ASIS&T is proud to announce the winners of the eminent Watson Davis Award to Diane H. Sonnenwald, PhD and Donald O. Case, PhD
On October 18, 2016 at the ASIS&T annual conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, Dr. Case and Dr. Sonnenwald received the prestigious Watson Davis award. Commemorating the founder of the Association, the award was established in 1975 to recognize individual members who have illustrated continuous dedicated service to the association through active participation in and support of ASIS&T programs, chapters, Special Interest Groups, committees and publications.
Professor Donald O. Case is a distinguished scholar whose long-standing and broad service to ASIS&T exemplifies his commitment to excellence and leadership in the development of information science and its related professions. His research impact is evidenced by the over 4,300 Google Scholar citations of his various journal articles, conference papers, book reviews and monographs. His book, ‘Looking for Information’, now in its fourth edition, has emerged as one of the most important books on information seeking, needs, and behavior. Donald has shown continuous efforts in the ASIS&T community dating back to 1987 when he was a member of the planning committee. His service has ranged from being a member of several committees, being a member of the JASIST editorial board, being a chapter advisor, serving on award juries, serving on the board of directors, and as the ASIS&T president in 2008-2009. With his service on the editorial board, JASIST has enjoyed improvements to its scope, circulation, citation counts and overall reputation. With his active role on the board, and his presidency, ASIS&T membership grew not only in number but also across a broadened range of scholarly disciplines. His work in developing ASIS&T’s response to the ALA Library Education Task Force continues to be instrumental in progress toward joint efforts on the development of broader standards for professional education and accreditation. As a teacher and mentor, he has influenced many students, faculty, and new leaders. Donald Case exemplifies the kind of service that the Watson Davis Award is intended to honor.
Professor Diane Sonnenwald is a distinguished scholar in the field of library and information science, with a large number of publications and over twenty research grants. She has led research projects that address complex and important collaboration- and information-centric problems and challenges which arise in a variety of domains. Diane has provided years of effective and influential leadership to ASIS&T. Since joining as a PhD student in the early 1990s, she has served as the co-chair of the 1998 mid-year meeting, a student chapter advisor, and played an influential role in engaging and recruiting members outside North America. She listened intently, identified barriers with respect to ASIS&T being more inclusive, and worked actively using innovative solutions to reduce these. She led efforts to translate the ASIS&T brochure into multiple languages. She has served on both the Membership Committee, International Relations Committee, editorial board of JASIST, the board of directors, and as ASIS&T President in 2011-2012. During her presidency, long discussed issues were surmounted, including fee reduction for individuals in developing nations, and the modification to the name of the society to make it more international, which helped ASIS&T gain new members. Diane nurtured the European and Asia-Pacific chapters, and led efforts towards the Board agreement to hold the 2016 Annual Meeting outside North America. She continues to give presentations on the benefits of ASIS&T membership. Her relentless work for ASIS&T continues as the Co-Chair of the 2016 ASIS&T Annual Meeting in Copenhagen. Watson Davis would be proud to see her receive this award!
This coveted award went to two members that have earned the respect of the Board of Directors and the entire membership. We congratulate them on this well-deserved recognition of their dedication to ASIS&T.