Online voting for book award to promote internet access

IFACCA/Artshub, 20 January 2003, United Kingdom

Online voting is now open for the WHSmith People’s Choice Book Awards, described as the only literary competition in which winners are directly voted for by the public. The People’s Network has joined forces with the WHSmith Awards, to enable users to find out more about the shortlisted entrants and cast their vote, by logging onto the People’s Network website. The awards consist of nine categories, with eight open to public vote, including: Fiction, Autobiography/Biography, Children’s, Travel, General Knowledge, New Talent, Business and Home and Leisure. Voting is open until March 11, with the winners to be announced in an awards ceremony on March 18. The People's Network, run by Resource (the Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries), is part of a government initiative to provide internet access to the whole UK population. As of December 2002, every UK library is now online, with more than 30,000 terminals installed in some 4,000 public libraries. Meanwhile, in other library news internationally, the Council for Library and Information Resources (CLIR), which services libraries worldwide, recently launched its new website ( www.clir.org ). In addition, the annual BOBCATSSS symposium has announced this year’s theme will be ‘Information Policy and the European Union.’ The annual forum targets information specialists, students and professors in the library, information education and research fields, and is organised by two European universities each year. Students from Hogeschool van Amsterdam and the Copernicus University of Torun will organise this year’s symposium. For further information on the symposium visit the BOBCATSSS website, www.bobcatsss.comFurther information on the People's Network and the WHSmith 'People's Choice' Book Awards is available at www.peoplesnetwork.gov.uk/future/whsmith.asp, or CLICK HERE to visit the WHSmith website and vote online.

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