SIG-III Awards & Honors

Criteria for SIG-III Mentor Award

Availability to the mentee and the program – meeting attendance, email/responsiveness
Assessment by the mentee
Quality of the collaboration
The outcome of the collaboration – the pair establishes a success
Select an activity that can be completed in the
Demonstrate high integrity and professionalism as rated by both
Show respect for mentees/mentors
Clearly articulate expectations and set aside sufficient time to enable the mentee to meet their goals
Collaboration results in knowledge expansion
Provides guidance for the successful completion of the project
Exhibits strong communication and interpersonal skills
Mentees commit to writing a “Learning Reflection Statement” and a “Experience Statement” from the mentors
Availability to the mentee and the program – meeting attendance, email/responsiveness
1. Based on the response from the mentee
2. Survey to the mentees about their experience, Assessment by the mentee
Quality of the collaboration - Mentor and Mentee their experience; their rating of the quality of the work that they did
The outcome of the collaboration – the pair establishes a success metric - if they will say that it was a successful collaboration, goals
Select an activity that can be completed in the timeline:

Criteria for Project Award

The pair defines the outcome that can be nominated for the award, such as a published poster/article/presentation/workshop OR a research project report OR prototypes or deliverables from the research
Completed in the planned time
Outstanding presentation in the showcase

Best SIG-III Volunteer Criteria

Eligibility

The individual should be a member of SIG-III.
The individual should not hold any officer position within SIG-III.
The SIG-III member who makes the most noteworthy contribution to SIG-III in the last year (i.e., October of the past year through September of the current year) will be considered for this award.
The individual should organize or co-organize at least one regional, national, or international initiative or event that directly creates value for SIG-III members.
The individual should not be the winner of this award for the last three years.

Process of submitting nominations

Any SIG-III member can nominate candidates for the award. Self-nominations are allowed.
Please submit the proof of the nominee’s contributions to SIG-III in the last year. You can submit the link to the website, announcements of events/initiatives on social media, photos of the events or initiatives, or testimonials of direct beneficiaries of your efforts.
Describe in detail how the nominee contributed to the SIG-III event(s) or initiative(s) (minimum 50 words).
Explain the nature of value or impact created by your initiative(s) or event(s) for SIG-III members (minimum 50 words).

Criteria (Members of the Award Selection Committee will rate the materials submitted by nominees on the scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree))

The nominee’s voluntary work advances the mission of SIG-III.
The nominee’s voluntary work helps SIG-III advance toward its vision.
The nominee’s voluntary work reflects SIG-III values.
The nominee’s voluntary work has made a positive impact on SIG-III.
The nominee’s voluntary work can inspire others to engage in voluntary activities for SIG-III.

Apply here

Submission Deadline: 26th May

Selection Deadline: 27th May

International Paper Contest

Judging Criteria: The IPC papers will be judged using the following criteria.

The originality of the research question and objectives
Ability to situate problem statements against existing literature
Rigor in research methods
Novelty and significance of research findings
Theoretical and/or practical implications and/or contributions
Quality of presentation and the overall organization of information
Consistency in citations, references, and grammar

Eligibility & Information for Authors: All authors should be citizens of and reside in a developing nation. Winners of the 2016-2023 contests are not eligible. The papers should be original, unpublished, and submitted in English. We encourage submissions from librarians, information and network specialists, and educators involved in the creation, representation, maintenance, exchange, discovery, delivery, and use of digital information.

Style format: Submissions should follow the Initial Submission Instructions at:

https://www.asist.org/am24/submission-instructions-policies/

submissions must be formatted according to the AM24 Proposal Template Instructions.

Winners and Award: The IPC Committee will select three winners. We encourage all three winners to attend the 2024 ASIS&T Annual Meeting for sharing their research. The first-place winner will receive a maximum of US $1,500 for offsetting the cost of attending and presenting their research poster at the 2024 ASIS&T Annual Meeting in Calgary Alberta, Canada. In addition, all three winners will receive a two-year individual membership in ASIS&T. In the case of multiple authors, the first author will be awarded the ASIS&T membership.

