Please join us Friday November 19 for a special event on Technology in LIS presented by SLIS alumna, Wenqing Lu

Date: 11/19/2021
Time: 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET
Title: Technology in LIS
Description: Featuring a presentation on Agile methodology and usability research by Simmons SLIS alumna, Wenqing Lu, followed by a discussion.

Zoom link: 
https://simmons.zoom.us/j/98651595678

The presentation will introduce agile usability testing, why and how to conduct usability testing, and how the “agile” mindset changes people’s work and research.

We are proud to officially announce that ASIS&T Simmons recently received the Association for Information Science and Technology’s 2021 Student Chapter of the Year Award!

A special thank you to our faculty advisors and to those who attended our virtual events and meetings during a challenging year!

Simmons University SLIS will be well-represented at the upcoming ASIS&T Meeting. Contributions from SLIS faculty and students will include workshops, symposia, papers, posters, and panels (say that three times fast! 😉). The conference will take place both in-person and virtually. Below is a schedule with a list of sessions with members of the Simmons SLIS Community (please note all times are in Mountain Time):

Friday, 10/29

8:00 AM – 12:00 PM MT
SYMPOSIUM / WORKSHOP:
The 17th Annual Social Informatics Research Symposium and the 3rd Annual Information Ethics and Policy Workshop: Sociotechnical Perspectives on Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (SIG-SI and SIG-IEP)
Colin Rhinesmith¹, Kolina Koltai², Xiaohua Zhu³, Madelyn Sanfilippo⁴

¹: Simmons University, USA; ²: University of Washington, USA; ³: University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA; ⁴: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM MT
WORKSHOP:
Social Media Research, Challenges, and Opportunities (SIG-SM)
Amir Karami¹, Loni Hagen², Catherine Dumas³, Aylin Ilhan⁴, Mohammad Hossein Jarrahi⁵, Tara Zimmerman⁶, Avery Holton⁷, Jana Diesner⁸, Javed Mostafa⁵, Chirag Shah¹⁰, Vivek Singh¹¹

¹: University of South Carolina, USA; ²: University of South Florida, USA; ³: Simmons University, USA; ⁴: Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany; ⁵: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA; ⁶: University of North Texas, USA; ⁷: University of Utah, USA; ⁸: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA; ⁹: University of Washington, WA; ¹⁰: Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, USA

Friday, 10/29

8:00 AM – 12:00 PM MT
SYMPOSIUM:
SIG USE 21st Annual Research Symposium: Methods for Real-World Impact with Information Behavior Research

11:00 AM – 11:15 AM
POSTER:
An Eye-Tracking Experiment for Understanding the Seeking-Encountering Tension
Tingting Jiang, Shiting Fu, Sanda Erdelez¹, & Qian Guo

¹Simmons University, USA

Sunday, 10/31

2:00 PM – 2:30 PM MT
PAPER PRESENTATION:
Understanding Research Data Repositories as Infrastructures
Ceilyn Boyd¹

¹Simmons University, USA

2:00 PM – 3:30 PM MT (4:00- 5:30 PM EST)
PANEL:
Motivation, Building Relationships, and the Role of Belonging in Distance Learning (SIG-ED)
Rachel Williams¹, Danielle Pollock¹, Agnes Mainka², Michael Brinkmeier², Elisaweta Ossovski²

¹: Simmons College, USA; ²: Institute for Computer Science Universität Osnabrück, Germany

4:00 PM – 5:30 PM MT
PANEL:
Antiracism in the LIS Profession: Not Just Lip Service
Rong Tang¹, Xan Goodman², Rebecca Davis¹, Jia Tina Du³, David Leonard⁴

¹: Simmons University, USA; ²: University of Nevada Las Vegas, USA; ³: University of South Australia, Australia; ⁴: Boston Public Library, USA

Monday, 11/1

8:00 AM – 9:30 AM MT
PANEL:
Collaborative Efforts and Success Story of an Open-Learning Program: Partnership Growth of the Research Data Management Librarian Academy (RDMLA)
Rong Tang¹, Ceilyn Boyd², Andrew Creamer⁴, Adam Kriesberg¹, Elaine Martin³, Rebecca Morin⁵, Zhan Hu¹, Ashley Thomas³

