Library of Congress Announces 2025 Literacy Awards

Release Date: 08 Sep 2025

Library of Congress Announces 2025 Literacy Awards

Recipients of Top Prizes Include Literacy Partners, Literacy Mid-South, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities' Prime Time Family Reading Program and Building Tomorrow

Twenty-four organizations working to expand literacy and promote reading were awarded the 2025 Library of Congress Literacy Awards this morning on International Literacy Day. The Literacy Awards program, sponsored by David M. Rubenstein since 2013, and by the Kislak Family Foundation since 2023, honors promising initiatives that provide exemplary, innovative and replicable strategies that promote literacy.

The Library of Congress continues to draw attention to the urgent need to achieve universal literacy through the program.

“This year’s winners and honorees, based in various states and countries, have a particular focus on family and community,” said Acting Librarian of Congress Robert Randolph Newlen. “Through the generosity of David M. Rubenstein and the Kislak Family Foundation, the Library of Congress is excited to recognize the organizations’ demonstrated efforts to improve individual literacy skills while also strengthening the communities they serve.”

The 13th David M. Rubenstein Prize is awarded to Literacy Partners in New York for their outstanding and measurable contribution to increasing literacy levels in eight large cities across the country and Puerto Rico. Top prizes are also awarded to Literacy Mid-South, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities’ Prime Time Family Reading Program and Building Tomorrow. Additionally, 15 successful literacy practices are recognized, as well as five new literacy initiatives that demonstrate significant creativity and promise in their approach to literacy.

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