It is named for John Cotton Dana, a Progressive Era librarian who strove to make libraries accessible to as many people as possible.
[3] The John Cotton Dana Awards are presented at a reception hosted by EBSCO during the American Library Association's annual conference.
The John Cotton Dana Award was created to replace the Wilson Publicity Honor Roll, a three-year plan sponsored by the H.W.
[6] The Savannah State College Library under the leadership of E. J. Josey won the award in 1962 and 1964, for the Great Book Discussion Group and the Library Lecture Series, two programs which "attracted large numbers of whites into the Savannah State College campus for the first time".
[7] Previous recipients of the John Cotton Dana Award for Leadership include John H. Falk and Lynn Dierking, Oregon State University and the Institute for Learning Innovation; Marian Godfrey, Director of the Culture Programs, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Philadelphia; Diane Frankel, Institute of Library and Museum Services; Marlene Chambers, Director, Publications, Denver Art Museum; Joel Bloom, Director, Franklin Institute Science Museum, Philadelphia, PA; three-time recipient Grant Kaiser, Calgary Public Library; and Michael Spock, Director, Boston Children’s Museum.