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Inside ASIS&T, January 2018

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PRESIDENT'S COLUMN

Lisa M. Given, PhD
January 2018

Lisa GivenA warm welcome to all ASIS&T members as we start the new year! As I sit in my office here in Australia, enjoying the summer sunshine and preparing for the start of a new academic year, I’m mindful that many of you in the northern hemisphere are experiencing a very cold start to 2018. As I think of the different seasons that we are experiencing, I’m reminded that it is our deep, shared focus on all aspects of information science that brings us together across the miles (and temperatures!) and that we have much to look forward to in 2018.

At the Annual Meeting in November, in Washington USA, I reflected on the many accomplishments of the Association in 2017. Among these, we welcomed a new Executive Director (Lydia Middleton) and a number of new staff last year, all of whom have “hit the ground running” to implement new systems and services for members and to ensure that the various tasks we have set ourselves as an Association will move ahead well in the coming months. To me, this shift in the HQ staffing profile provides an ideal opportunity to also reflect on some of our longstanding activities – including the structure and work of our various committees – to ensure that these align well with the Board’s strategic plan. This review comes at an ideal time, as well, given that we have created a new History Committee and have a new Curator (Kathryn La Barre) in place for the Association.

Over the coming months, I will be working with a group of ASIS&T members (and with the support of New Leader, Saguna Shankar) to do some brainstorming about the ASIS&T committee structures, their alignment with the strategic plan, and our approach to the “work” of the Association in the future. Publications is one area, for example, where we have the potential to grow and diversify – e.g., through social media; with the implementation of a new online platform to facilitate member engagement; with the development of a monograph series; and, by enhancing our approach to disseminating research outside academe – while continuing to foster the strength of JASIST, where paper submissions remain strong. New dissemination opportunities are exciting and can position ASIS&T at the forefront of our discipline, moving forward; however, we must ensure that our committees and the activities we choose to pursue are sustainable and appropriate, in the long term. Working with the Board and the membership in the coming year I am excited to examine the potential for us as an Association and to guide the implementation of new initiatives that will help us to realise the strategic goals we have already articulated.

This year will also see a great deal of planning on the conference front, not only for the 2018 IA Summit (to be held in March, in Chicago, USA), and for the 2018 Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada (chaired by Luanne Freund), but also for the 2019 Annual Meeting, which will be held here in Melbourne, Australia. Lydia and I are now exploring potential venues for the conference and starting forward-planning for excursions and activities that we hope will entice many ASIS&T members to visit us “down under.” Following on the success of the first ASIS&T conference held outside of North America (in Copenhagen, 2016), the 2019 conference will enable us to showcase our strengths across the Asia-Pacific region and to recruit new members to the Association. As a founding member of the Asia-Pacific Chapter, I am very excited that the meeting will be held in this region, and I know that other Chapter members are thrilled to be welcoming the conference here, as well.

I hope you enjoy this issue of Inside ASIS&T and I look forward to connecting with you throughout the year! Happy New Year to all!

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S COLUMN

Lydia S. Middleton, MBA, CAE
January 2018

Greetings Colleagues and Happy New Year!

I hope you are all well and thriving in 2018. The holidays provided a great opportunity for ASIS&T staff to rest and regroup so that we can hit the ground running with new programs and services this year.

Elsewhere in this issue of Inside ASIS&T, you’ll read about our very successful Annual Meeting held outside of Washington, DC in late October/early November. The meeting was very well attended, and everyone seemed to find it both informative and enjoyable. Not even an extended power outage on Halloween night could dampen our spirits!

You will read in the President’s Column about Lisa’s plans for the coming year, which she shared with those in attendance at the Business Meeting. For my part, I shared my reflections from the prior six months since I joined ASIS&T. I noted that while we’ve undergone significant staff turnover this year, we are well positioned to provide outstanding member service in the future with our new and continuing staff. See the Who’s Who section of this Inside ASIS&T for more information on the ASIS&T Staff.

