Northwest Mississippi Community College Libraries win two public relations awards at state conference

• Northwest Mississippi Community College Libraries won two public relations awards at the 2025 Mississippi Library Association (MLA) Conference.
• The “Research Ready Rangers” campaign at the DeSoto Center was honored for its creative, event-based approach to teaching research skills.
• A short-form video series promoting library services across all campuses also received a “Best Year-Round Effort” award.

SENATOBIA, Miss. — Northwest Mississippi Community College Libraries received two top public relations awards at the Mississippi Library Association Conference held in Hattiesburg on Oct. 16-17.

The library team accepted the awards at the Hattiesburg Convention Center during the conference, which was themed “Guardians of Knowledge: Defending Libraries in Challenging Times.”

Northwest’s DeSoto Center campus won “Best Effort by an Academic Library to Publicize Library Service or Program Around a Single Theme or Event” for its year-long “Research Ready Rangers” campaign. The initiative included a series of events such as a research showcase, escape rooms, research pop-ups, and “Ice Cream with Your Librarian” to help students improve their research skills.

“These activities taught students how to use library databases, generate effective keywords, find credible sources, and strengthen their research strategies—all while highlighting the library as the campus hub for research support,” said Courtney Hicks, a Northwest librarian who accepted the awards.

Northwest Libraries also won “Best Year-Round Effort by an Academic Library to Publicize Library Services in General.” This award recognized a short-form video series created by the library to promote its resources and services across all campuses. The videos highlighted research help, technology, study spaces, makerspace tools, and the college archives.

“We are honored to receive these PR awards recognizing our library’s marketing and outreach efforts,” Hicks said. “Sharing the library’s resources and teaching students about research in creative ways is something we truly love, and this recognition inspires us to keep finding new ways to connect, educate, and support our students, faculty, and staff.”