The finalists for the 2007 SirsiDynix Building Better Communities Awards were recently announced. After spending many weeks collecting about 100 nominations and reading through all the fabulous programs and innovations, the Building Better Communities Selection Committee chose 15 finalists to compete for the six US$10,000 prizes to be awarded at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., later this month.

The 2007 Building Better Communities finalists, in alphabetical order, are:  Alliance Library System, East Peoria, Ill.; British Official Publications Collaborative Reader Information Service (BOPCRIS) Project, University of Southampton Library, United Kingdom; Carl Shepard Library/Illinois College of Optometry, Chicago; Holmesglen Institute of TAFE Information Commons, Victoria, Australia; Jacksonville (Fla.) Public Library; Kankakee (Ill.) Public Library; Lincoln Trail Libraries System, Champaign, Ill.; North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, N.C.; Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County, Charlotte, N.C.; Scientific and Technical Information Center (STIC), U.S. Patent and Trademark  Office (USPTO), Alexandria, Va.; Shanghai (China) Library; Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS), Washington, D.C.; SUNLINK: Florida Department of Education, Tallahassee, Fla.; World Health Organization Library, Geneva, Switzerland; and Yarra Plenty Regional Library, Melbourne, Australia.

SirsiDynix established the Building Better Communities Awards to recognize library organizations and the important roles they play in their communities. SirsiDynix libraries from all over the world were eligible to compete this year. The six recipients will be announced during a special ceremony at the ALA Annual Conference on Sunday, June 24, at 10:30 a.m. in SirsiDynix Booth #3747.

The 2007 selection committee tasked with narrowing down the competition is made up of 15 outstanding library leaders. Kathryn Dilworth, marketing programs manager and coordinator of the 2007 Building Better Communities Awards, said: “Working with this group of library professionals was such an honor. They read through countless pages of nominations and endured many rounds of voting. There were so many great nominations that it was difficult to reach a consensus. I’m happy that they took on the difficult task rather than I – I don’t know if I could have picked just 15 finalists out of that amazing group of nominations.”

Stephen Abram, vice president of Innovation at SirsiDynix and an adviser to the Building Better Communities Awards committee, said: “This awards program is a way that SirsiDynix can celebrate and reward libraries that are stepping outside of their comfort zone and turning their focus to their users. They have all exhibited innovations and creativity in how they serve their users through technology. We are proud to have such an impressive field of finalists for 2007. We are also very grateful to the 15 library leaders who have volunteered their time to select our finalists and, ultimately, the six winning libraries.”