Smithsonian Institution award nomination for Oxford Bookstore

By Our Convergence Bureau | 12 Mar 2003

The Computerworld Smithsonian Honours Program brings together the chairmen or chief executive officer of the foremost information technology companies in the world and the world’s leading universities, libraries and research institutions to document a revolution in progress: the global information technology revolution.

Established in 1988, the Program is dedicated to identifying the men and women, organization and institutions that are leading this revolution and to recording the impact of their achievements on society.

This initiative between the leaders of the IT industry and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the Computerworld Honours Archive is now distributed to museums, libraries and research institutions worldwide. The case study submitted on www.oxfordbookstore.com will be a part of this prestigious archive available for scholars and students.

The case study will be available in India with IIM, Ahmedabad and IIT, Mumbai. Overseas it will be available in leading educational institutions including Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine (UK); the Royal Society (UK); University of Oxford (UK); University of Cambridge (UK); the British Library; Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History (US); Carnegie Museum (US); Harvard University (US); Computer History Museum, California (US); Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden); Trinity College (Ireland).

Priti Paul, director, Apeejay Surrendra group, and the driving force behind Oxford Bookstores, said: “We are delighted to be nominated. Oxford Bookstore is the first chain of bookstores in India to go from a retail model to a click-and-mortar business model www.oxfordbookstore.com.

“The original bookstore has been a part of the life and times of Kolkata since 1920 and is today a favourite among book lovers in India. This recognition reaffirms our faith in technology and how it can benefit the world around us. With this online version of our bookstore we were able to bring the best in publishing at the best possible prices to the largest number of people.”

Daniel Morrow, executive director Computerworld Honours Archives and Academic Council, says: “We are honoured to include Oxford Bookstore’s case study in the 2003 Computerworlds Honours Collection. This spring this case study will join over 400 other visionaries from the world around who are also using IT to benefit society.”