Jodi Awards 2007 - to be announced 13th June

The awards previously recognised excellence in museum, library and archive website
accessibility - but this year, for the first time, the awards will
include any project that uses technology to provide access to
collections for disabled people.

Launched in 2003, the Jodi Awards now recognise museum, gallery,
library, archive or heritage projects that demonstrate commitment to
using technology in the service of accessibility. Nominated websites,
interactive objects, audio-guides, PDAs, telephone systems etc. pass
before an experienced panel of judges. Disabled users will test entries
and websites submitted for an Award which will also be subject to
automated testing.

The awards are developed and sustained by the Museums, Libraries and
Archives Council, (MLA), 24 Hour Museum, the British Museum and
University of Leicester.

Mark Wood, Chairman, MLA, said: "The Jodi Awards will keep promoting
high web accessibility standards and this year the judges are also keen
to celebrate sites that use technology in practical and imaginative ways
for making cultural resources accessible to disabled people. The whole
initiative generates competition to be recognised as the best in this
vital area of development. The Disability Discrimination Act has led to
innovative uses of technology and it's time we celebrated the best."

Matthew Cock, Head of Web, British Museum, commented: "We want to keep
accessibility at the forefront of the sector's consciousness when
creating or commissioning websites and their content."

The awards will be announced at a high profile event on Wednesday 13 June 2007 at the
British Museum.

Sponsorship for the Jodi Awards 2006 is provided by Simulacra, the new
media consultancy offering award-winning web-based information
management solutions.

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