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Oxford DNB scoops two top industry prizes
The 60-volume dictionary, launched in September 2004, was awarded the Dartmouth medal on 27 June for its ‘outstanding quality and significance’. Six days later, on 3 July, the Oxford DNB won the Besterman/McColvin medal (electronic category) for its online edition, also published in 2004, which is updated with new biographies three times a year. Robert Faber, project director of the Oxford DNB, said: ‘The Dartmouth and Besterman/McColvin medals really are the top awards in this field, because they're given by the US and UK library professionals who use reference works to answer readers' questions every day. In the Oxford DNB we set out to create a modern classic that works equally well in print and online, with the collaboration of a huge community of 10,000 expert authors. We're really delighted that their work has been honoured in both settings, and are very grateful to the ALA and to CILIP for such exceptional recognition.’ The Oxford DNB team receives the Besterman/McColvin medal, as well as a £500 cash prize and a certificate. The medal is administered by the Information Services Group of CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. The Dartmouth medal is donated by the Dartmouth College and presented by the reference and user services association, a division of the American Library Association. John Lawrence, chair of the award committee, said: ‘Like the original that has served scholars for more than a century, the new Oxford Dictionary of National Biography is an essential tool for historians that will stand the test of time.’ The Oxford DNB, published by Oxford University Press last September, was twelve years in the making and is a complete reworking and major expansion of the century-old Dictionary of National Biography. The new dictionary's 50,435 articles tell the life stories of 55,257 men and women from around the world who shaped all aspects of Britain's past. 23 September 2005 will see the Oxford DNB celebrate the first anniversary of its launch. The dictionary's next online update will be published on 6 October.
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Within the space of a week, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography has won two of the most prestigious prizes in the reference publishing industry.
