AUGUSTA – The fourth annual Maine Library Journalism Award for outstanding media coverage of Maine library issues was presented to columnist Tom Weber of the Bangor Daily News during the 2001 Maine Libraries Conference in May.

This year the MLJA expanded to include both an award winning entry and an honorable mention entries.

The winning entry this year was presented for a series of two columns by Weber on the Children’s Internet Protection Act and its effect on the Bangor Public Library and other libraries in Maine.

The first column, “Internet filter iS EXcellent Obstruction,” appeareds in the Feb. 10-11 issue of the Bangor Daily News, and the second appeared in the Feb. 17 issue of the NEWS and is titled “Librarians fight battles over the net.”

The honorable mention entry for 2001 was from the York County Coast Star. The article is “Electronic journals: good reads” and was written by Rebecca Goldfine.

The article describes how the Graves Memorial Library in Kennebunkport was able to have access to thousands of extra journals, without building an addition or spending money. Libraries statewide, like the Graves Memorial, are provided with a state-funded electronic journal database via the Internet.

The awards are sponsored by the Maine Library Association. Each year the Maine Libraries Conference attracts more than 500 librarians, library trustees, and Friends of Libraries from Maine, New England and Canada. The three-day annual conference includes a wide variety of programs and workshops.