InfoShare Award

Eligibility

The preference InfoShare Award will be given to the candidates belonging to Tier 1 countries as the candidates from Tier 2 countries can get free membership (for two years).
The current ASIS&T member cannot be the nominee for the award.
The individual should not be the InfoShare award winner in the last five years
Only ASIS&T members can nominate any suitable candidate

Key Responsibilities

Join SIG-III
Attend at least 3 ASIS&T webinars of their interest in a business year (July 1st to June 30th)

Attend at least two quarterly SIG-III business meetings
Help the InfoShare committee to organize at least one InfoShare event
Invite at least five Library and Information Science professionals to join SIG-III
At the end of the business year (30th June), they are required to submit a detailed report to the InfoShare Chair about the above-mentioned activities.

Apply for the award

Please contact sigiiiasist@gmail.com if you have any questions about the award.

The deadline for submitting nominations is May 15th, 2024 & the announcement of successful candidates is May 30th, 2024.

Celebrated Awardees

SIG-III celebrates the following outstanding achievements of its members, committees, and the group in general. Congratulations to the Awardees!

2024 SIG Member of the year

2024 SIG of the year

2024 SIG Publication of the year

2024 Best Volunteer Award Winner

Safirotu Khoir, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

2023 Best Volunteer Award Winners

Vanessa Reyes, East Carolina University, USA

Manika Lamba, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

ASIS&T SIG of the Year (2023) - SIG III

The SIG III has been engaged with its members through the International Paper Contest, InfoShare Program, Newsletters, International Café Meetings, Collaborative Events, Website, and Social Media platforms. For the consistent hard work and significant contributions to ASIS&T, SIG-III won the SIG year Award. Congratulations to the 2023 Team.

Leili Seifi received the 2023 SIG-Member of Year award towards her contributions for the SIG-III.

Leili Seifi joined ASIS&T in 2021 when she won the InfoShare Award (https://www.asist.org/sig/sigiii/sig-iii-awards/infoshare/infoshare-news/). Leili organized the "International Conference on Design and Development of Public Library Services: Patterns, Experiences, and Ideas" (https://hamayesh.ipla.ir/en) in May 2022. Based on Leili's request, ASIS&T and SIG-III scientifically sponsored the conference. ASIS&T president and SIG-III chair had been invited to deliver a keynote speech and sent a video message for the conference.

As an ASIS&T member, some of Leili's notable collaboration and accomplishments include being Secretary/Treasurer of the Middle East Chapter of ASIS&T 2022-2023. Due to her extraordinary professional service, in 2022, she was elected as a chair-elect of SIG-III. As the Chair-Elect, she organizes International Café Meetings with the aim of collaborative engagement with ASIS&T members. She used the strategy of personalized invitations to engage ASIS&T members. She was successful in inviting the President and President-Elect to the ICM events. The participants were from 14 countries.

She has organized a webinar collaborated with the Middle East Chapter for 12th October entitled "Mapping Library and Information Schools: An International Approach". She is a member of a special project fund award entitled "Winter School for Enhancing Research Skills: A SIG-III Initiative" A member of the SIG-III Nominating Committee for 2022, a representative member of SIG-III in the Infoshare Committee, a member of the Logo Contest Committee, and the chair of the Best Volunteer award committee in 2023 were some other professional services of Leili towards SIG-III.

A notable contribution of Leili Seifi conducting the short interview series(10 short videos) with entrepreneur Librarians and posting the links to videos on iConnect.

Leili Seifi to receive The 2023 ASIS&T New Leader Program Award

The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) is delighted to announce that Leili Seifi, Associate Professor at the University of Birjand, Iran, is the 2023 recipient of the ASIS&T New Leader Program Award. The award’s purpose is to Purpose of the Program to recruit, engage, and retain new members and to identify potential for new leadership in the Association. Candidates are assessed based on the following three criteria:

Potential for future leadership within ASIS&T
Demonstrated leadership experience and potential
Alignment between candidate’s interests and association priorities

Dr. Devendra Potnis Said regarding Leili Seifi’s leadership experience and potential:

Considering Dr. Seifi's abilities and interests and the opportunities that ASIS&T provides to the members as leaders, I believe Dr. Seifi can get involved in leadership positions in a number of ways that could help her meet her current and future needs for personal or professional development, particularly for developing countries. She can expand her leadership experience by volunteering with committees and exploring professional development by organizing webinars, panels, and other events. Leadership positions in chapters and SIGs could help her build regional networks and promote knowledge among developing countries' peers. Dr. Seifi's intellectual creativity and leadership skills will benefit ASIS&T and the library and information science profession in developing countries.

Bhakti Gala Elected as One of the ASIS&T Directors-at-Large

Congratulations to Dr. Bhakti Gala, current Chair of SIG-III, for being elected as one of the ASIS&T Directors-at-Large at the 2023 ASIS&T Board Elections.