I also shared that we have been hard at work updating and streamlining our internal processes, particularly as they relate to supporting our Chapters and SIGs. We are hoping to create a reporting and financial management process that is considerably easier and more transparent for both our components and our staff to manage. We hope to launch a Chapter and SIG Leaders Orientation webinar series this year as well to better prepare our component leaders for their roles and ensure a smooth transition between leadership each year.

We are very excited that over the next few months we will be rolling out the new ASIS&T Community web platform. This platform will allow ASIS&T’s existing and future communities to communicate and share resources quickly and easily. More information on the new site is also available in this issue. I hope that you'll take advantage of this member-only benefit now available to you when you receive the invitation to log in and create your profile. Our attention this year will be focused on you, our members. I am committed to finding ways that we can add more value to your membership in ASIS&T. I am confident that the community site is a good first step in that direction, as it will provide you a one-stop-shop for gathering information and connecting with colleagues in the profession. As the site develops and members populate their profiles, you will be able to identify colleagues with similar interests and connect or collaborate seamlessly on the platform. The site will ultimately serve as your member-only portal for accessing ASIS&T member benefits that are not available without membership.

I’d also like to direct your attention to the Governance Update section of this issue where we share the decisions made and actions taken at the October/November meetings of your Board of Directors. Please keep an eye on this feature of the newsletter for the latest information on the governance of the Association.

Finally, please be aware that the majority of the association’s committees and task forces have now been appointed. Please visit www.asist.org/communities/committees/ for a list of the appointed committees. We’ve made every effort to ensure that individuals who volunteered for committee roles have been appointed to one of the committees for which they identified a preference. If you volunteered for an award jury, Chapter or SIG, that information has been shared with the relevant leadership of those groups.

I'm excited about the future of ASIS&T and I hope you are too!

Warm regards,
Lydia Middleton

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GOVERNANCE UPDATE

The ASIS&T Board of Directors met twice during the 2017 Annual Meeting, first on October 27 and again on November 1st. In attendance for all or part of the meeting were the following members of the Board:

Lynn Silipigni Connaway, PhD (2016-17 President); Lisa Given, PhD (2017-18 President); Nadia Caidi, PhD (2016-17 Past President); Elaine Toms, PhD (2017-18 President-Elect); June Abbas, PhD (Treasurer); Daniel Alemneh, PhD; Jamshid Beheshti, PhD; Dania Bilal, PhD; Emily Knox, PhD; Kathryn La Barre, PhD; Brandi Loveday-Chesley, MLIS; Heather O’Brien, PhD; Abebe Rorissa, PhD; Kayla Siddell, MIS; Kristene Unsworth, PhD; Soo Young Rieh, PhD; Lydia Middleton, MBA, CAE (Executive Dir.); and Steve Hardin, MLIS (Parliamentarian).

Also in attendance for a portion of the meetings were the following guests of the Board: Brian Giblin, Wiley & Sons; Ray Larsen, iSchools; Javed Mostafa, PhD (JASIS&T Editor); Sam Oh, iSchools; and Michael Seadle, iSchools. Toni Carbo attended a portion of the meetings as an observer.

During the meeting the Board made the following decisions and/or took the following actions:

ASIS&T Fiscal Year:
Staff presented a proposal to the Board of Directors to change the fiscal year from October-September to July-June for the following reasons:

1. Our fiscal year ends within weeks of the start of the Annual Meeting. There are not enough people on staff to handle the workload that comes with closing a fiscal year at the same time that we are preparing for an Annual Meeting.
2. Because of the proximity of the end of the fiscal year and the start of the meeting, a large portion of meeting-related expenses are incurred in the prior fiscal year. This complicates budgeting as we must budget for the end of one meeting and the start of another in the same year.
3. The majority of our constituency operates on a July-June fiscal year which puts us out of sync with their budgets. It would be easier for us to coordinate such things as sponsorship

MOTION:That ASIS&T move its fiscal year to July 1 – June 30 effective with the start of Fiscal Year 2019 in July 2018. Abbas moved, Loveday seconded. The motion passed unanimously without amendment.

