Background:

The Gabriele Schreiber (Random House of Canada) "Friends of the Year" Award will be given to a Friends of the Library group for outstanding support to its library and for outstanding volunteer involvement. Outstanding support for the library is demonstrated by ways in which the group has supported existing or new library programs or services and promoted awareness of its library.  Outstanding volunteer involvement will be measured by the total number of Friends’ volunteers actively involved in programs or fundraising projects and whether this number has increased as a result of them.

All Friends groups who are members in good standing of FOCAL are eligible to enter.

All documentation for the Award Entry will be sent to the Chair of the Gabriele Schreiber Award Committee, whose name and address will be listed on the Application form as the designated contact.

A FOCAL selection committee will judge the entries and the winner will be announced May 1^st.   The Friends of the Year prize will be awarded to the Library which the winning Friends group supports, in the amount of $1000 retail, for the purchase of books from Random House. 

The winning Friends group and the Library CEO/Director will be notified by the Chair of the Gabriele Schreiber Award Committee. Random House will be also notified about which group has won the Award. 

The Chair of the Award Committee will contact the winning Friends group in writing to arrange a date, place and time for presentation of the award and to ensure efforts are made to contact local media.  Random House will be informed about the event and invited to attend. 

Where possible, the presentation of the award will be made by a member of the FOCAL Board or by a designated representative. 

The Chair of the Gabriele Schreiber Award Committee will ensure a plaque is sent to the designated representative for presentation.

All other applicants will receive a letter thanking them for applying.

The nomination package will be sent to FOCAL’s webmaster and newsletter editor, along with the all media coverage and photos of the award presentation.

ENTRY RULES

1.            All Friends groups who are members of FOCAL, in good standing, are eligible to enter.

2.            Additional points will be awarded for including a letter of support from the Library Director/CEO or Library staff person.

3.            The population of the community your library serves must be specified so that total funds raised can be judged within the context of the population the library serves. 

4.        Entries will be judged on the following:

I.  How Your Friends Group Benefits Your Library: 

·         Describe the following in detail: programs, special events, advocacy and/or fundraising activities your group undertakes which benefit your library or libraries.

·         Specify total funds raised during the year

·         Describe, in detail, any additional projects where your Friends group reaches out into the broader community or has joint activities with other organizations.

II.  Membership and Volunteer Involvement: 

a)           Total number of members

b)           Increase or decrease in membership over previous two years

c)           Total number of volunteers

d)           Approximate total annual volunteer hours

III.  Impact on library services: 

a)                  List services and/or programs that are entirely run by Friends

b)                  List services and/or programs which are joint endeavours with the Library

IV.  Innovation: 

·         Special one-time events, such as celebrating a library anniversary or opening

V.  Community Involvement, beyond direct support to the library

·         Specify any programs involving Friends and other community partners, such as service clubs, an arts organization, school, etc. 

5.  Please provide any supporting materials, such as media coverage, letter from your library Director/CEO or staff person, which will assist the judges in better understanding how your Friends group supports your library, as well as your level of volunteer support.

6. The application and supporting materials become the property of FOCAL and may be used in FOCAL publications.

Materials will be kept for three years by the editor of the Newsletter and then will be returned to the Friends group.

7.  Random House of Canada will award a credit of up to $1000 retail for the purchase of books, to the library associated with the Friends of the Year winner.

Applications must be received each year no later than February 28th.

Please send entries to: Dorothy  Macnaughton, Vice-President, Friends of Canadian Libraries, 67 Amber St., Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 6N6