Dr. Bhakti Gala is an Assistant Professor at the School of Library and Information Science, Central University of Gujarat, India. She has a doctorate from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India. She has been actively teaching and researching in the areas of information literacy, digital cultural heritage resources, metadata, and open content.

She is currently the Chair of SIG-III and has previously worked as an SIG-III IPC Jury member in 2020. She has been part of the South Asia Chapter since its inception in the year 2018. In the South Asia Chapter, she has volunteered in different positions viz., Secretary in 2018-19, Chair-elect in 2019-20, and Chair in 2020-21. She has also participated as member of the AM22 Program Committee, Poster Co-chair.

She will assume the role as a new ASIS&T Board Member after the 2023 ASIS&T Annual Meeting in London, October 29-31.

Read her short biodata here: https://www.asist.org/2023/06/06/bhakti-gala/
Watch her interview here: https://youtu.be/B6LvmBg024s
Read the Election Results here: https://www.asist.org/2023/07/14/2023-board-election-results/

Nosheen Fatima Warraich to Receive the ASIS&T 2023 James M. Cretsos Leadership Award

The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) is delighted to announce that Prof. Nosheen Fatima Warraich, Director, Institute of Information Management, University of Punjab, Lahore-Pakistan, is the 2023 recipient of the ASIS&T James M. Cretsos Leadership Award. The award’s purpose is to recognize a new ASIS&T member who has demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities in professional ASIS&T activities.

Candidates are assessed based on the following four criteria: participation in the ASIS&T annual meeting as an organizer, moderator, speaker, discussant, etc.; participation in programs and activities of Special Interest Groups (SIGs), chapters, and/or student chapters; services on ASIS&T committees; and recruitment of new ASIS&T members and/or retention of existing members.

Prof. Nosheen Fatima Warraich has been serving as Director Institute of Information Management, University of the Punjab, Lahore since 2021. She is a young academician and has got Fulbright Post-Doc, SUNY at Albany (2015-2016) NY. She has authored more than 85 publications, including scholarly journal articles, conference proceedings, and book chapters. She is the Editor of the Pakistan Journal of Information Management & Libraries. Prof. Warraich is a visionary leader and believes in collaboration and inclusiveness. She served as co-chair SIG-ED in 2017-18, and as recruitment officer SIG-SM for two years 2018 and 2019. In 2022, she was elected as chair SIG-InfoLearn and co-chair-elect of SIG-III. Recently, she is also serving as panel co-chair in ASIS&T 2023 Mid-year conference. She has made commendable efforts in raising the number of ASIS&T memberships in Pakistan. She served in different leadership positions in SIG-III, SIG-ILS, and SIG-SM. She organized an international conference in Pakistan with the collaboration of ASIS&T in November 2022. She also has been working to recruit new students and professional members in Pakistan. She is a very passionate and kind team leader and always motivates and encourages her students and colleagues to participate in ASIST activities. Dr. Nosheen has been actively engaged with SIGs, Chapters, and other ASIS&T committees and also served four years on the IPC jury of SIG-III 2018-22. As the chair of the IPC jury, she always guided young researchers to submit their submissions and help them get published in good journals.

Upon learning of her selection as a 2023 Cretsos Award winner, Nosheen said, “I am incredibly honored and humbled for this recognition to receive the James M Cretsos from ASIS&T. ASIS&T provided me opportunities to network, collaborate, and work with wonderful people. For me, ASIS&T is like a family that supports, motivates, and inspires me in my academic and professional career, giving me a sense of ownership and training me as a leader. Receiving this award has not only filled me with a sense of accomplishment but has also reinforced my commitment to making a positive impact in my field. I am also grateful to my colleagues, mentors, students, and supporters who have played a pivotal role in shaping my professional journey. Their guidance, encouragement, and collaboration have been invaluable, and I share this award with them as well. I am deeply appreciative of the recognition bestowed upon me, and I am motivated to continue my professional endeavors with even greater determination and enthusiasm. Thanks, ASIS&T for its inclusiveness and generosity! Keep growing and shining!”

Warraich will receive the award at the 2023 ASIS&T Annual Meeting to be held 27-31 October, in London, UK.