Awards & Honors / Awards Nominations Committee Merger:
In the interest of gaining transparency in committee roles and charges as well as streamlining operations, it was proposed that the Awards & Honors Committee and the Awards Nominations Committee be merged into one committee as there was considerable overlap in the charges of the two committees. The Board agreed that any conflict of interest within the charges of the two committees could be resolved by building a firewall in the nominations and jury selection processes within the committee itself.

MOTION:That the roles of the Awards & Honors Committee and the Awards Nominations Committee be merged under the Awards & Honors Committee and that the Awards Nominations Committee be disbanded. Rorissa moved, Unsworth seconded. The motion passed unanimously without amendment.

Board Structure Modification:
The Board discussed the modification to the policy manual that would remove the requirement that Chapter Assembly and SIG Cabinet Deputy Directors attend Board meeting before they officially become Board members at the Annual Meeting one year after their election. The Board generally agreed that if the deputies received a good orientation prior to joining the Board, that would serve to prepare them for their service. The issue was tabled by the Board but taken up again by the Executive Committee at its January 8 meeting. The final action decided by the Executive Committee was that deputies would be invited to attend any Board meeting in their deputy year, but that attendance would be at their own expense. Expense coverage for those individuals, as for all new Board members, would commence once they take office following the Annual Meeting.

Board Policy on Public Statements:
The Board adopted a formal policy on how and when it would respond to public events with a statement from the Association. Any members feeling that ASIS&T should make a statement on a public event should contact Lydia Middleton who will facilitate the decision-making process through the Board. For a copy of the policy statement, please contact Lydia Middleton.

iSchools Collaboration:
Michael Seadle, iSchools Executive Director, Ron Larsen, iCaucus Chair, and Sam Oh, iCaucus Chair-Elect joined the meeting to discuss potential future collaboration between the iSchools and ASIS&T. Several areas of collaboration were discussed, including:

• financial management
• technology support
• co-branded webinars
• sessions at each other’s meetings
• collocating meetings
• doctoral forum

Dr. Seadle noted that iSchools is going through its own changes, looking at its governance structure, seeking a greater gender balance and more equity among members. It was agreed that the two organizations would put together a working group of representatives from each organization to come up with a concrete proposal for each Board to consider.

AM19 Planning:
The Board decided at its August meeting that the 2019 meeting would be held somewhere in Australasia. The four cities under consideration were Hong Kong, Singapore, Melbourne, and Brisbane. The Board reviewed proposals from several hotels in the region and determined that the most attendee-friendly rates could be found in Melbourne.

MOTION:To hold the 2019 ASIS&T Annual Meeting in Melbourne. Bilal moved, Alemneh seconded. The motion passed unanimously without amendment.

Guide for Fair Use for Nonfiction Authors:
Lynn Connaway presented the report on the Guide for Fair Use for Nonfiction Authorsfor endorsement by the Board. It was agreed that the report should be endorsed with minor modification.

MOTION:To endorse the Guide for Fair Use for Nonfiction Authors. Caidi moved, Unsworth seconded. The motion passed unanimously without amendment.

Other topics discussed by the Board but without action included:

  • Publications Strategy
  • 2017-18 Committee Leadership
  • Strategic Plan Operationalization
  • USA Today Article / ALISE Response

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NEW PRIVATE ONLINE COMMUNITY OFFERS ASIS&T MEMBERS A POWERFUL RESOURCE TO CONNECT WITH PEERS

ASIS&T is pleased to announce its new ASIS&T Communitysite. With ASIS&T Community, a new member benefit, ASIS&T members gain a powerful resource to network with colleagues, exchange knowledge, and share solutions. The ASIS&T Community, which automatically enrolls all ASIS&T members, is a cloud-based, private online community. Numerous communities have been identified for launch, including an open forum for general discussion, forums for SIGs and Chapters, and forums for all ASIS&T Committees and Task Forces.

