iSchool takes top honors at BOBCATSSS 2018

iSchool master's student Lisa Morrison won the award for best paper at BOBCATSSS 2018, which was held in Riga, Latvia, from January 24-26. The BOBCATSSS Symposium is organized each year by library and information science students from European universities who plan and implement both the content and the management of the conference as a part of their studies.

Morrison coauthored the paper, "Reading Data - The Missing Literacy from LIS Education," with Associate Professor Terry L. Weech. 

"The paper analyzes the syllabi from required courses in three LIS programs, and it argues for required courses to include more data literacy instruction to ensure that future librarians have the skills they will need regardless of the type of librarianship they pursue," explained Morrison. "The presentation received a really good response from the audience, with several people wanting to know more about the findings, recommendations, and plans for future research."

According to Weech, "To the best of my recollection, this is the first time the iSchool has received the best paper award at BOBCATSSS in the nearly twenty years we have been sending students."The theme of BOBCATSSS 2018 was "The Power of Reading" and included the topics of reading skills, habits, and communication; memory institutions; and technological solutions. For the past several years, the iSchool has supported student participation in this unique library and information science event.

In addition to Morrison, other participants included:

  • Rachel Bellavia, who presented the poster, "Harry Potter and the Literary Child: How the Boy Who Lived Can Augment Library Programming," coauthored with Rachel McGuire.
  • Lizzy Boden, who presented the paper, "The Politics of Literacy: Libraries and Information Literacy in the 21st Century Political Context – Three National Case Studies."
  • Kathryn Funderburg, who presented the poster, "Grave Witnesses: The Circulation of Manuscript Forms of Richard Rolle's Lessons of the Dead."
  • Siobhan McKissic and Delaney Bullinger, who presented the poster, "Placemaking in Prison Libraries."
  • Laura Rocco, who presented the poster, "To Wear a Book and Its Status on Your Sleeve: Questions of Consumption and Uncommon Textuality."
  • Zohra Saulat, who presented the poster, "More Than a Memory: The University Library in Reviving a Revolution."
  • KayLee Strahan and Delaney Bullinger, who presented the poster, "The Librarian's Dilemma."
  • William (Billy) Tringali, who presented the paper, "It's a Magical World, But Where Is It? Nonhierarchical Cataloging in Public Libraries."
Research Areas:
Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Maimone to receive ALISE Youth Services Graduate Student Travel Award

Doctoral candidate Jessie Maimone has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) Youth Services Graduate Student Travel Award. She will be honored at an awards presentation during the ALISE 2025 Annual Conference, which will be held October 6–8 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Jessie Mae Maimone

New tool helps estimate societal impact of droughts

Droughts are increasingly recognized as environmental crises with far-reaching consequences, not just on water availability, but on agriculture, the economy, public health, and society. While current drought monitoring systems primarily focus on assessing drought severity using quantitative measurements, such as meteorological and hydrological data or economic losses, they often miss what matters most: how societies and communities are affected. 

Dong Wang

Stier to receive ALISE Excellence in Teaching Award

Adjunct Lecturer Zachary Stier has been selected as the Early Career Award recipient of the 2025 Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) Excellence in Teaching Award. He will be honored at an awards presentation during the ALISE 2025 Annual Conference, which will be held from October 6–8 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Zachary Stier

Nine faculty receive new appointments

The iSchool is proud to announce that nine faculty members have received new appointments. Anita Say Chan, Kate McDowell, and Dong Wang have been promoted to professor. Nigel Bosch, Jessie Chin, Melissa Ocepek, Matthew Turk, and Karen Wickett have been promoted to associate professor with indefinite tenure. Associate Professor Rachel Adler has been granted indefinite tenure.

iSchool Building

Fu and Li awarded 2025 Garfield Dissertation Fellowships

Doctoral candidates Yuanxi Fu and Lan Li have received Beta Phi Mu's 2025 Eugene Garfield Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship awards for their ongoing dissertation research at the iSchool. This prestigious award honors four doctoral students in library and information science, information studies, informatics, or a related field. Fellowship recipients are awarded $3,000.

doctoral students Yuanxi Fu and Lan Li