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. They 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 2019:
- 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 8, 2019.
The Library of Congress Literacy Awards Program is administered by the Center for the Book, a unit of the Center for Learning, Literacy and Engagement at the Library of Congress.
Congress created the Library’s Center for the Book in 1977 to stimulate public interest in books and reading. It has become a national force for reading and literacy promotion with affiliates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information, visit read.gov.
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