“ASIS&T Community represents a unique opportunity for our members to interact with each other to share information and solve practical problems. Members will be able to connect in a variety of self-selected open communities, while closed communities will facilitate the work of our committees,” said ASIS&T Executive Director Lydia Middleton.

ASIS&T members will receive emails with subscription notifications. In addition to being able to chat with colleagues, members will be able to participate in discussions with subject matter experts; access a library of resources specific to communities; and post images, videos, and documents to share with others. Community access is tied to ASIS&T membership. Members will be able to join communities, update individual profiles, and manage the frequency of community notifications. To learn more and join the discussion, visit the ASIS&T Community website.

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2017 ASIS&T ANNUAL MEETING

ASIS&T members and non-members alike gathered from around the globe at this year’s Annual Meeting, held October 28 – November 1 in Crystal City, VA, just outside the US capitol. In total, 528 people from 28 countries were represented at the meeting, which was held in conjunction with the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) Annual Conference.

The meeting featured two keynote presentations, 51 full paper presentations, 11 short paper presentations, 37 panel presentations, 11 workshops and 101 visual presentations. Paper topics were grouped into the following categories:

  • Bibliometrics & Altmetrics
  • Big Data and Information Organization
  • Community Informatics
  • Digital Humanities, Archives & Libraries
  • Digital Youth
  • Health Informatics
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Information Behavior
  • Information Retrieval
  • Information Use
  • Knowledge Translation
  • Scientific Information
  • Serendipity & Information Encountering
  • Social Media
  • Trust & Information Ethics
  • User Experience & Analytics

New this year was the inclusion of digital visual presentations along with the traditional posters. Presenters had the option to present their content on a computer screen using whatever presentation format they wished. Some presenters even brought their own screens to project their presentations in a larger format. The expansion of posters into visual presentations appeared to be a success this year and will continue for future annual meetings.The two keynote presentations offered very different perspectives on the future of information science and technology. First, Richard Marks, Head of Sony Playstation Magic Lab, shared an interactive presentation on the use of virtual reality in work and play and the future direction this technology is taking. Marks demonstrated the technology and even allowed attendees to try out the equipment themselves. Later in the meeting, William Powers, Visiting Scientist at the MIT Media Lab, discussed his views on how information and technology impact humanism in society. In contrast to Marks, Powersurged the audience to be more cautious in allowing technology to play a pervasive role in their lives, advocating taking regular breaks from our digital connectedness.

In addition to the regular meeting sessions, there were various ancillary programs that took place during the meeting. Seventeen doctoral students participated in the Doctoral Colloquium, organized by Howard Rosenbaum and Pnina Fichman. Several other students participated in the student design competition organized by Rebekah Willson and Stephann Makri. The competition was won by the team of Saguna Shankar, Fabian Odoni, Tjasa Jug, and Maria Henkel. A new mentoring program, sponsored by OCLC, was launched this year. The program was designed by Lynn Connaway, David Schweider, and Stephanie Alexander. Ten students and early careerists were given the opportunity to meet with seasoned academics and professionals and identify opportunities for future mentoring.

Of course, there was also the usual assortment of social activities to help attendees relax at the end of a long day of learning. The Opening Reception featured a tribute to Eugene Garfield and an opportunity to reflect on 80 years of ASIS&T history. The Presidents’ Reception featured the Visual Presentations. The international reception offered SIG III an opportunity to highlight the accomplishments of their International Paper Competition winner, Saira Hanif Soroya. This meeting saw the final formal gathering of SIG-CON. While SIG-CON will continue to make stealthy appearances at future annual meetings, it will no longer be included in the meeting program.

The meeting concluded with the annual Awards Luncheon where ASIS&T award winners were honored. Tom Wilson, winner of the Award of Merit, was unable to be present in person but he addressed the gathering via Skype. See the ASIS&T website for the full list of 2017 ASIS&T Award Winners.