¹: Simmons University, USA; ²: Harvard University, USA; ³: Harvard Medical School, USA; ⁴: Brown University, USA; ⁵: Tufts University, USA

Tuesday, 11/2

2:00 PM – 3:30 PM MT
PANEL:
Social Media, Vaccines, and Partisan Division of Health Information (SIG-SM)
Loni Hagen¹, Devon Greyson², Ashley Fox³, Kolina Koltai⁴, Catherine Dumas⁵

¹: University of South Florida, USA; ²: University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA; ³: University at Albany, SUNY, USA; ⁴: University of Washington, USA; ⁵: Simmons University, USA

5:00 PM – 6:30 PM MT (Virtual Poster Session)
POSTER:
A Bibliometric Analysis of the Proceedings of the Annual Meetings of the Association for Information Science and Technology
Naresh Kumar Agarwal, Simmons University, USA; Md. Anwarul Islam, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh

POSTER:
Collaborative Approach to Translating Online Learning Content: Research Data Management Librarian Academy (RDMLA) and National Taiwan University (NTU) Library Translation and Co-Creation Partnership
Ashley Thomas, Harvard Medical School, USA; Zhan Hu, Simmons University, USA

We’re so proud of our ASIS&T Simmons co-chair, Jennifer Sunoo, for being select for ASIS&T’s 2021 New Leaders Program. As part of the program, Jennifer will receive an award that includes ASIS&T Annual Conference registration and travel support, and will work closely with a mentor who is a Chapter, SIG or Volunteer Leader in ASIS&T. We asked Jennifer a few questions about her thoughts on being selected for the program.

What are you looking forward to in participating in the New Leaders program?

I am looking forward to the opportunity to learn more about what it’s like to serve in ASIS&T. I am excited to work with the ASIS&T Professional Development Committee and be mentored by Louis Spinelli, who is the chair of this committee. I am also thrilled at the prospect of meeting and getting to know other IS&T students and professionals from around the world who are members of ASIS&T.

What is your leadership experience(s) with ASIS&T? How have they shaped your career path?

I have been Co-Chair of the Simmons University Student Chapter of ASIS&T since fall 2020. I really enjoyed the experience and it influenced my decision to continue my education by pursuing my PhD in Library and Information Science at Simmons University.

How do you hope this program will impact your professional development?

As a member of the 2021 New Leaders Program cohort, I hope to learn more about what different professional development opportunities are available to those in the IS&T community. I look forward to learning about professional development opportunities I may be interested in participating in, and about how I can help other IS&T professionals learn about and participate in available opportunities.

Congratulations, Jennifer!

If you would like to learn more about the ASIS&T New Leader’s Program, or are interested in applying, you can check out their web page for more information.

Join us Friday, September 17 at 6:00 p.m. on Zoom for ASIS&T’s Fall 2021 Open House.

The upcoming Fall Open House will welcome new and returning students to the Simmons chapter of ASIS&T, the Association for Information Science & Technology.

This is a great opportunity to learn about ASIS&T, hear from Simmons Professor and ASIS&T President-Elect Naresh Agarwal, meet the current student executive board and faculty advisors, find out which board positions are open for nomination, contribute your ideas for events this fall, socialize with other students, and ask any questions you may have. Reach out and get involved!

Please register to attend and receive the Zoom details.

Register for Event

Would you like to burnish your leadership skills? Do you have an interest in Information Science or Information Technology?

Simmons ASIS&T has the following open board positions and we would like to invite students at SLIS Boston, SLIS West, or online students who would be interested.

We welcome students from all tracks!

