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1st November 2002

WILLIAM HANN, FOUNDER OF FREE PINT WINS THE CILIP JASON FARRADANE AWARD The 2002 CILIP Jason Farradane Award, for outstanding work in the information field, has been won by William Hann for Free Pint. Today, Sheila Corrall, President of CILIP presented him with a trophy at the CILIP Awards Gala Presentation Ceremony at the Landmark Hotel, London on Friday 1 November.

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Free Pint is a website and regular email newsletter with advice and tips on using the Internet created for a worldwide community of information researchers. www.freepint.com

Since its launch in November 1997, the number of worldwide users has grown to over 53,000. The website features a range of resources including an archive of newsletters, jobs listings, book reviews, events listings, the portal and the popular Bar, where users can post tricky research questions and get free help from other Free Pinters.

The site is supported by a large number of freelancers who consult on the newsletter and business and technical development. Articles are regularly commissioned from information professionals globally, and the newsletter is free due to sponsorship from advertising.

Speaking at the award ceremony William Hann said, "I'm delighted to accept the CILIP Jason Farradane Award as a fitting fifth-birthday 'thank you' to the hundreds of people who have contributed to the Free Pint community."

William Hann has a first class degree in information science and has previously worked for a number of online information providers, including the Financial Times, Dialog and News International.

The Award is named after Jason Farradane (1906-1989) who was a pioneer of information science. He was a founder member of the Institute of Information Scientists which was formed in 1958, and which unified with The Library Association in April this year to form CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. He was also instrumental in establishing the first academic courses in information science.

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For further information contact:
Philippa Perry Tel: 020 7247 9695 Email: pnlp@dircon.co.uk
Louisa Myatt at CILIP Tel: 020 72550650 Fax: 020 7255 0651
Email: louisa.myatt@cilip.org.uk

Notes to editors

• CILIP: The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals is the major professional body for librarians and information managers, with around 24,000 members who work in all branches of the profession. Website: www.cilip.org.uk
• Jason Farradane graduated in chemistry in 1929 at what is now Imperial College and started work in industry as a chemist and documentalist. After working in research at the Ministry of Supply and the Admiralty during World War II, he first made an impact with a paper on the scientific approach to documentation at a Royal Society Scientific Information Conference in 1948. He was instrumental in establishing the Institute of Information Scientists in 1958 and the first academic courses in information science in 1963 at the precursor of City University, where he became Director of the Centre for Information Science in 1966. Of Central European origin, his commitment to science was reflected in the name he created for himself - a combination of Faraday and Haldane, two scientists he particularly admired. On the research side his main contributions lay in relational analysis, which can now perhaps be seen as providing a precursor to work in the area of A.I., and the concept of information. He saw information science as a step towards understanding and better organizing ourselves.