In a departure from prior practice, ASIS&T decided to forgo the thumb drive containing the Annual Meeting Proceedings provided in prior years. Instead, the proceedings were published in advance of the meeting on the ASIS&T Digital Library where all ASIS&T members can search and access the content.

Access the 2017 Annual Meeting proceedings here:
AM17 Proceedings
Username: asist2017
Password: asist2017
Click “Read Proceedings” under the FOR READERS heading to the left, and then click “2017” next to Current Issue.

Access the 2017 Annual Meeting photo gallery here:
AM17 Photo Gallery

ASIS&T would like to thank the Technical Program Committee for making this year’s meeting such a success! Technical Program Committee:

Sanda Erdelez (U. of Missouri) & Naresh Agarwal (Simmons), Conference Co-Chairs; Sam Chu (U. of Hong Kong) & Mega Subramaniam (U. of Maryland), Paper Co-Chairs: Dania Bilal (U. of Tennessee) & Nouf Khashman (Qatar National Library), Panel & Workshop Co-Chairs; and Kanwal Ameen (U. of Punjab) & Kyungwon Koh (U. of Oklahoma), Visual Presentation Co-Chairs.

2017 ASIS&T Annual Meeting Raffle:

Leslie Thomson, Royster Fellow, School of Information and Library Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was selected as the winner of the 3-night complimentary stay in Vancouver 9-14, November 2018. Congratulations Leslie!

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CALL FOR WEBINARS

ASIS&T webinars are geared towards creating a path for members (and non-members) to learn and share innovative and high impact best approaches for advancing information science and technology without having to travel. We cover everything from academics and science to technological aspects. ASIS&T webinars assist members to interact and learn from peers and increase awareness of growth and new developments in the information sciences.

ASIS&T will gladly accept submissions on all topics related to Information Science & Technology. There is a clear demand for content that focuses on the various aspects of working with data (curation, management, visualization, analysis, metadata) as well as best practices. We encourage you to submit a topic, an experience, and/or a research paper that shares a passion for information science and technology.

Webinars are 60 or 90 minutes and are typically scheduled on Tuesdays at 11 a.m. ET (other days/times can be accepted). All webinars are recorded. We use GoToWebinars to record and broadcast our webinars.

To submit a proposal, please use the webinar setup form below:

Webinar Proposal

Should you have any questions or comments, please contact DeVonne Parks, Director of Meetings & Events by e-mail at dparks@asist.orgor by 1.301.495.0900 ext. 1500.

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SIG & CHAPTER NEWS

ASIA-PACIFIC CHAPTER

Activities at A-LIEP/ICADL 2017 Conference at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok (13-15 Nov, 2017)

The Asia-Pacific (AP) chapter organized and conducted the following three events:

  • Asia-Pacific Chapter meeting and reception
  • ASIS&T Panel: "Starting an Academic Career in Library & Information Science"
  • ASIS&T Panel: "Multidisciplinary Research on Academic Writing, Reading, & Thinking: Information Science and Digital Library Perspectives"

ASIS&T Panel "Starting an Academic Career in Library & Information Science"
Panelists: Andrew Wertheimer (U. of Hawaii), Makiko Miwa (Open U. of Japan), Mary Carroll (Charles Sturt U.), Sue Reynolds (RMIT), Gobinda Chowdhuri (U. of Northumbria)
Moderator: Chris Khoo (Nanyang Technological University)

The panelists shared about the recruitment and interview process in their institutions and their country, what interviewers look for in potential faculty, and advice on applying and interviewing for faculty positions. It was striking how different the academic environments are in different countries, and highlighted the need to seek advice from academics in the country and preferably the institution before applying.

