Coquitlam, Moody libraries earn award

The WebJunction Award winners for innovative content and use of technology for 2004 are the Coquitlam and Port Moody public libraries.

The two libraries won the award, in the category of communities serving a population of more than 100,000 people, for connecting users more effectively through their Two Libraries: One Search Service, which was designed as part of the Smart Choices project.

The common user interface was developed for the project by Auto-Graphics, Inc.

"Citizens can search Two Libraries: One Search from either library's web site or through citysoup.ca (www.coquitlam.library.bc.ca or http://library.portmoody.ca)," said Karen Harrison, director of the Coquitlam Public Library. "Since we launched this service in the spring, both libraries have experienced phenomenal growth in their virtual services."

Diana Guinn, chief librarian at Port Moody, agrees.

"Not only has our Internet presence improved, but other libraries in Canada and the province have noticed our efforts. One of the goals of the recently announced strategic plan for public libraries is to create a common gateway for public libraries and our project is being held up as an example of co-operation and innovation."

WebJunction (http://WebJunction.org) is an online community of libraries and other agencies sharing knowledge and experience to provide the broadest public access to information technology.