Committees and Task Forces
ASIS&T's Committees and Task Forces provide both subject-matter expertise and guidance to the Board of Directors on matters of strategic importance to the Association.
Committees
Committee Purpose
The committee will oversee and coordinate the ASIS&T international awards and honors program, ensuring the selection and presentation of all ASIS&T awards and honors consonant with Board-approved policies and procedures.
2024-25 Committee Members
Chair: Diane Velazquez | University of South Australia
Vice-Chair: Sarah Polkinghorne | University of Alberta
Board Liaison: Chris Cunningham | North Carolina Central University
- Naresh Agarwal | James M. Cretsos Award for Leadership Jury
- Rhiannon Bettivia | Watson Davis Award for Service Jury
- John Budd | Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award
- Jennifer Campbell-Meier | Pratt Severn Student Research Paper Award Jury
- Devon Greyson | Impact Award Jury
- Michael Gryk | Best Information Science Book Award
- Manika Lamba | Research in Information Science Award Jury
- Dana McKay | Lois Lunin Award Jury
- Alamir Novin | Doctoral Dissertation Award Jury
- Sarah Polkinghorne | Best JASIST Paper Award
- Soo Young Rieh | Award of Merit Jury
- Olle Sköld | Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Scholarship Jury
- Diane Sonnenwald | Fellowship Program Jury
- Lin Wang | Bob Williams History Fund Award Jury
- Lydia Middleton | ASIS&T | Executive Director & Staff Liaison
Role of the Committee
This committee serves as the umbrella committee under which all ASIS&T international (as distinct from chapter and SIG) award juries operate. The Committee has overall responsibility for ensuring that all awardees are selected in a timely manner consistent with Board-approved award guidelines.
- Provide strategic guidance to the Board on how the Awards & Honors Program may be used to increase member value and the visibility of the organization.
- Annually review criteria, guidelines, and descriptions for all awards to ensure clarity and consistency of wording as well as clearly distinguishing between awards.
- Invite (but not directly solicit) nominations for all ASIS&T International Awards.
- Ensure that juries for all awards are appointed as required by individual award guidelines.
- Ensure that all juries conclude deliberations and provide decisions to committees and to headquarters in the required timeframe.
- Note: direct solicitation of nominations, which was previously a responsibility of the Awards Nominations Subcommittee, will be distributed to the appropriate committee for which it is relevant.
- Other duties as assigned through the annual committee charge.
Guiding Document(s)
Committee Purpose
The Budget & Finance Committee is a standing committee composed of members of the Board, charged with advising the Board of Directors concerning the financial affairs of the Association.
2024-25 Committee Members
Chair: Chris Cunningham | Treasurer | North Carolina Central University
- Maria Bonn | President-Elect | University of Illinois iSchool
- Crystal Fulton | Immediate Past President | University College Dublin
- Ian Ruthven | President | University of Strathclyde
- Luanne Sinnamon | Director-at-Large | University of British Columbia
- Lydia Middleton | Executive Director | Ex Officio
Committee Role
- The Budget & Finance Committee recommends an annual budget and an outside auditor to the Board of Directors, recommends financial and other policies, assesses the financial impact of all policies and activities on the association, monitors the Association’s investments, and undertakes other appropriate projects as requested.
- The Committee continually monitors the financial affairs of ASIS&T and work with the Executive Director to ensure compliance with audit requirements.
- The Committee continually determines and continually monitors critical indicators to provide early notice of opportunities and challenges.
- The Committee continually monitors and continues to improve upon ASIS&T investment practices to ensure that Board objectives are met.
- The Committee works with Headquarters to ensure that the Annual Budget and regular financial statements are prepared and presented in a timely and understandable fashion
Guiding Document(s)
Committee Purpose
- To oversee existing educational offerings and develop new, revenue-generating educational content and events.
2024-25 Committee Members
Chair: Marlene Holmner | University of Pretoria
Vice-Chair: Alex Poole | Drexel University
Board Liaison: Luanne Sinnamon | University of British Columbia
Committee:
- Sarah Bratt | University of Arizona
- Syamili C | University of Calicut
- Heidi Julien | SUNY Buffalo
- Chei Sian Lee | Nanyang Technological University
- Steffen Lemke | ZBW
- Cameron Pierson | L3S Research Center
- Kip Wolf | Thaumazo Bioscience Management
- Lydia Middleton | ASIS&T | Executive Director & Staff Liaison
Committee Role
- The committee is responsible for assessing current educational offerings and identifying future offerings. The EC aims to identify potential opportunities across sectors for educational activities (e.g., webinar masterclasses; annual meeting tutorial sessions; practitioner-focused events, etc.) to generate revenue and provide professional development opportunities across sectors.
