Hunt PR Campaign a Winner

NC State’s campaign to promote the opening of the Hunt Library last year nabbed a national public relations award.

The campaign, titled “The Library of the Future,” was one of eight library PR efforts honored with the John Cotton Dana Award, sponsored by the H.W. Wilson Foundation, EBSCO and the Library Leadership and Management Association, a division of the American Library Association.

Judges narrowed the field after reviewing 83 submissions from academic, public and special libraries. They praised the Hunt Library campaign for its playful voice and public engagement.

“Beyond the great technology, incredible facility and impressive media coverage, the true star of this campaign was the way the community told the story,” the award citation said. “Students were asked to imagine themselves in the space, and they took to the challenge wholeheartedly.”

The award includes a $10,000 prize.

Other winners of the 2014 award include the Birmingham (Ala.) Public Library, the Champaign (Ill.) Public Library, the Kitsap (Wash.) Regional Library, the Sacramento (Calif.) Public Library, Texas A&M University Libraries, the University of Texas – San Antonio Libraries, and the Wells (Ind.) County Library.

The Hunt Library racked up several other awards recently, including recognition by Business Insider as one of the nation’s 16 “Coolest College Libraries” and the designation “Most Modern Architecture” in a photo contest sponsored by an educational content company.