Summer Election Season Gearing Up

Each summer, ASIS&T members have the opportunity to elect new members to the Board of Directors and occasionally to vote for changes to the Constitution and Bylaws governing the operation of the Association. In the election process just getting underway, members will vote for a new president-elect and for two directors-at-large for the Board. In addition, one amendment to the bylaws is on the ballot.

Please note that all eligible voters will receive special instructions from ASIS&T executive director Richard Hill on how to access your online ballot. If, for any reason, a member is unable to vote online or does not receive ballot information, please call ASIS&T headquarters at 301-495-0900 or email rhill<at>asis.org.

Candidates for president-elect for the 2016 administrative year are Sanda Erdelez and Lynn Silipigni Connaway. Candidates for director-at-large for three-year terms beginning in 2016 are Kathryn La Barre, Yuelin Li, Linnea Johnson and Abebe Rorissa. Two director candidates with the largest plurality will emerge as winners.

Candidates for President-elect

Sanda Erdelez is professor and program chair at the School of Information Science & Learning Technologies, University of Missouri (MU). She was the associate director for education at MU Informatics Institute and the founding director of the MU Information Experience Laboratory. She also had a prior academic appointment at the University of Texas at Austin. Sanda holds bachelor and masters of law degrees from University of Osijek, Croatia, and a PhD in information transfer from Syracuse University. A former Fulbright scholar, her research focuses on human information behavior and usability evaluation of information systems. Since joining ASIS&T in 1988, she has been active on several Annual Meeting program committees, in SIG/USE, as a reviewer for JASIS&T and as a faculty co-mentor for the ASIS&T student chapter at MU. Presently she is a member of the ASIS&T Board of Directors.

 

Lynn Silipigni Connaway is the senior research scientist leading user studies activities at OCLC Research. Lynn has held visiting research positions and an endowed chair for research at several international universities. She has received research funding from numerous organizations, including IMLS and Jisc, in the United States and the United Kingdom. She is co-author of the 4th and 5th editions of Basic Research Methods for Librarians and has authored numerous other publications. She received her PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her MLS from the University of Arizona. Lynn joined ASIS&T as a doctoral student; she is a member of the Central Ohio ASIS&T Chapter, SIG/USE and SIG/Digital Libraries. She is currently on the Board of Directors and has served on various ASIS&T committees and served as co-chair of the 2011 ASIS&T Annual Meeting.

 

 

Candidates for Director-at-Large

Kathryn La Barre, associate professor, Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, holds MLS and PhD degrees from Indiana University. Her research on historical and contemporary knowledge organization systems focuses on cultural heritage materials. She is co-principal investigator of the Comic Book Readership Archive (CoBRA) project to build a digital archive of materials related to comic book readership and fandom. An active, long-standing member of ASIS&T, La Barre has served in many capacities since joining in 1998 as a master’s student, including terms as chair of SIGs/History and Foundations (HFIS) and Classification Research (CR); as SIG Cabinet Director; 75th Anniversary Task Force member; and presenter at the Annual Meeting. She serves on the international editorial boards of several key journals in the field.

 

 

Yuelin Li is chair and professor of department of information resources management in the Business School of Nankai University, one of the top universities and LIS programs in China. She earned a PhD degree from the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University, and MS and BA degrees from Nankai University. She was an assistant professor in the department of library and information science at the University of Southern Mississippi. Yuelin has published in Chinese and English in top journals, including JASIST and JDoc. Her research papers have been reprinted by Renmin University Reprint, the most authoritative journal in China for high quality research in various disciplines. She serves on the editorial boards of Library and Information Service and Journal of Academic Libraries, top LIS journals in China. She is a board member for Tianjin Library Association and a member of Library Society of China (LSC).