- The EC will consult with or collaborate with other committees, especially the Professional Development Committee and the Research Engagement Committee, to ensure that they are not duplicating activities but are complementing one another.
- The EC will evaluate and report to the board on the outcomes of all educational offerings, particularly widely attended events such as the Annual Meeting
Guiding Document(s)
Committee Purpose
The Executive Committee makes decisions and takes action on behalf of the Association between the regular meetings of the Board of Directors.
2024-25 Committee Members
Chair: Ian Ruthven | President | University of Strathclyde
- Maria Bonn | President-Elect | University of Illinois iSchool
- Chris Cunningham | Treasurer | North Carolina Central University
- Crystal Fulton | Immediate Past President | University College Dublin
- Luanne Sinnamon | Director-at-Large | University of British Columbia
- Lydia Middleton | Executive Director
Committee Role
- The Executive Committee oversees the operations of the Executive Director and staff, administers such functions and exercises such powers as the Board of Directors specifically delegates to the committee, and has all the powers of the board to transact business of an emergency nature when the board is not in session.
- The Executive Committee conducts, in a timely and effective manner, the performance review of the Executive Director and, through the Executive Director, of the headquarters staff.
- The Executive Committee serves as the Compensation Committee of the Board.
- The Executive Committee serves as the Constitution and Bylaws Committee of the Board.
- The Executive Committee serves as the Budget and Finance Committee of the Board. In this capacity the Treasurer assumes the Chair.
- The Executive Committee serves as a sounding board for the Executive Director in all matters pertaining to the operation of the Association.
Guiding Document(s)
Committee Purpose
The Executive Committee makes decisions and takes action on behalf of the Association between the regular meetings of the Board of Directors.
2024-25 Committee Members
Chair: Eric Meyer | University of Texas at Austin
Vice-Chair:Abebe Rorissa | University of Tennessee
Board Liaison: Crystal Fulton | University College Dublin
Committee:
- Megan Dowell | University of Kentucky
- Nkeiru Amauche Emezie | Federal University of Technology Owerri
- Janette Klein | University of North Texas
- Prodip Roy | RMIT University
- Joanna Sin | Nanyang Technological University
- Tongrui Zhang | Sun Yat Sen University
- Lydia Middleton | ASIS&T | Executive Director & Staff Liaison
Committee Role
The Governance Committee is responsible for ensuring the quality and performance of the Board of Directors and the governance structure of the Association. It accomplishes this role by:
- Assessing the Board’s current composition and identifying missing qualities and characteristics;
- Preparing and executing an annual recruitment plan and continuously cultivate new prospects;
- Reviewing and revising, as needed, job descriptions for Board members;
- Assisting in orienting new Board members and continuing to educate all members on their responsibilities;
- Ensuring that the Board regularly engages in self-assessment an ongoing and continuous focus on identifying, preparing and recruiting future governance leaders, including the definition of skills and attributes required in Board members;
- Serving as the Board election teller;
- Documenting, monitoring and evaluating all governance structures and policies, including the Constitution and Bylaws, and recommending amendment as needed.
Guiding Document(s)
Purpose
The goal of the ASIS&T Membership Committee is to attract and retain members by ensuring that the Association satisfies their needs and expectations. The Membership Committee shall engage in ongoing activities to determine the needs and expectations of members. It plans, develop, and evaluates methods of satisfying member needs and expectations and recommends such programs to the board and headquarters for approval within the constraints of available resources. The committee also evaluates the effectiveness of activities implemented to achieve this purpose. This should include a quantified and qualitative assessment of what services and/or programs are desired by the members and prospective members. The committee also is responsible for selection and presentation of the Watson Davis Award.
2024-25 Committee Members:
Chair: Jane Massi | College of Business Education Tanzania
Vice-Chair: Awa Zhu | University of Tenessee Knoxville
Board Liaison: Lisa Hussey | Simmons University
- Sima Hobji | Tabriz University of Medical Sciences
- Grace Kim | Nevada State College
- Anika Meyer | University of Pretoria
- Rebecca Noone | University College London
- Adaora Obuezie | Nnamdi Azikiwe University
- Leili Sefi | University of Birjand
- Niloofar Sohljoo | Victoria University of Wellington
- Owen Stuart-Robertson | McGill University
- Marlo Russell | Director of Membership & Communication and Staff Liaison
Role of the Committee
- One primary goal of the ASIS&T Membership Committee is to attract a professionally and geographically diverse membership by ensuring that the Association satisfies their needs and expectations.
- A second primary goal of the ASIS&T Membership Committee is to retain a professionally and geographically diverse membership by ensuring that the Association satisfies their needs and expectations.
- The Committee will advise the staff on strategies and programs to recruit and retain members in ASIS&T.