Issues that the panel addressed included:
1. Searching for suitable faculty and research positions in different countries in Asia and beyond
2. Applying for the faculty/research positions
3. Preparing for and performing in the campus visit and interview
4. Deciding on which offer to accept and which school/organization to go to
5. Postdoc versus faculty positions
6. Academic structures and environments in different countries
7. Planning the academic and research career, including getting tenure

ASIS&T Panel "Multidisciplinary Research on Academic Writing, Reading, & Thinking: Information Science and Digital Library Perspectives"
Speakers: Chris Khoo (Nanyang Technological University), Joyce Chen & Mei-Mei Wu (National Taiwan Normal University)

This panel was part of an initiative of the organizers/speakers to develop a regional cluster of researchers and practitioners in the area of academic writing, reading, and thinking. Such a research-oriented panel session suggested that the AP Chapter is seeking to develop research clusters and areas of research strength in the region.

A-LIEP 2017 Best Paper Award

The A-LIEP 2017 Best Paper was awarded to Yuhiro Mizunuma & Keita Tsuji (University of Tsukuba) for their paper “Comparing Books Held by Japanese Public Libraries: Outsourcing versus Local Government Management”. The Best Paper was selected from shortlisted papers (with high review scores) by a committee comprising A-LIEP Steering Committee and Program Committee members.

Many thanks to past-treasurer/past-chair, Songphan Choemprayong, for his omnipresent support at the conference!

NEW ENGLAND CHAPTER

Every year, the New England chapter (NEASIS&T) and the Simmons College student chapter of ASIS&T team up to hold a conference covering a trending topic in library and information science. In recent years, they’ve covered such topics as data visualization, user experience, and service design. This year’s conference, held on January 8, 2018 at Simmons College, was on Understanding andUsing APIs.   APIs are sets of requirements that govern how one application can talk to another and share data, and they’ve become ubiquitous.  The programwas designed to be accessible to beginners while interesting to people who have a more advanced understanding. Like previous years, the program incorporated a practical component, which attendees, almost all of whom have been practitioners, have always appreciated about the NEASIS&T/Simmons ASIS&T conferences.

The conference hosted over 100 attendees from all over New England from a variety of industries, institutions, and professional organizations. It kicked off with a welcome from ASIST Executive Director, Lydia Middleton, and several dynamic keynotes that help the audience understand what APIs are and how powerful they can be. Professor Amber Stubbs from Simmons College laid the foundation for the day by delivering a spirited introduction to APIs. Rob O’Connell from Smith College shared the various ways he uses APIs to build tools that help enhance content discovery at his library. Jeff Steward from the Harvard Art Museums showed us how the museums use APIs to allow people to interact and have fun with their collections online. Slides for the morning keynotes are available. Lunch was provided and served as an opportunity for networking. The afternoon was enlivened by API demonstrations, done in a speed datingformat, where attendees could visit various tables to learn about API tools, get hands-on demonstrations of APIs, and see things in action. Thank you to Brad Coffield, Eben English, Kayla Hammond, Doug Loynes, Whitney Christopher, Ian Callahan, David Moore, Bill McKinney, Ellie Collier, and David Podboy for leading the demos.

The conference feedback was highly positive. Attendees found the information valuable and very well-presented. They enjoyed the examples of real-world uses of APIs and were excited to encounter simple APIs that can be used for practice while they’re furthering their understanding and practice of APIs. Anyone interested in hearing more about NEASIS&T or are interested in joining the NEASIS&T Program Committee, feel free to email neasist@gmail.comor any member of the board. Simmons students interested in the Simmons chapter can reach out to their board.

EUROPEAN STUDENT CHAPTER

The European Student Chapter (ESC) has published their Winter 2017 newsletter. Topics include:

  • The new ESC Board
  • The 2017 ASIS&T Annual Meeting in Washington, DC
  • Scientivity Contest Submissions
  • ...and so much more.

View the newsletteror download the PDF!

CENTRAL OHIO CHAPTER

December 12, 2017 - Meet the Founders of "Cbus Libraries" Event

CO-ASIS&T hosted Bryan Loar and Andrea Dixon from Cbus Librariesto talk about the movement behind their website. Both are trained librarians who have been inspired by the breadth and diverse nature of Central Ohio's libraries. The mission of Cbus Libraries - now an official 501(c)(3) non-profit - is to champion Central Ohio libraries, library professionals, and the love of reading. At the speaking engagement, Brian and Andrea talked about how they explore and promote libraries of all sizes and types within the region, including public, academic, government, corporate, and private libraries. They support the love of reading through grassroots community involvement, particularly with the Libraries Everywhereprogram. Also in attendance was Moby, Cbus Libraries' mobile little library, complete with children's books and twinkling lights.