 

 

Linnea Johnson is manager of technology and adjunct faculty at the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College. She received her master's in library and information science in 2004 from Simmons and in January 2015, she received her master's of business administration from Simmons College School of Management, with an entrepreneurship concentration. She is co-director of the Simmons SLIS Usability Lab and has been a driving force behind the technology innovation infrastructure currently in place and thriving at Simmons SLIS. Her research areas of interest are technology management, social media, entrepreneurship, usability, leadership and innovation. She has served as the faculty advisor for the Simmons ASIS&T student chapter since 2010 and in this role, has won the Student Chapter-of-the-Year Award four times. She has served on the membership, leadership and SIG/USE planning committees.

 

 

Abebe Rorissa is associate professor in the department of information studies, University at Albany, State University of New York. Previously, he worked in four countries as a lecturer and systems librarian. He has consulted for academic institutions, national governments and international organizations. He has published extensively and has served or is serving on program committees and editorial boards of several international journals/publications/conferences and as a manuscript reviewer. His research interests include multimedia information organization and retrieval, scaling of users’ information needs/perceptions and use/acceptance/adoption/ impact of information and communication technologies. He teaches courses in research methods & statistics, information technology and foundations of information science.

Bylaws Amendment
The proposed amendment to the ASIS&T Bylaws allows the Board of Directors to identify categories or stratifications of membership to better define those who participate in ASIS&T. The change does not alter forms of membership or benefits of membership; rather, it attempts to better illustrate the types of information professionals who join the association.

Additional information on candidates, including their position statements, and the bylaws amendment is available at https://www.asist.org/elections/

ASIS&T Seeks New Editor of Flagship Journal

The flagship scholarly publication of the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T), the Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology (JASIST), seeks a new editor.

The editor’s primary responsibility is to ensure the high quality and quantity of papers published in JASIST. The editor solicits papers from appropriate individuals that fit the scope of JASIST, oversees the activities of the associate editors, guest editors and editorial board to ensure that submitted papers are peer reviewed by appropriately qualified and experienced persons, and communicates promptly with authors to accept or reject manuscripts or to request revision in response to referees' reports. The editor, in consultation with ASIS&T, appoints and renews editorial board members and communicates regularly with them concerning the development of the journal, editorial strategy, submissions and promotion. The editor assists the publishers in promoting JASIST by advising on publicity and promoting JASIST wherever possible. The editor is responsible for the intellectual workflow (e.g., using the electronic manuscript system, sequencing papers in issues) and insuring that the instructions to authors are followed (e.g., that copy is original and has not been published elsewhere; that copy is not defamatory or otherwise unlawful, and that appropriate illustrations and tabular matter, permissions and assignments of copyright are included).

The editor must be a leader who has strong motivational, interpersonal and communication skills. He or she must be highly motivated to publish a successful journal and recognize the broad scope of information science. A global perspective, flexibility and diplomacy skills are required to encourage diverse and creative contributions and to arbitrate controversial issues and points of views.
The editor will be appointed for a five-year term and may be reappointed for one additional term.

Recruiting and Recommendation Committee
A committed chaired by former ASIS&T president Gary Marchionini will review applications beginning on July 1, 2015, and make a recommendation to the ASIS&T Board of Directors. Other members of the committee are Donald Case, Kristin Eschenfelder, Carole Palmer and Ian Ruthven.

For full details on the application procedure and requirements, please visit the job announcement at www.asist.org/news/jasist-editor/

ASIS&T Webinars Continue to Draw Huge Crowds

The popular ASIS&T webinar program continues to roll along with new and innovative offerings and increasing numbers of participants. In fact, potential registrants often find webinars sold out before they get signed up. ASIS&T webinars connect participants with experts and global thought leaders in information science, management and business on relevant professional issues.

So far this year, ASIS&T has featured nine webinars. Most recently, just in the past two months, six courses have taken place. Here’s a brief summary of offerings in April and May.

Approaches to Making Dynamic Data Citable: Recommendations of the RDA Working Group
Being able to reliably and efficiently identify entire or subsets of data in large and dynamically growing or changing datasets constitutes a significant challenge for a range of research domains. In order to repeat an earlier study, to apply data from an earlier study to a new model, we need to be able to precisely identify the very subset of data used. Presenter Andreas Rauber, associate professor at Vienna University of Technology and co-chair of the RDA Working Group on Data Citation, reviewed the challenges and solutions that are currently elaborated within the context of the working group of the Research Data Alliance (RDA) on Data Citation: Making Dynamic Data Citable. The approach is based on versioned and time-stamped data sources, with persistent identifiers being assigned to the time-stamped queries/expressions that are used for creating the subset of data.