- The Committee will review benefits for individual and institutional members to determine what would attract and retain a professionally and geographically diverse membership.
- The Committee will develop and keep current verbiage to explain the value of ASIS&T Membership to a variety of audiences.
- The Committee will continuously evaluate and advise on marketing materials and programs aimed at increasing member recruitment and retention.
- The Committee will advise the Board on activities to increase international membership, including opportunities for establishing international chapters and student chapters.
- If requested by ASIS&T Central, the Committee will identify potential nominees for the Watson Davis Award and encourage their nomination for the Award.
Guiding Document(s)
Committee Purpose
- The Nominations Committee is responsible for submitting a diverse, international slate of officers for election as follows: at least two candidates for President-Elect, at least two candidates for Directors-at-Large, and at least two candidates for Treasurer if that position in coming open in any year. The Nominating Committee may present only one candidate for a position if the Committee as a whole deems that two suitable and willing candidates cannot be identified
2024-25 Committee Members
Chair: Crystal Fulton | Immediate Past President | University College Dublin
- Alton Chua | Nanyang Technological University | SIG Representative
- Ina Fourie | University of Pretoria
- Shannon Oltmann | University of Kentucky
- TBD | Chapter Representative
- Lydia Middleton | ASIS&T | Executive Director & Staff Liaison
Committee Role
- The Nominations Committee is responsible for submitting a diverse, international slate of officers for election as follows: at least two candidates for President-Elect, at least two candidates for Directors-at-Large, and at least two candidates for Treasurer if that position in coming open in any year.
- The Committee will ensure that all candidates for nominated offices meet the qualifications of those offices, fully understand the responsibilities and level of commitment required of those offices and represent the diversity of the information professions.
- The Nomination Committee is also responsible for identifying potential nominees and encouraging nominations for the Award of Merit.
Guiding Document(s)
Committee Purpose
The role of the Professional Development Committee is to develop a strategy to address the professional development and leadership needs of ASIS&T members.
2024-25 Committee Members
Chair: Kate McDowell | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Vice-Chair: Brenda Van Wyk | Independent Institute of Teaching and Learning
Board Liaison: Timothy Dickey | Columbus Metropolitan Library
- Reshma Dangol | Alaya
- Robin DeRocchis | Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Amanda Hovious | Emporia State University
- Grace Msoffe | University of Dodoma
- Sanghee Oh | Sungkyunkwan University
- Kyong Eun Oh | Simmons University
- KV Satyanarayana | Tata Consulting
- Megan Pfefferle | ASIS&T | Staff Liaison
Role of the Committee
- The committee is responsible for education and career development activities. The PDC aims to identify potential opportunities across sectors for professional development activities (e.g., webinar masterclasses; annual meeting tutorial sessions; media engagement) to generate revenue and provide professional development opportunities across sectors.
- The PDC will consult with or collaborate with other committees, especially the Research Engagement Committee, to ensure that they are not duplicating activities but are complementing one another. For example, mentorship opportunities may crossover between professional development and research activities. Research-related professional development activities (e.g., JASIST writing workshops; mentoring program) are situated under the Research Engagement Committee; however, there may be some areas of potential overlap where consultation will be necessary.
- If requested by ASIS&T Central, the Committee will identify potential nominees for the Cretsos Award, the Clarivate Analytics Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Scholarship, the Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award, the Pratt Severn Best Student Research Paper Award and the ProQuest Doctoral Dissertation Award and solicit nominations for the Awards.
- Other duties as assigned through the annual committee charge.
Guiding Document(s)
Committee Purpose
The Publications Committee shall be responsible for the quality of ASIS&T publications and shall provide direction to and review of the association’s print and electronic publications, including journals, books, news, educational and all other publications. It shall oversee general editorial policy, engage in strategic planning and development of the Society’s current and future publications, recommend and work with partner entities where appropriate, and initiate publication focused task forces and subcommittees as deemed necessary by the committee.
2024-25 Committee Members
Chair: Tami Oliphant | University of Alberta
Vice Chair: Christopher Lueg | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Board Liaison: Maria Bonn | University of Illinois
- Oluyemi Ayanbode | University of South Africa
- Juan-Jose Boté-Verticad | Universitat de Barcelona
- Lettie Conrad | Queensland University of Technology
- Rebecca Frank | Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
- Anwar Islam | University of Dhaka
- Lisa Given | Swinburne University, ARIST Editor (ex officio)
- Steve Sawyer | Syracuse University, JASIST Editor (ex officio)
- Chirag Shah | University of Wasingthon, Information Matters Editor (ex officio)
- Garrett Doherty | ASIS&T | Staff Liaison
Role of the Committee
- Identifying publication opportunities and developing strategy to develop and deliver new publications related to information science & technology for both an academic and practitioner audience;
- Assessing the quality and content of the publication program of ASIS&T, including the system of primary publications of books, journals, scientific communications, proceedings, magazines, newsletters, etc.
