For Projects U.S. and Elsewhere: The U.S. Library of Congress 2020 Literacy Awards, open through March 6th

“More than the divides of race, class, or gender, more than rural or urban, believer or nonbeliever, red state or blue state, our culture has been carved up into radically distinct, unbridgeable, and antagonistic entities that no longer speak the same language and cannot communicate. This is the divide between a literate, marginalized minority and those who have been consumed by an illiterate mass culture.” Chris Hedges, Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle

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Applications are being accepted for the 2020 Library of Congress Literacy Awards through March 6th. The awards are made possible through the generosity of philanthropist David M. Rubenstein.

The Literacy Awards, which were created by the Library of Congress and Rubenstein, were first conferred in 2013 to honor and support organizations working to promote literacy both in the United States and abroad. The awards encourage the continuing development of innovative methods for promoting literacy and the wide dissemination of the most effective practices.

The awards are intended to draw public attention to the importance of literacy and the need to promote literacy and encourage reading.

Three prizes will be awarded in 2020:

• The David M. Rubenstein Prize ($150,000) is awarded for an outstanding and measurable contribution to increasing literacy levels. The prize is awarded to an organization based either inside or outside the United States that has demonstrated exceptional and sustained depth in its commitment to the advancement of literacy.
• The American Prize ($50,000) is awarded for a significant and measurable contribution to increasing literacy levels or the national awareness of the importance of literacy. The prize is awarded to an organization that is based in the United States.
• The International Prize ($50,000) is awarded for a significant and measurable contribution to increasing literacy levels in a country other than the United States. The prize is awarded to an organization that is based either inside or outside the United States.

Other organizations will be honored for their best practices in various areas of literacy promotion.

The Librarian of Congress will make the final selection of the prize winners with recommendations from an advisory board of literacy experts.

The application rules and a downloadable application form may be accessed at read.gov/literacyawards. Applications must be received no later than midnight Eastern Time on March 6, 2020.

The Library of Congress Literacy Awards Program is administered by the Learning and Innovation Office, a unit of the Center for Learning, Literacy and Engagement at the Library of Congress.

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The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.

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