Librarian in Residence – Goethe-Institut New York

Awards have a much stronger tradition in the United States than in Germany. One of the many awards and prizes in the library world is the "Multicultural Award" of the Ethnic Services Round Table, which has been awarded since 1995. The award is in the amount of $250 (plus a certificate, of course), and it is a great way of recognizing someone’s work. The name of the 2008 prize winner is probably familiar to the readers of this blog: Fred Gitner, of the Queens Library, coordinator of the New Americans Program, activist and promoter for many years of intercultural library work. Congratulations, Fred!

So how is the prize financed? The membership dues of the Ethnic Libraries Round Table are only $5 per year (additional to the membership fees of the New York Library Association, which range from $35 to $125 per year. By the way: the Queens Library has an agreement with the New York Library Association that staff members get a 25% discount in membership dues. A great idea, I think). But back to the question of how to finance a prize like this. Originally, the award was principally sponsored by Garland Publishing, and when this company was bought by Routledge, it took over the sponsorship of the award. But this year - to no one’s surprise - it became more difficult to find sponsors and the ESRT itself had to co-fund the prize.

At first I assumed that the prize would also be financed through the raffle that took place during the conference (price of each ticket: $1). But Fred Gitner, who is not only the award winner but also the treasurer of the Round Table, told me that they didn’t make any money with the raffle because some of the prizes had to be bought. Of course, most of the prizes came from sponsors - the Goethe-Institut, for example. Nevertheless, the raffle was considered a success because it was a good way to attract new members: everyone who became a member on the spot received a free raffle ticket. And everyone who bought a raffle ticket and left his or her contact details will, of course, soon will receive an invitation in the mail to join the Ethnic Services Round Table.

But, of course, the ESRT was not the only group to come up with the idea of organizing a raffle. Probably all the sections and round tables did the very same.

Anyone who came to Saratoga Springs, home to a famous horse race, hoping to get in some betting must have been disappointed. But those who arrived eager to join raffles had a ball.

I’d like to mention briefly one other idea for raising money. During the conference a "Vitality Fund Event" was organized: a Fundraising Dinner, which took place in the beautiful Hall of Springs. For $50 you got to enjoy a fabulous dinner buffet and a very special fashion show organized together with a local fashion shop. All the models were librarians!

And during the evening there was, of course, a raffle as well...