The Grant Writing Course as a Real-World Experience to Build Communities
Patty Wong introduced the audience to the San Jose State University course on grant writing and alternative funding resources, which she has taught for the past seven years. Wong views grant writing as a real time, expandable skill that can build communities while diversifying funding to make the world a better place. Wong guides students through a grant writing process using a client of their choice.

The process includes preparing an environmental scan, listing funders, exploring grant writing tools, analysis of funder information, grant deconstruction and writing an actual proposal to benefit a project and the client’s community. Students build a client profile, establish goals and objectives, utilize an evaluation tool for the project, create a communication and promotion plan, and develop a final proposal integrating funder criteria for future client submission.

From 0 to 60 on SPARQL Queries in 50 Minutes
This webinar introduces SPARQL, a query language for RDF. Users gained hands on experience crafting queries, starting simply, but evolving in complexity. These queries focus on coinage data in the SPARQL endpoint: numismatic concepts defined in a SKOS-based thesaurus and physical specimens from three major museum collections (American Numismatic Society, British Museum and Münzkabinett of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) linked to these concepts. Results generated from these queries in the form of CSV may be imported directly into Google Fusion Tables for immediate visualization in the form of charts and maps. Presenter Ethan Gruber is the web and database developer for the American Numismatic Society.

Introducing Cultural Heritage Informatics into the Curriculum of LIS Education
The meanings of cultural heritage and heritage practices have changed considerably in recent decades. Cultural heritage today expands beyond museum artifacts and historic buildings; it is about understanding shared histories. Initiatives in digital humanities have demonstrated a paradigm shift in how cultural heritage materials can be searched, mined, displayed, taught and analyzed utilizing digital technologies. Cultural heritage informatics (CHI) stands at the intersection of access, preservation and advocacy, bringing a cross-disciplinary approach to supporting the entire lifecycle of cultural information. Presenters Marcia Lei Zeng and Karen F. Gracy, Kent State University, saw this webinar as a starting point for discussions in an area that many of the curriculums are considering and an area that needs further collective exploration.

Digital Preservation Metadata and Improvements to PREMIS in Version 3.0
The PREMIS Data Dictionary for Preservation Metadata, currently in version 2.2, is the international standard for metadata to support the preservation of digital objects and ensure their long-term usability. Developed by an international team of experts, PREMIS is implemented in digital preservation projects around the world, and support for PREMIS is incorporated into a number of commercial and open-source digital preservation tools and systems. Presenter Angela Dappert, University of Portsmouth, provided a brief overview of digital preservation, showed examples of digital preservation metadata and how PREMIS can be used to capture this metadata, and illustrated some of the changes that will be available in version 3.0 to be released this summer.

Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs): Capturing Laboratory Activity as It Happens
ASIS&T SIG/STI and ACRL Science and Technology Section joined forces to look at electronic lab notebooks, one of the tools available to help science researchers manage their data between the data management plan and the repository. Presenters Wendy Kozlowski, Cornell University, Evan Simpson, Tufts University, and Kristin Bogdan, Yale University, discussed how their libraries have worked with others across campus to provide access to ELN software, incorporating ELNs as part of the larger research data management support system.

News about ASIS&T Members

Former ASIS&T president José-Marie Griffiths, currently vice president for academic affairs at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island, will become the 23rd president of Dakota State University (DSU) in Madison, South Dakota, in late summer. In announcing her appointment, South Dakota Regent Terry Baloun cited her “leadership experience in higher education, coupled with her wealth of knowledge in the areas of information systems and research” as qualities deemed beneficial to DSU. José-Marie noted DSU’s “strength in high tech and informatics programs, combined with depth and breadth in business, education, liberal arts, math and the sciences” as characteristics that position the university well for the 21st century.