Md. Anwarul Islam Receives the ASIS&T 2023 Lois Lunin Award

The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) is delighted to announce that Md. Anwarul Islam of the University of Dhaka, Dhaka Bangladesh is the 2023 recipient of the Lois Lunin Award. This award recognizes individuals who have made noteworthy contributions to the practice of Information Science and Technology through leadership, mentoring, and innovation.

Dr. Islam is an Associate Professor of Information Science & Library Management at the University of Dhaka. Islam started his career in the Telco industry and later moved to academia. He received his PhD from the School of Knowledge Science from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), Japan. His research interests lie primarily in the areas of Knowledge Management, Information Behaviour and Informetrics. Islam is a VLIR-UOS Fellow 2012, University of Antwerp, Belgium; ACRC Fellow 2013, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; DRF Fellow for the PhD program in the School of Knowledge Science, JAIST-Japan (2013-2016); ACU Fellow 2016 (UK), University of British Columbia, Canada.

Upon learning of his selection as the 2023 Lois Lunin Award winner, Islam said, I am delighted to receive the prestigious Lois Lunin Award 2023 from ASIS&T. It is an exemplary honor for me given by ASIS&T. I am grateful to ASIS&T and the jury for believing in me and my work. Joining ASIS&T AM in 2015 was one of the important milestones in my career which enabled me to build a new professional home and put me in a network junction. Since then, I am obliged to ASIS&T for making it my professional home. I am grateful to my mentors for guiding me on the right path, and peers for supporting me in all ways. I promise to continue my contributions and involvement in ASIS&T to make this association more welcoming for newcomers.”

The Lois Lunin Award was named in honor of long-time ASIS&T member and newsletter editor Lois Lunin. The award recognizes early or mid-career individuals who have made noteworthy contributions to the practice of Information Science and Technology through leadership, mentoring, and innovation.

Islam will receive the award at the 2023 ASIS&T Annual Meeting to be held 27-31 October, 2023, in London UK.

Bhakti Gala to Receive the ASIS&T 2022 James M. Cretsos Leadership Award

The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) is delighted to announce that Bhakti Gala, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Library and Information Science, Central University of Gujarat, is the 2022 recipient of the ASIS&T James M. Cretsos Leadership Award.

The award recognizes a new ASIS&T member who has demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities in professional ASIS&T activities.

Candidates are assessed based on the following four criteria: participation in ASIS&T annual meeting as organizer, moderator, speaker, discussant, etc.; participation in programs and activities of Special Interest Groups (SIGs), chapters and/or student chapters; services on ASIS&T committees; and recruitment of new ASIS&T members and/or retention of existing members.

Gala is an Assistant Professor at the School of Library and Information Science, Central University of Gujarat, India. She is the past chair of the South Asia Chapter and presently the Chair-elect for ASIS&T SIG-III. Dr. Gala has led the ASIS&T Special Chapter Project with members from the South Asia and Asia Pacific Chapters for the duration of June 2021 to May 2022.

Upon learning of her selection as a 2022 Cretsos Award winner, Gala said, “I am greatly honored to receive the James M Cretsos award from ASIS&T whose membership has given me many opportunities to enrich my professional career. Ever since I joined ASIS&T in 2015, this membership has brought me in touch with experts who have guided me in my academic journey. ASIS&T has also given me a chance to make friends from across the globe. I thank all who we

Gala will receive her award at the 2022 ASIS&T Annual Meeting to be held October 29 through November 1, 2021, in Pittsburgh, PA.

ASIS&T Chapter Member of the Year (2022) - Bhakti Gala

Bhakti Gala is an Assistant Professor at the School of Library and Information Science, Central University of Gujarat, India. She is the past chair of the South Asia Chapter and presently the Chair-elect for ASIS&T SIG-III. Dr. Gala has led the ASIS&T Special Chapter Project with members from the South Asia and Asia Pacific Chapters for the duration of June 2021 to May 2022.

As Chair of the South Asia Chapter, she steered the South Asia Chapter to win the ASIS&T Special Project Fund of $7000 in 2021-22 for the project on ‘Dealing with COVID-19 and saving people’s lives in South Asia (SA) areas & beyond - A health informatics promotion project’. The chapter also won the 2021 Chapter Innovation of the Year Award in her tenure as the Chair.

