Your Favorite Library Could Get $10,000

The first-ever NYC Neighborhood Library Awards calls for nominations

If your neighborhood library deserves a cash infusion, this is your chance to help make it happen.

The NYC Neighborhood Library Awards want to hear about what makes your local branch fantastic and why it should receive a $10,000 award to help make it even better. The organization will offer a cash prize awarded directly to branch libraries, which is a first in the city. The awards celebrate the unique ways that local libraries serve New York's diverse communities in the 21st century. Residents can submit nominations from now until July 1 explaining how their local branch library meets the specific needs of their neighborhood and why it should win $10,000.

In 2011, New York City's public libraries received 40.5 million visits, and library program attendance has increased 40 percent over the last decade. Given the changing economic environment, the city's libraries are constantly evolving to meet the needs of New Yorkers through new programs, classes, job resources, community events, and more. Manhattan residents can nominate their local libraries through the public libraries' website at www.NYPL.org.

The NYC Neighborhood Library Awards program is an independent awards program sponsored by the Charles H. Revson Foundation, in association with WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show. A review committee will vet the nominations submitted by the public, and a panel of judges will select five winners. The panel of judges will include: the author R.L. Stine; Fatima Shama, NYC Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs; Kurt Andersen, author and host of WNYC's Studio 360; and Carla Hayden, CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore and former president of the American Library Association (ALA). Winners will be announced in September 2013.