Naresh Agawarl moves into a tenured position as associate professor in the School of Library and Information Science (SLIS), Simmons College, effective July 1, 2015. Naresh's research area is information behavior and knowledge management. His work has been published in the Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, Journal of Academic Librarianship, Information Research, IFLA Journal and Library Management, among others. He teaches courses on technology, web development and information architecture, evaluation of information services and knowledge management. He's also co-developing a course on theories of information science and technology. In addition to his work at Simmons, Naresh makes time for a variety of activities at ASIS&T. He has served on the Board of Directors and as a member of numerous association committees. In 2012, he was awarded the ASIS&T James M. Cretsos Leadership Award.

Former ASIS&T president Marjorie M.K. Hlava, president and founder of Access Innovations, Inc., is the 2015 recipient of the John Cotton Dana Award, the highest honor given by the Special Libraries Association. The award recognizes a lifetime of achievement in the field of library science and exceptional service to SLA and to the field at-large. An active practitioner in the library and information science field and as a member of SLA for nearly four decades, Marjorie is known worldwide for her work in the implementation of information science principles and the technology and standards that support them.

Maryland's iSchool Forms New Digital Curation Innovation Center
The University of Maryland's College of Information Studies (iSchool) has launched the Digital Curation Innovation Center (DCIC) that will use public, industry and government partnerships to foster interdisciplinary digital research and education on issues related to the selection, preservation, maintenance, collection and archiving of digital assets.

Initial research and education projects at the lab include integration of archival primary source research data, user-contributed data and technology to generate new forms of analysis and historical research engagement. These projects establish the parameters of research data in the humanities and scientific disciplines that determine the most cost-effective methods of implementing a cyberinfrastructure for managing and preserving data over its lifecycle.

Professor Richard Marciano and Michael Kurtz, visiting professor, are the center’s director and associate director, respectively. The full DCIC team comprises 18 people, including iSchool staff members as well as undergraduate students from across the university and external research affiliates.

"Managing and preserving digital records and other research data is a critical need for the University of Maryland and other research institutions," says Marciano. "Establishing best practices for cyberinfrastructure and management of digital assets enables new avenues of interdisciplinary research and opens new methods of engaging with historical data that illuminate key issues related to human rights and social justice."

ASIS&T President Offers New Package of Multimedia Educational Materials
Sandra Hirsh, current ASIS&T president and director of the School of Information at San Jose State University (SJSU), is the editor of the recently released Information Services Today: An Introduction. This multimedia package combines an introductory text, support materials for instructors and students and a series of webcasts. Published by Rowman & Littlefield in print and ebook formats, Information Services Today addresses the transformation of libraries as information organizations, why these organizations are more important today than ever before, how technology is influencing the provision of information resources and services, and career opportunities.

The textbook features contributions by recognized leaders in the field, including information school professors, library deans and directors and experts from around the world. The companion series of free on-demand webcasts is hosted by Library Journal. The six webcasts feature discussions about the evolving information profession, digital libraries, career roles and competencies, user experience, leadership and management and information access and ethics.

News from ASIS&T SIGs

Heather Pfeiffer, ASIS&T SIG Cabinet Director, reports that a couple of exciting changes have occurred in the world of SIGs this spring.

Responding to increased interest among information professionals toward matters of information ethics, SIG/Information Policy has expanded its mission and vision to include information ethics. These changes are reflected in a name change as well: SIG/Information Ethics and Policy (SIG/IEP). In honor of its revised status, SIG/IEP is holding its first Best Student Paper Award. Master’s or pre-candidacy PhD students are invited to submit original work that is purely the work of the student. Papers developed from work in a class, during an internship experience or as part of a thesis project are eligible. Papers may address any topic dealing with an aspect of information ethics and/or information policy. For submission guidelines and additional information, contact Kris Unsworth at unsworth<at>Drexel.edu. The deadline for submissions is June 30.