Upcoming Events: January 25, 2018 - Tour of the Columbus College of Art and Design Packard Library.

EXTRA - The Central Ohio chapter has also begun a monthly informal social event as a trivia team!

SIG DIGITAL LIBRARIES (SIG-DL)

Would you like to engage in stimulating conversations related to digital libraries? SIG-DL is looking for some new faces to be a part of our executive committee. The positions currently open are Chair-elect, Webmaster, and Membership Officer. More details about the positions can be found HERE. Online nominations are open until January 31, 2018, 5 pm PST. Submit your nomination here today: https://goo.gl/forms/iLbklB1wd9pI1Dvu1.

SIG-DL is a past winner of the SIG-of-the-Year award, and this is an exciting time to be a part of the SIG! We are looking forward to your nominations.

SIG ARTS & HUMANITIES (SIG-AH)

The Arts & Humanities SIG is proposing a panel presentation for the annual meeting in Vancouver this November. Our goal is to bring together conversations around documentation of visual arts and humanities materials outside of formal institutions. Since the 1990s information science has recognized the utility of studying everyday information behavior, yet most of this work has focused on everyday life information seeking. This panel will highlight another facet of information behavior: documentation of artifacts, including description, organization, and communication of collections and collection representations (such as images).

Formal institutions can only collect, document, and provide access to certain materials in certain ways. By definition, they miss out on some things that may be culturally or historically important to underserved groups, to small subcultures, to countercultural groups, and others. For this reason, “everyday documentation” is infused with ethical issues as it is an exercise of freedom, power, and discernment. We invite those interested in this topic and who have relevant experience to share to consider joining our panel proposal. Suggestions are also welcome for possible third-party participants.

Current panel members include:

  • Tim Gorichanaz, PhD candidate, Drexel.
    Topic: Fine Artists’ Documentation of the Creative Process
  • Ann M. Graf, PhD candidate, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
    Topic: Documentation of Graffiti and Street Art via Image Collections Online

Submissions are now being accepted for panel proposals. The deadline is April 2, 2018. If interested in participating, please contact either Ann Graf or Tim Gorichanaz at your earliest convenience with your name, contact information, and ideas for contribution to the panel. Thank you!

SIG INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION ISSUES (SIG-III)

SIGIII has started its current year in full swing quickly after the 2017 Annual Meeting. Its goal for this year is to continue its signature events and introduce novel ideas.

Currently, SIGIII is inviting research papers for the 18thInternational Paper Contest (IPC) for LIS professionals in developing countries, for the 2018 Annual Meeting. It welcomes submissions that discuss research problems, practical issues in or outside of LIS work settings, and case studies on any aspect of the 2018 ASIS&T Annual Meeting themes. Submissions will be judged based on several criteria including its originality, connections of problems with existing literature, the significance of research findings, organizations, and quality of presentations. The deadline for IPC submissions is April 15, 2018, and should be submitted to dpotnis@utk.eduas MS Word attachment. All submissions will go through blind peer review process. Three winners will be announced by May 31, 2018. The IPC Winners will earn certificates with lucrative offers including ASIS&T attendance, registration, and membership costs. For detailed information about IPC please visit SIGIII website: https://www.asist.org/SIG/SIGIII/.

The current SIGIII committee held its first official meeting on January 8, 2018, and chalked out plans for this year. This group will reinforce its knowledge management through a better-organized website, organized webinars, and collaboration with the group's diverse interest. SIGIII strives to increase ASIS&T's membership and promote its activities worldwide. It is planning to increase outreach and practice the novel idea of fundraising to support the international ASIS&T members who undergo financial constraints. With these ongoing activities, SIGIII leadership board welcomes ideas, collaborations, and supports from the ASIS&T community. For communication with the current SIGIII committee please visit https://www.asist.org/groups/international-information-issues-iii/. Self-nominations from ASIS&T members who are interested in future SIGIII leadership roles are welcomed.