Dr. Abebe Rorisa elected as President-elect of ASIS&T, 2021-2023

Congratulations to Dr. Abebe Rorisa for his election as President-elect of ASIS&T for the period 2021-2023. Dr. Abebe Rorissa is currently Professor and Director of the iSchool (School of Information Sciences) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (as of July 1, 2021). Prior to joining the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, he was Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Faculty Development in the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity, University at Albany, SUNY. Between 1988 and 2005, he worked in four countries as a lecturer and practitioner. He has also consulted for academic institutions, national governments, and international organizations on various topics.

For more information on the Board of Directors Election Results, visit the ASIS&T website.

Dr. Abebe Rorissa to Receive the ASIS&T 2021 Watson Davis Award for Service

The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) is delighted to announce that Dr. Abebe Rorissa of the University of Tennessee Knoxville is the 2021 recipient of the Watson Davis Award for Service. The award’s purpose is to recognize an individual member of the Association who has shown continuous dedicated leadership in and service to ASIS&T and made substantial and lasting contributions to ASIS&T governance, chapters, SIGs, committees, and publications. Candidates are assessed based on 3 criteria: dedicated service to ASIS&T as evidenced by the amount and length of participation in, leadership of, and support to ASIS&T programs, chapters, SIGs, committees, publications, etc.; sustained, active involvement in ASIS&T; and engagement in activities that create a meaningful impact on ASIS&T communities, such as in high attendance numbers for events, attracting significant news coverage of a publication or event, attraction of new members, and/or positive financial impact for the Association, SIG or Chapter. The award is named after Watson Davis, President and founder of the American Documentation Institute (ADI), a precursor to ASIS&T.

Dr. Abebe Rorissa is Professor and Director of the iSchool (School of Information Sciences) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (as of July 1, 2021). Prior to joining the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, he was Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Faculty Development in the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity, University at Albany, SUNY. Between 1988 and 2005, he worked in four countries as a lecturer and practitioner. He has also consulted for academic institutions, national governments, and international organizations on various topics. His research interests include multimedia information organization and retrieval, scaling of information needs, use/acceptance/adoption and impact of ICTs, and data analytics. He is published extensively in leading international journals such as the Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, Information Processing & Management, and Government Information Quarterly and served on program committees of international conferences. He is (or was) on the editorial boards of six (6) scholarly journals/publications.

Upon learning of his selection as the 2021 ASIS&T Watson Davis Award for Service, Dr. Rorissa said, “I am grateful and honored to be among the illustrious recipients of the ASIS&T Watson Davis Award for Service. ASIS&T is the premier professional association in our field, and it has been my primary professional home for over 20 years. I promise to continue my contributions and involvement for another 20 years! I will use this Award as a motivation to work even more to make ASIS&T a more welcoming, inclusive, and thriving association.”

Dr. Rorissa will receive his award at the 2021 meeting of the Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) which will be held October 29-November 2 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Dr. Md. Anwarul Islam to Receive the ASIS&T 2021 Crestos Leadership Award

The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) is delighted to announce that Dr. Md. Anwarul Islam, Associate Professor, Department of Information Science & Library Management at the University of Dhaka in Dhaka, Bangladesh, is a 2021 recipient of the ASIS&T Cretsos Leadership Award. The award recognizes a new ASIS&T member who has demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities in professional ASIS&T activities.  

The award is named in honor of James M. Cretsos, long-time member and leader in ASIS&T. Cretsos served as President of ASIS&T in 1997 and was also an active leader and contributor to the Southern Ohio Chapter, SIG-CON, SIG-MED, and the Awards & Honors Committee. He is perhaps best remembered for the role he played in mentoring emerging leaders in the field of information science. Candidates are assessed based on the following four criteria: participation in ASIS&T annual meeting as organizer, moderator, speaker, discussant, etc.; participation in programs and activities of Special Interest Groups (SIGs), chapters and/or student chapters; services on ASIS&T committees; and recruitment of new ASIS&T members and/or retention of existing members. 

Upon learning of his selection as a 2021 Cretsos Award winner, Dr. Islam said, “I am delighted and honored to get this prestigious James M. Cretsos Leadership Award from ASIS&T. Since 2015, ASIS&T has become my professional home and I got so many opportunities to grow as a leader, researcher and dreamer in the scholarly community. During this journey, I am ever grateful to my mentors and other peers who have helped me to break out of my nervousness. Staying in a developing country and stepping out to become a good researcher is often not easy. For me, ASIS&T helped harness many opportunities and I aim to continue my journey with more involvement. Finally, I am thankful to the jury members for having believed in me and my work.”