Heather also reports that ASIS&T has taken a major step toward making more members active participants in the association’s SIGs. Effective this spring, members can join as many SIGs as they like without any additional fees. So, want to join the new SIG/IEP? Go ahead. While you’re at it, pick another you’d like to join. Get involved.

SIG/History & Foundations of Information Science (SIG/HFIS) has just completed its aggregation of stories on how information and its understanding affect our daily lives, be it in work situations, in our private lives, in our research. The solicited stories showcase how effective or ineffective the concept may be, how it can mean different things to different people, how information and communication can cause misunderstandings, and how the storyteller thinks about information in general. A jury chosen of SIG/HFIS members will choose five stories that shed startling, informative and unexpected insights into our understanding of the phenomenon we call information and of the field we call information science/studies. The jury is expected to complete its deliberations by June 30.

SIG/Information Needs, Seeking and Use (SIG/USE) invites applications for the SIG/USE Elfreda A. Chatman Research Award which recognizes the best research proposal within the scope of information behavior. A $1000 cash award supports the proposed research; winners are recognized at the SIG/USE symposium at the ASIS&T Annual Meeting in St. Louis. Full information is available at https://siguse.wordpress.com/elfreda-a-chatman-research-award/. Applications are due July 15.

Virtual Symposium on Information & Technology in the Arts & Humanities
SIGs/Arts & Humanities and Visualization, Images & Sound (SIGs/AH and VIS) joined forces in April on a virtual symposium exploring the influence of information and technology in the arts and humanities. The symposium brought together professional speakers and finalists from the SIGs’ student research paper competition.

The five finalists from the research paper competition are Laura M. Ruschman, Wayne State University; J. Jasmine Chmiel, Catholic University; Christian James, University of Maryland, College Park; Erin Farquhar, George Mason University; and Melissa Higgins, University of Denver. Following the presentations, two of the papers were awarded Best Paper Award, a $500 prize and a one-year membership in ASIS&T. And the winners are

Christian James for Historical Thinking, Digital Methods: The New History Pedagogy

Melissa Higgins for Structure, Subjectivity and Power: The Provisional Space of Libraries Within the Social Tagging Movement

News from ASIS&T Chapters

The European Student Chapter (ESC) hosted Information Science and Library Science Across Europe in April, one in a series of webinars for students, researchers and colleagues in Europe. The series features representatives from schools and universities giving an overview of their activities. Students can get directly in touch with professors and researchers and ask questions about research activities and lectures. Guest speakers in April were Ernesto Priego from the City University in London and Sergej Sizov from the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf.

Michael Buckland, emeritus professor at the University of California, Berkeley, is the recipient of the 2015 Distinguished Lecture Series Award of the New Jersey Chapter of ASIS&T (NJ ASIS&T). The event honoring Dr. Buckland, co-hosted by the Rutgers University Student Chapter of ASIS&T, was held at Rutgers in May. His lecture to an audience of students, faculty, former colleagues and other information professionals throughout the nation was entitled Information Science Past and Future: A Personal View.

The Los Angeles Chapter of ASIS&T (LACASIST) offered its April workshop free with two attendance options: online via Google Hangout on Air and in person at a local venue. The topic: Is Drupal Right for Your Library? The three-part workshop was designed to help participants determine if Drupal provides the right content management framework for their library websites. After a general discussion of Drupal in the context of library needs, the workshop switched to tutorials on a couple of Drupal modules. It then wrapped up with a panel discussion featuring active Drupal users who shared their experiences.

Fund Created for Student Memberships in European and Asian Pacific Region
An anonymous source has donated $1,000 to be used to pay for student memberships for the European and Asia Pacific Student Chapters during the current fiscal year. Depending on the success of the initial program, continued funding is anticipated.

The donor suggests special consideration for the student memberships be given to students publishing in JASIST or other prestigious publications and to those from developing countries. Additional criteria might be established by the individual chapters. The final selection criteria are to be approved by ASIS&T.

ASIS&T Annual Audit
The report of the ASIS&T auditors on the 2014 financial statements is presented here.