Guidelines for a Great ALA Awards Submission

We want to help make your award submission shine, and the way you write your application can have a big impact on how it is reviewed. We want your submission to be the best it can be so all nominees can have full consideration. In that spirit, here are some guidelines for how to write a great nomination:

Review Criteria: Each award has its own set of criteria outlined on our website, including eligibility, submission requirements and scoring standards. Be sure to review the criteria closely!

Quality Over Quantity: A submission can sometimes have too much information! Avoid just listing out accomplishments like a CV or resume, and instead focus on meaningful and unique accomplishments. 

Be Specific: Provide concrete examples of what your nominee has done to deserve the award. Avoid using vague language (e.g., “Our chapter helped new members feel welcome.”) and instead focus on clear accomplishments (e.g., “Our chapter created a new member welcome program and increased new member retention by 5%.”).

Be Bold: We want to celebrate members of our community who are making a big impact — even if that impact is on a smaller number of people. We encourage submissions from chapters of all sizes outlining members and accomplishments that are meaningful to them. Differences in chapter and city sizes will be taken into account when submissions are reviewed.

Be Professional: Proofread your application and make sure it paints a clear narrative.

All submissions for our Awards program are reviewed by our project team, consisting of members of the Board of Directors and the Chapter Resource Team.

We look forward to hearing about our community’s wonderful accomplishments!