan Henricks, Carnegie-Stout Public Library (Dubuque, Iowa); Maricela Leon-Barrera, San Francisco Public Library; and Jon Walker, Pueblo (Colorado) City-County Public Library.

The Gale, a Cengage company Learning Financial Development Award will be presented at the ALA Award Ceremony and Reception on Sunday, June 25 at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.

The deadline for submission of applications for the 2018 Gale, a Cengage Company Financial Development Award is Dec. 1, 2017.

Guidelines and forms are available on the ALA website.