SIG INFORMATION NEEDS, SEEKING, & USE (SIG-USE)

SIG-USE is very pleased to introduce their 2017 – 2018 SIG-USE Symposium Committee Co-Chairs and their ASIS&T New Leaders, who have already been working hard to plan their upcoming ASIS&T SIG-USE Symposium, which will take place (pending acceptance) on Saturday, November 10thin Vancouver, Canada, right at the start of the 81stASIS&T Annual Meeting.

The 18th Annual SIG-USE Research Symposium will focus on the theme of The Future of Information Behavior Research. This symposium will be an opportunity for faculty, students, researchers, and information professionals who are interested in information behavior and practices research and in the translation of findings from this research area into professional practice. Major goals include: facilitating connections between and among scholars and information professionals, serving as a forum for scholars and professionals new to this area to engage critically with information behavior research, and for scholars and practitioners alike to receive feedback on preliminary work and works-in-progress. Participants will engage in dynamic break-out discussion sessions as they consider short paper and poster presentations addressing this year’s theme. As we consider the future, there are many ways that we might consider information behavior research and newly emergent topics, including: actors/users, applications, contexts, and methods.  Please consider contributing a short paper or poster presentation to the symposium, and/or taking part in the symposium!

SIG-USE Symposium Committee Members
[table id=40 /]

SIG HEALTH (SIG HLTH)

This past fall, SIG HLTH invited the National Network of Libraries of Medicine to deliver a webinar outlining the various resources available to researchers working in the field of health informatics. The panel was well attended and well received, and sparked an interesting Q&A. Delivering the webinar were Kate Flewelling, the Director of NNLM for the Middle Atlantic Region, and Elaina Vitale, the Middle Atlantic Region’s Academic Coordinator.

They began with a quick overview of NNLM: an umbrella organization that supports member libraries in their goals of increasing access to health and biomedical information for health professionals as well as members of the public. The organization serves health libraries, academic libraries, as well as public libraries, and provides a wide range of continuing education and professional education courses for librarians covering a broad range of resources as well as topics like big data in healthcare, advanced search techniques in PubMed, and providing mental health information services at libraries. Our webinar focused on research resources in the following areas: health informatics, bioinformatics, and research, data and statistics.

Particularly useful were the overview of Clinicaltrials.gov and PubMed Health. PubMed Health offers a tool designed specifically for health researchers to aid them in conducting a systematic review of the clinical literature. For researchers working in the intersecting areas of health information and disaster relief, the National Library of Medicine offers a Disaster Information Management Research Center, which provides access to disaster relief mobile apps, a link to peer-reviewed disaster health literature, and a disaster health information toolkit called WISER designed specifically for emergency responders. Though most of us are familiar with PubMed and perhaps even with Clinicaltrials.gov, researchers may be less familiar with Toxnet, a toxicology database providing access to information on hazardous chemicals and toxicological effects of drugs. A useful starting point for health researchers is the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s Health Services Research Information Central, which includes a link specifically for health informatics resources for researchers.

Before concluding, our hosts also discussed the different funding opportunities available through the NNLM chapters. Namely, funding is available through the seven NNLM chapters for research, career development, and training. The presenters also highlighted their roles providing support to academic researchers and encouraged us to reach out to them for their assistance in navigating the wide range of resources available through the different health information organizations. Please visit https://nnlm.gov/mar/for more information and reach out to Kate at flewkate@pitt.eduor Elaina at ejv@pitt.edu. If you have ideas or suggestions for other health information databases or resources about which you’d like to learn more, please reach out to SIG-HLTH, and we will gladly coordinate a webinar to meet your needs.

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ASIS&T Staff:

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And use the following table as a guide for who to contact with questions.

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