Dr. Islam will receive his award at the 2021 ASIS&T Annual Meeting to be held October 29 through November 3, 2021, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Prodip Roy to Receive ASIS&T (2021) Inaugural Lois Lunin Award

The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) is delighted to announce that Prodip Roy of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Bundoora, Australia, is the inaugural recipient of the Lois Lunin Award. This award recognizes individuals who have made noteworthy contributions to the practice of Information Science and Technology through leadership, mentoring, and innovation.

Originally from Bangladesh, Roy is currently Library Officer (Monograph and Digital Collections) and Ph.D. candidate RMIT. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Librarian Times, the first-ever and only professional weekly news bulletin in Bangladesh for the library and information profession; established The Library Times (TLT) Foundation to promote library professional development; and has inaugurated several awards to encourage library professionals and current Library and Information Science students. Roy has been an active member and leader in the Australian Library and Information Association AALIA (DCP); the ASIS&T Special Interest Group- International Information Issues (SIG-III); National Tertiary Education Union, Australia; Creative Commons Global Network and Australia Chapter.

Upon learning of his selection as a 2021 Lois Lunin Award winner, Roy said, “I am honored to receive the Lois Lunin Award, which was established this year for the first time to commemorate a long time ASIS&T member and pioneer in both the association and information science and technology fields.” Like, Lois Lunin, I have always been enthusiastic about collaborating with the international LIS Associations like ASIS&T to promote library and information professionals, academics, and their engagement in building a knowledge-based society. I hope the award will be an encouragement to continue to contribute to the LIS community and the ASIS&T. I dedicate this achievement to the librarian times family members who are working for free for professional development in Bangladesh.”  

Roy will receive his award at the 2021 ASIS&T Annual Meeting to be held October 29 through November 3, 2021, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

ASIS&T SIG of the Year (2020) - SIG III

The SIG III has been active and highly effective all year. Their officers have engaged with their students/colleagues in recruiting/retaining members. The officers were successful in getting new members to join and communicating to others on the benefits of ASIST. The SIG-III Chair (Ashraf) distributed the InfoShare Award Certificates to Pakistani and Kenyan winners. One of the certificates was given at Nairobi National Park in Nairobi, Kenya. Ashraf also introduced ASIS&T to some 20 librarians in this internationally-known park. The SIG sponsored the Pakistan Library Club Annual Convention in Karachi, Pakistan.

The plan included SIG-III Chair’s presentation on ASIS&T and its benefit to the professional community. They were expecting to recruit new members during the event, but it was cancelled due to COVID-19. SIG III was very active at the AM in Melbourne, Australia, and has maintained frequent communication and news shring using iConnect, Facebook, Twitter and the ASIS&T/SIG-III website.

ASIS&T SIG Member of the Year (2020) - Devendra Potnis

Devendra Potnis has chaired the International Paper Contest (IPC) for three consecutive years. He invited and formed a jury of eight researchers and practitioners from China, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Turkey, and Zimbabwe to work on the IPC committee which approved the review criteria, ethical guidelines, and overall review process for the competition developed by Devendra. In the spirit of recognizing and awarding researchers in developing countries, Devendra also proposed a new criterion of limiting the paper contest to the researchers and practitioners living and working in developing countries alone, which also was approved by the IPC committee. He developed a new mechanism of information sharing on Google Spreadsheets, wherein all members of the IPC recorded the venues (e.g., professional listservs, websites, personal emails) where the call for IPC was advertised, which avoided the replication of outreach efforts and would inform the future paper contests.

For the last three years, he individually communicated the qualitative feedback provided by the IPC jury to over 30 authors of paper contest submissions so that they can improve their work. Thus, the IPC served as a way of receiving feedback on research for several researchers and practitioners in developing countries. Devendra also coordinated email communications with the ASIS&T office for seeking certificates for the winners. He has documented the best practices for conducting IPC, which can be used in the future.

ASIS&T SIG Publication of the Year (2020)- SIG-III Newsletter, March 2020

The newsletter has a vibrant layout and new design, interesting content and a comprehensive coverage of SIG III activities. The marketing strategy of sharing the newsletter with a larger audience was adopted, and most importantly the newsletter was published at a time when the whole world was facing COVID-19.

In March 2020 there was uncertainty, fear and anxiety around the globe, still SIG III officer motivated the community with a timely publication, furthermore the note from the newsletter officer encouraged the audience particularly LIS professionals to play their role during this uncertain time.

Read the Newsletter Here: SIG III Newsletter Mar 2020