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Best Information Science Book Award Recipients
2024 Press Release

Best Information Science Book Award

Purpose of the Award

This award recognizes a book that has made a meaningful contribution to the field of information science and which was published in the preceding calendar year.

Eligibility

The nominee must meet the following qualifications:

  • For this award, “information science” is considered to include all the communication activities and information science and technology fields noted in the first paragraph of Article II, “Purpose,” of the ASIS&T Constitution and Bylaws, published on the ASIS&T website.
  • The first edition of the book must have been published in 2023.
  • Technical reports, government documents, academic theses, manuscripts, and other materials, not published in the customary sense of the term, do not qualify as books.
  • Author(s) need not be members of ASIS&T to be nominated for the award but at least one author must become a member prior to the conferral of the award.
  • Current members of the Awards & Honors Committee or Board of Directors are not eligible.
Criteria

Submissions will be judged on the following criteria:

  • Social or practical importance of key questions or issues (to what extent would this book affect the behavior, practice or thinking of information professionals or of other action-oriented personnel in positions of responsibility, as opposed to being primarily reflective comments for other researchers only?);
  • Relevance to information science and technology (to what extent would readers see the problem or issue addressed as central to their field, as opposed to peripheral?);
  • Validity of claims (to what extent are the arguments and evidence offered in support of claims compelling, measured against the rigorous standards of scientific inquiry, as opposed to tenuous or questionable?);
  • Originality of ideas or methods (to what extent does this book represent a fresh, imaginative, innovative, possibly trail-blazing approach that is new, as opposed to being a more routine or non-creative contribution?)
  • Significance of research (to what extent do the discoveries, insights, conclusions, or accomplishments reported shed a light on other important issues of central concern to the field, as opposed to being isolated?);
  • Readability of the book as an integral work of scientific literature (to what extent is it a well-organized and integral work, outstanding for its clarity or persuasiveness and enjoyable to read, as opposed to boring, confused, dense?); and
  • Scholarship (to what extent are intellectual debts acknowledged and all assertions appropriately documented, as opposed to failing to give credit to the contributions of others?).
Nominations Process

Nominations must be submitted by 11:59 pm US Pacific Time on the deadline date via the designated online portal. Candidate books may be submitted by anyone or may be invited.

Nominations must include the following only:

  • Name(s), affiliation(s), and contact information of book author(s);
  • Name, affiliation, and contact information of nominator;
  • A nomination statement (200-500 words, some or all of which may be included in the citation for the award);
  • A letter of nomination (up to 3 pages in length) describing the rationale for the nomination;
  • Up to three additional letters of support (up to 3 pages in length each);
  • Access to a digital version of the book.
Jury

A jury of five members (including the Jury Chair) and one alternate shall be appointed by the Awards & Honors Committee at the recommendation of the Jury Chair. Jury members must:

  • Be a member in good standing of ASIS&T;
  • Not be a member of any other ASIS&T Committee;
  • Not submit a nomination for the award in the year of their jury service; and
  • Declare any conflict of interest related to any nominee for the award and recuse themselves from the jury should the conflict be deemed significant by the Jury Chair (in which case the alternate would be appointed).
Selection Process
  • The jury will utilize both asynchronous scoring and synchronous discussion to arrive at a final decision as to who wins any award.
  • Through the evaluation platform or system, jury members will rate each nominee on a scale of 10 (highest) to 1 (lowest) on each of the criteria listed above. Jury members should also submit a brief synopsis summarizing the most exemplary accomplishments of that nominee.
  • The jury chair shall tally the votes, with each of the seven categories weighted equally.
  • In the event of a tie that cannot be resolved through synchronous discussion, the jury chair will identify an additional jury member to break the tie. This new jury member will evaluate only the tied nominations and will rate them using the same seven criteria used by the other jurors.
  • The jury chair shall use the qualitative feedback from the jury as well as their own judgment to write a ~ 250-word citation stating the rationale for making the award.
Nature of the Award

The Best Information Science Book Award was established in 1969. The award is sponsored by the Association-at-Large and is administered by the Awards & Honors Committee. The award shall consist of a crystal award. It may also include a citation or promotion in Inside ASIS&T.

Presentation of the Award

The award shall be presented at the ASIS&T Annual Meeting.

Important Dates
  • Jury Appointment: March 15
  • Submission Deadline: March 31 (or adjacent weekday)
  • Selection Deadline: May 15