Jodi Mattes Award
The Winners of the UK Jodi Awards 2011 for accessible digital culture were announced yesterday at the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. David Anderson, Director General of the National Museums of Wales, who presented the Awards, said:
"The Jodi Awards are that rare thing - an award that drives innovation. It rewards original ideas, it sets new standards, and it inspires the creativity of others. As we have seen tonight, this kind of digital access is at the cutting edge of museum, library and archive practice, and the sector would do well to learn from it."
Reading Sight were awarded with a commendation in the Digital Access Online category:
"This is one the first visually attractive websites promoting library services for blind and partially sighed people. It makes reading attractive, giving voice to reader experiences. It empowers front-line library staff to support visually impaired people make personalised reading choices."
The other wonderful accessibility projects were:
Commendation for Digital Access Onsite and Digital Access for People with a Learning Disability
"Inclusive Communication Essex continues to impress, in particular the new resources developed with young people with a learning disability. ICE is the only project ever to have been Commended three times by the Jodi Awards. ICE makes inclusive communication flourish at a time that services for people from the learning disabled community are under threat. It's a vast reservoir of online resources which takes the library out of its walls into the community."
Award for Digital Access Onsite
PenFriend at MShed, Bristol Museums Galleries and Archives
"This ingenious project by Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives make use of the RNIB PenFriend, a device better known for audio labelling products in the home. The museum has embarked on a truly innovative adventure and significantly improved the visitor experience for blind and partially sighted people with a humble piece of technology. PenFriend, has demonstrated that audio access for visually impaired and other visitors can be provided at a very low price."
Award for Digital Access for People with a Learning Disability Commendation for Digital Access Onsite
Touch Pods, Access to Heritage
"This highly engaging project by Mencap Liverpool went the full journey with the users, clearly driven by members of the learning disabled community. The Arduino software has been used very effectively to play sound which engages people with and without learning disabilities.
Started off with simple artefacts and shaped by users, Touch Pods offers a moment of creative marvel."