- Serving as a channel for communication among ASIS&T members, other users of the association’s publications, and the Board of Directors to ensure that needs and support are recognized, researched, and addressed;
- Consulting with the editors of all ASIS&T publications concerning editorial policy;
- Advising the Board of Directors and staff on copyright policy and recommending actions to protect ASIS&T copyright; and
- Monitoring developments on copyright issues at international and national levels.
Guiding Document(s)
Committee Purpose
The role of the Research Engagement Committee is to develop initiatives that focus on research engagement activities across the life-cycle of research work.
2024-25 Committee Members
Chair: Ying-Hsang Liu | Oslo Metropolitan University
Vice-Chair: Sandy Hirsh | San Jose State University
Board Liaison: Lu An | Wuhan University
- Eileen Breen | Taylor & Francis Group
- Keren Dali | University of Denver
- Dion Goh | Nanyang Technical University
- Sarah Gonzalez | University of Tennessee
- Muhammed Rafiq | University of the Punjab
- Saguna Shankar | State University of New York at Buffalo
- Ayoung Yoon | Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
- Megan Pfefferle | ASIS&T | Staff Liaison
Role of the Committee
- The role of the REC is to develop initiatives that focus on research engagement activities across the life-cycle of research work.
- The REC is responsible for fostering engagement with both members and external beneficiaries at various stages of research, not only at the dissemination stage.
- The REC aims to guide the development of various activities that address members’ research needs, including, for example, mentoring in grant writing and publishing, partnering with industry or community, and developing commercialisation strategies for research. The REC will also guide the establishment and maintenance of a range of dissemination strategies for members to share research results with scholarly and practitioner communities.
- The work of the REC will be on high, strategic-level work to guide the development of, for example:
- The ASIS&T brand as a leader in information science research engagement;
- Research-related dissemination and engagement activities;
- Networking/collaborative opportunities between researchers and practitioners; and,
- Other strategic initiatives to inform evidence-based practice change and/or the dissemination of information science research, globally.
- If requested by ASIS&T Central, the Committee will identify potential nominees for the Research in Information Science Award, the Best Information Science Book Award and the Best JASIST Article Award and will encourage nominations for the Award.
Guiding Document(s)
Committee Purpose
The Standards Committee shall advise the Board of Directors and shall represent the Association’s interest in matters pertaining to standards. It shall actively identify potential new standards needed by the information community and shall take the necessary steps to initiate the development of such needed standards with the appropriate organizations. The Chair, after consultation with the full committee, may vote or comment in accordance with the majority opinion of the committee in the name of the Association on all proposed standards submitted by organizations with which the Association affiliates. All such action and comment must be promptly reported to the Board of Directors; actions and comments proposed should be reported to the board in advance whenever possible.
2024-25 Committee Members:
Chair: Mark Needleman
- Brian Dobreski | Syracuse University
- Ruwan Gamage | National Institute of Library and Information Sciences (NILIS)
- Judy Gerber
- Marjorie M. Hlava | Access Innovations
- Brady Lund | University of North Texas
- Fatemeh Pazooki | IPLF
- Liliana Salas-Niño | University of Arizona
- Gail Thornburg
- Iris Xie | University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
- Marcia Zeng | Kent State University
- Lydia Middleton | ASIS&T | Executive Director & Staff Liaison
Role of the Committee
- The Standards Committee will advise the Board of Directors and will represent the Association’s interest in matters pertaining to information standards.
- The Committee will actively identify potential new standards needed by the information community and will take the necessary steps to initiate the development of such needed standards with the appropriate organizations.
Guiding Document(s)
Standards Committee Terms of Reference
Standards Committee Activities
Standards Committee Activities 2024
Standards Committee Activities 2023
Standards Committee Activities 2022
Standards Committee Activities 2021
Standards Committee Activities 2020
Standards Committee Activities 2019
Standards Committee Activities 2018
Standards Committee Activities 2017
Standards Committee Activities 2016
Standards Committee Activities 2015
Standards Committee Activities 2014
Standards Committee Activities 2013
The ASIS&T community is committed to the values of diversity and inclusion, which we believe support our efforts to achieve and sustain excellence in the information science and technology field. We believe that we can best promote excellence by engaging diverse group members and other stakeholders, and providing opportunities at all levels of engagement for any individual or group that shares these values. ASIS&T leaders, volunteers, and staff will strive to keep diversity and inclusion at the forefront of all program planning and development efforts in order to ensure the most welcoming and engaging environment possible for our stakeholders.