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News Release

Last modified: Thursday, October 6, 2011

Two IU School of Library & Information Science faculty to be recognized by international peer group

Börner for producing Book of the Year; Rosenbaum for outstanding teaching

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 6, 2011

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University School of Library and Information Science faculty members will receive two of nine general awards to be presented during the 2011 annual meeting of the American Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T).

Howard Rosenbaum, SLIS associate dean at IU Bloomington and director of the Master of Information Science program, will receive the Thomson Reuters Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award, and Katy Börner, the Victor H. Yngve Professor of Information Science, will receive an award for Atlas of Science: Visualizing What We Know , which was selected Book of the Year by ASIS&T. Both Rosenbaum and Börner will be recognized during the Oct. 9-12 annual meeting in New Orleans.

"Having two SLIS faculty members receive ASIS&T awards this year is a testament to the school's research and teaching," said SLIS Dean Debora Shaw.

Since 1937 ASIS&T has been the society for information professionals leading the search for new and better theories, techniques and technologies to improve access to information. The society's 4,000 members come from more than 50 countries worldwide and represent information specialists from such fields as computer science, linguistics, management, librarianship, engineering, law, medicine, chemistry and education.

Shaw lauded the work of both faculty members in reflecting on the awards announcement.

"Howard Rosenbaum has a remarkable ability to guide students through complex topics and to integrate theoretical material with innovative technology and collaborative experiences," Shaw said. "Howard's combination of creativity and engagement has inspired, encouraged and cajoled Indiana University students for nearly 20 years. It is a pleasure to see these contributions receive international recognition."

ASIS&T jurors said Rosenbaum met the selection criteria evidencing sustained excellence and innovative and imaginative teaching materials and methods through a career in which he designed and re-designed courses, demonstrating, as one jury member said, a "commitment to combining classic and current theories and studies, to connecting theory and practice, and to challenging students to grapple with issues and problems and defend their ideas and proposed course of action."

"The juror's description of Katy Börner's book as a "spectacular achievement" captures the reader's reaction -- the visual presentations are indeed spectacular and Katy's combination of expertise and insight to produce this book is indeed an achievement. This beautiful book is a remarkably accessible introduction to information visualization and connector to the "Places & Spaces: Mapping Science" exhibits Katy has organized," Shaw added.

Members of the international jury were unanimous in evaluating Börner's book "as an extraordinary achievement of scholarship." The jury went on to say, "We think that it not only meets but exceeds all the criteria we have for this award. We consider it to be a spectacular achievement not only because it is the result of a prodigious amount of scholarly work of the highest quality, and because its subject matter is absolutely central to the interests of ASIS&T and its community, but also because of the work's visual qualities and high production value, which will ensure that it will be widely read beyond the information science field."

Rosenbaum became an associate professor at SLIS in 2002, was named director of the Master of Information Science Program in 2004 and was named associate dean at SLIS in 2008.

Börner is also an adjunct professor at the School of Informatics and Computing and in the College of Arts and Sciences' Department Statistics, is a research affiliate of the Biocomplexity Institute and the Center for Complex Networks and Systems Research, and is founding director of the Cyberinfrastructure for Network Science Center. She was named an associate professor at IU in 2005 and professor in 2009.

IU's School of Library and Information Science was ranked seventh in the country in the most recent study by U.S. News and World Report, with specializations in digital librarianship, information systems, and school library media singled out as particularly exceptional.

For more information, contact Steve Chaplin, University Communications, at 812-856-1896 or stjchap@indiana.edu. Tweeting Indiana University Science here.

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