Double win for the British Library
Awards for pioneering online annual report and best communications campaign

30 November 2007

The British Library scooped two awards at the CorpComms Awards 2007 last night: Best Online Report for its Annual Report and Accounts 2006/07 and Best Communications by a Public or Voluntary sector Organisation.

The judges described the online report as 'simply stunning', praising its innovative use of video clips, interactivity and animation. The report, which can be viewed at www.bl.uk/mylibrary, features video presentations by the Chairman and Chief Executive, webcams of the year's achievements from the Library's Directors and animated charts showing how the Library has measured up against its targets.

The Library's communications programme was acclaimed as 'very strong and credible' in the way that it "replace[d] the notion of an elitist, irrelevant and inaccessible institution with the impression of a dynamic and exciting library for the 21st century."

The launch last January of 'Turning the Pages 2.0' - the latest version of the Library's award winning virtual book system - was singled out for plaudits: "The launch of Turning The Pages 2.0 portrayed the British Library as an innovative organisation that collaborates with globally recognised partners to provide access to its collections and even allows users to browse. online versions of rare manuscripts in a three-dimensional workspace. "

See more about the CorpComms 2007 Awards at:

www.thecrossbordergroup.com/pages/1374/Winners+2007.stm

Gill Webber, the British Library's Head of Communications expressed delight at the double win: "Both these awards are a tribute to the fantastic team who worked on the online annual report and our communications campaigns to overturn outdated views about the British Library. The reality of the British Library is that it is an exciting and dynamic institution, with collections, services, exhibitions and public spaces for the 21st Century, and we are delighted that our work to promote it has been recognised in this way."

For further information please contact: Lawrence Christensen at the British Library Press Office (telephone +44(0)20 7412 7114, email: lawrence.christensen@bl.uk)

Notes for editors

1. The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. The British Library's collections include 150 million items from every era of written human history beginning with Chinese oracle bones dating from 300 BC, right up to the latest e-journals. Further information is available on the Library's website at www.bl.uk