Secretary (1 Position) 

Duties include:

• Attending Student Leader Meetings (when possible)
• Keeping meeting minutes of board meetings

Treasurer (1 position)

The Treasurer is responsible for managing and documenting all aspects of ASIS&T finances. Duties include:

• Keeping an accurate record of all money spent and received
• Maintaining the budget
• Completing reimbursement forms
• Carrying out financial contribution sponsorships with other student organizations
• Any delegated tasks given by co-chair (within reason)

NE-ASIS&T Liaison (1 Position)

The NEASIS&T Liaison will be responsible for communicating and collaborating with the New England ASIS&T Chapter. Duties include:

• Attending monthly NEASIS&T Programming Committee Meetings (virtual)
• Promoting NEASIS&T events to Simmons ASIS&T members
• Promoting Simmons ASIS&T events to NEASIS&T members

Webmaster (1 Position) 

The Webmaster is responsible for managing the Chapter’s blog. To fulfill this role, one should have some familiarity with using a content management system such as WordPress. Duties include:

• Editing content that appears on the blog (ex: add, update, and remove posts) so as to inform visitors of upcoming events, activities, meetings, and opportunities
• Styling the blog – modify the layout and color scheme
• Creating widgets, menus, and pages as needed
• Utilizing other customization and dashboard settings to manage the blog

If you are interested in being considered for any of the above open positions or have questions pertaining to the duties/responsibilities of a particular position(s), please send an email to Jennifer Sunoo ([email protected]), and Nick Bodanza ([email protected]), the co-chairs of the Simmons ASIS&T Student Chapter.

Congratulations to board members Katherine Leonard and Nick Bodanza for receiving the 2021 NEASIS&T Conference Support Recipient! We’re proud of our Simmons students for being 2 of the 3 award recipients for this year. We asked Katherine and Nick a few questions to get their thoughts on the upcoming conference. Check out their responses to learn more about what the ASIS&T Annual Conference has to offer.

What are you most excited about for the 2021 ASIS&T Conference?

Nick: Attending the ASIS&T annual meeting will provide the opportunity to connect and engage with fellow students and professionals. I am eager to learn what others have been researching and contribute as an attendee.

Katherine: As I begin my final year of graduate school, I hope to see some of the subjects I’ve explored in coursework and internships from the real-world practitioner’s perspective. I look forward to attending sessions related to my career path of knowledge management, data governance, and taxonomy. I’m also excited to check out the many presentations and posters from Simmons faculty and students.

As a student, how do you hope the conference will help you move forward in your career?

Nick: As a student, the conference offers insight into the current state of the discipline. I anticipate the experience will prompt new ideas and allow me to gain new knowledge, which I will apply at Simmons and in my work.

Katherine: I’ve gained so much from my year as Marketing Chair for ASIS&T Simmons, from getting to know fellow board members and faculty advisors to all the practical career advice I heard from alumni panelists and at the NEASIS&T Conference. I imagine that the Annual Meeting will provide a similar experience, but on an even larger scale.

What panels, workshops, and events are you planning to attend?

Nick: Sessions I am looking forward to include the Opening Plenary Keynote by Professor Luciano Floridi, Paper Session 05: Trust in Technology, and Career Development in Knowledge Management (SIG-KM).

Katherine: I have a long list of panels to attend, but here are a few at the top of my list: “Data Discovery and Reuse in Data Service Practices: A Global Perspective,” “Career Development in Knowledge Management,” and “Quality, Reuse, and Governance of Open Data.”

On the workshop side, I’m looking forward to “The Serious Leisure Perspective Round-Up,” which looks at the study of information in everyday life and leisure contexts. As part of a group project for LIS 484, a few classmates and I interviewed one of the speakers, Dr. Jenna Hartel, from the University of Toronto, and her research on this topic is fascinating.

Thank you, Nick and Katherine!

The ASIS&T Annual Conference is a great opportunity for students to learn more about work and research in information science and technology, as well as to network with professionals in the field. This year’s conference will be held both virtually and online from October 30th  to November 2nd, with the theme “Information: Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Justice, and Relevance.” If you’d like to attend, you can learn more about it and register on the 2021 ASIS&T Annual Meeting webpage. Don’t miss the early bird rate, available until August 13.