FOCAL / BRODART Community Service Award

2008 Winner

Friends of the Ottawa Public Library Association

At the 2008 FOCAL AGM held on April 22, the BRODART/FOCAL Award Committee is pleased to announce that this year's recipient of the COMMUNITY SERVICE Award is the Friends of the Ottawa Public Library. This is the first time that a Friends group has been recognized with an award recognizing efforts in community service.
 

The award recognizes the significant role that Friends Groups can make in promoting library services in the community by underlining the contribution of Friends in one or more areas including community partnerships, community outreach, advocacy, and impact on community life.


In the Committee's opinion, the Ottawa Friends superbly documented the activities of their Association in their application and addressed the intent of the Award, namely to recognize a Friends Group for outstanding community service. In the opinion of the Committee, Ottawa Friends showed a high level of leadership in embarking on a city wide awareness and publicity campaign using a range of media opportunities to prevent library closures and protect the Ottawa Public Library budget.

 The Ottawa Friends have ably demonstrated a successful model in planning for advocating in the
preservation of public library service. Their aggressive advocacy tactics involved community partners and community outreach as well. The fact that no branches were closed, and no hours were cut means smaller community libraries will continue to exist in the rural areas.


The ability of the Friends to work with the library and mobilize community support is fabulous. Their decision to defend ALL branches and define library services as a “core service” ensured support from all corners of the city, and made advocates out of every library user. The use of an Internet website, Facebook and an online petition showed how technology can be used as tools for advocacy and community engagement.

They were successful in launching a city awareness and publicity campaign which resulted in preventing library closures and cuts to the Ottawa Public Library budget. The campaign,   SOS (Save Our Services), embraced a host of technological advances. Their Internet website, Facebook, YouTube, wire service, print, letters, e-mails, telephone calls and an online petition each served as used as tools for advocacy and community engagement.


With an active Advocacy Committee serving as a standing committee of the Board, the Friends covered both elections and the annual budget process.  While the quality of submissions was high, the manner in which the Ottawa Friends met the challenge of threats to library services serves to illustrate the importance of Friends in enhancing and preserving library services.

FOCAL expresses its thanks to BRODART in making possible the award. The Ottawa Friends will receive the equivalent of $500.00 for equipment and supplies. Ottawa City Librarian, Barbara Clubb will receive the award on behalf of the Ottawa Friends at the Canadian Library Conference in Vancouver.

Friends' website - http://www.ottawapubliclibraryfriends.ca/en_index.html
Campaign website - http://www.ottawapubliclibraryfriends.ca/en_sos.html
Online petition - http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/SaveOurServices/

Other awards:

2008 - June Callwood Outstanding Achievement Award for Voluntarism recognizes those who have enriched their communities through voluntary action and extraordinary leadership and creativity. 

Friends of the Ottawa Public Library Association (FOPLA) of Ottawa consists of more than 500 members who contribute more than 20,000 volunteer hours annually to the Ottawa Public Library. They are also active in raising funds for programs. Through coin boxes and used book sales, the group generates up to $250,000 annually for the city’s library system.

 

 

 

 

BACKGROUND

The Award will be given to a Friends of the Library group for outstanding community service. All Friends’ groups who are members in good standing of FOCAL are eligible to enter.

The judging will be conducted by FOCAL. The award will be announced at the FOCAL Annual General Meeting. One prize will be awarded to the chosen Friends group to receive the equivalent of $500 for  equipment and supplies from BRODART for the library it supports. The selection of equipment and supplies will be made in consultation with the Friends library.

Please read the FOCAL / BRODART Award Entry Rules and provide all required information so that your entry can be fairly assessed during judging.  Document your Friends’ activities which exemplify outstanding community involvement.  Please attach pertinent supporting material. Applications must be received each year no later than March 31.

The FOCAL SELECTION COMMITTEE will judge the entries and select the winner. An official announcement will be made at the FOCAL Annual General Meeting.

The winner will be notified by FOCAL’s President.  The Chair of the FOCAL / BRODART Award Committee will contact the President of 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.  BRODART will be notified of 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.

ENTRY RULES

  1. Applicants must be a Friends’ group in good standing in FOCAL for the year judged.
     

  2. Entries will be judged on a Friends’ group’s outstanding community service. Consideration will be given to the range of creative endeavors carried out by Friends which establish connections with the broader community.

The Chair of the FOCAL/BRODART Committee’s name and address is listed on the Application form, as well as below, and is the designated contact and the person to whom all documentation for the Award Entry should be sent.

Applications will be judged on one or more initiatives related to the following:

  1. Community Partnerships

  2. Community Outreach

  3. Advocacy

  4. Impact on Community Life

I.   Community Partnerships

  1. Identify key organizations and stakeholders in your community with whom Friends have created partnerships

  2. Describe beneficial working relationships between the Friends and community leaders, groups and agencies

  3. Clearly outline the Friends involvement and areas of responsibility for the project or activity and those of the partner organization

  4. Demonstrate benefit to library community

  5. Clearly outline the Friends’ involvement and areas of responsibility for the project/activity and those of the partner organization

May include areas such as:

Funding/sponsorship
Service enhancement
Special programming
Resources collection

II.  Community Outreach

Describe the Friends’ participation in events and programs such as:

  1. Special library events

  2. Municipal events/Declared Days (Library Week, Senior Citizens, etc.)

  3. Sponsor community programs relevant to the library and community partners (educational, cultural, arts)

  4. Celebrate the community’s cultural diversity

  5. Public relations opportunities the Friends utilize to make public aware of library services

 III.   Advocacy

Friends advocate on behalf of libraries and citizens who depend on them.

Describe your successful advocacy project(s) such as:

  1. Strengthen political support in consultation with the library (i.e. City Council budget deliberations, political forums, election campaigns, etc.) 

  2. Assist library to create a public awareness campaign on the Library’s importance to the community (arts, culture, education, literacy, entertainment, socio-economic fields)

IV.  Impact in Community Life

Describe a community project where the Friends made a difference through support of community services.

Possible examples:

  1. Serve persons with disabilities, older adults, and persons with special needs

  2. Support literacy programs to improve reading and literacy skills

  3. Demonstrate a positive effect on lives of community residents

  4. Identify opportunities for development of services or collections through a needs assessment or strategic planning process in consultation with the library

  1. Applicants must submit a short, typed narrative of specific information requested in the Entry Rules regarding Friends community service. Applicants will submit information required on the award application found on the FOCAL website (www.friendsoflibraries.ca) or in copies of the FOCAL newsletter.
     

  2. Applicants must submit a minimum of two letters including - one from a community group familiar with the Friends’ contribution; and one from the Friends’ Library CEO/Director.
     

  3. Provide any supporting materials such as press releases, media coverage and promotional material.
     

  4. No material will be returned. Entries and supporting materials become the property of FOCAL and may be used in FOCAL publications.
     

  5. The BRODART award order will be made to the Friends group, with selection of equipment/supplies left to the discretion of the library.

Applications must be received each year no later than March 31.

Please send entries to:
Nicholas Spillios
Chair, FOCAL / BRODART AWARD COMMITTEE
8308 - 134 St.
Edmonton, Alberta T5R OB4

 FOCAL/BRODART/Award Application
                   (please type)

Name of Friends’ Group _____________________________________

President           ___________________________________

Mailing Address  __________________________________________

                         __________________________________________

E-Mail Address   __________________

Telephone          ______________________

Library Contact __________________________________________

 Address __________________________________________

              __________________________________________

 E-Mail Address ___________________

 Telephone _____________________