Canadian Information Productivity Awards names new CEO

	For More Information: Contact: norm.kirkpatrick@C.I.P.A..com (905) 695-6590

Internet Booksellers Win Highest Award From C.I.P.A.

TORONTO, November 22, 2001 - A company in Victoria, BC, that created extraordinary e-commerce software to build a worldwide bookselling business has won the most coveted award in Canada's information technology industry.

Advanced Book Exchange Inc., known as Abebooks.com, received the Best of Show Solution Award at the 2001 Gala Banquet of the Canadian Information Productivity Awards (C.I.P.A.).

C.I.P.A. also presented seven other organizations with premier awards for excellence in information management. The ninth annual Gala Banquet was held at the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel before a black-tie audience of 800 senior executives.

Abebooks.com, founded in 1996, offers the largest number of rare, second-hand and out-of-print book listings anywhere on the Internet -- more than 26 million volumes, listed through one Web site by more than 8,000 bookseller members from around the globe.

The founders of Abebooks.com, Keith Waters and Rick Pura, invented a powerful search engine that enables individuals and institutions to find and purchase almost any book they can dream of, 24 hours a day. Member booksellers can upload their own book inventory records, in any one of more than 2,000 formats, into one master database.

"The building of Abebooks.com is an inspiring business story as well as an impressive technological achievement," said Jim Grant, chair of the C.I.P.A. National Judging Committee. "It shows what can be done anywhere in Canada when talented people seize the global opportunity of e-commerce."

C.I.P.A., the largest national business awards program of its kind, presents annual awards for outstanding applications of information management. Twenty-four organizations received Awards of Excellence at the Gala Banquet, and eight of those, including Abebooks.com, also won best-of-category awards.

C.I.P.A. Chair Paul Jones paid tribute to Allan Singleton-Wood, who is retiring as C.I.P.A.'s President after leading the organization since its inception.

"Allan launched the Canadian Information Productivity Awards in 1992 and has led it to unparalleled success, building it into the premier event of the year within the IT community and the most successful program of its kind in the world.," said Jones, who is Senior Vice President, Rogers Publishing, and Publisher of Maclean's.

Another highlight of the Gala Banquet was the induction into the C.I.P.A. Hall of Fame on the Worldwide Web of Denzil Doyle, known as the 'father of high tech' in the Ottawa region, and a nationally influential builder and financer of technology companies.

Winners of Best of Category Awards were as follows:

Category	Organization	Location
Customer Care	Newfoundland Power Inc.	St. John's, NF
E-Commerce	Advanced Book Exchange Inc. (Abebooks.com)	Victoria, BC
Government	Teranet Inc. and Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Business Services	Toronto, ON
Institutions	University Health Network	Toronto, ON
Large Enterprises	Laurentian Bank of Canada	Montreal, QC
Next Generation/Technology Innovation Solutions	Defence Research Establishment Valcartier	Val Bélair, QC
Organizational Transformation	Bell Distribution Inc.	Mississauga, ON
Small Business	PEAK Financial Group	Montreal, QC

About C.I.P.A.

The Canadian Information Productivity Awards is Canada's premier information management showcase. C.I.P.A. presents awards for outstanding business applications of information technology through an annual competition. It disseminates information about winning organizations and technologies at the Gala Banquet and through its Web site, www.C.I.P.A..com, and its magazine, Information Strategy. The Web site also houses the C.I.P.A. Hall of Fame, a permanent tribute to Canadian pioneers in information technology and management.

C.I.P.A. gathers nominations for the awards through its Web site and through three affiliated awards organizations: the Fédération de l'informatique du Québec (FIQ), which manages the OCTAS awards for Quebec-based organizations; the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, which administers the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce Technology Innovation Awards, and the Vancouver Section of the Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS), which manages the Innovators in Technologies Awards.

Established in 1992, C.I.P.A. operates under the auspices of its founding managing partners: Canadian Business magazine, now published by Rogers Publishing, and Capgemini Canada Inc.. The organization is also supported by managing partners, patrons and sponsors.

Category	Organization	Location
Customer Care	Newfoundland Power Inc.	St. John's, NF
	North Shore Credit Union	North Vancouver, BC
	RBC Investments	Toronto, ON
E-Commerce	Advanced Book Exchange Inc.	Victoria, BC
	CDI Corporate Education Services	Toronto, ON
	Future Shop Ltd.	Burnaby, BC
Government	Alberta Wellnet, a Division of Alberta Health and Wellness	Edmonton, AB
	Competition Tribunal	Ottawa, ON
	Teranet Inc. and Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Business Services	Toronto, ON
Institutions	LSFM Research Group, Université Laval	Charlesbourg, QC
	Diagnostic Laboratories, St. Michael's Hospital	Toronto, ON
	University Health Network	Toronto, ON
Large Enterprises	Laurentian Bank of Canada	Montreal, QC
	NexInnovations Inc.	Mississauga, ON
	Royal Bank Financial Group	Toronto, ON
Next Generation/Technology Innovation Solutions	Bell Canada and CGI	Toronto, ON
	Defence Research Establishment Valcartier	Val Bélair, QC
	Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of New Brunswick	Fredericton, NB
Organizational Transformation	Bank of Montreal	Toronto, ON
	Bell Distribution Inc.	Mississauga, ON
	First Calgary Savings & Credit Union Ltd.	Calgary, AB
Small Business	Catch the Dream Corp. (World Cup Fishing)	Winnipeg, MB
	PEAK Financial Group	Montreal, QC
	Squamish Terminals Ltd.	Squamish, BC