OCLC and ALISE announce 2004 Research Grant Award recipients

DUBLIN, Ohio, USA,  9 January 2004—OCLC Research and the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) have awarded three grants to university researchers for 2004.  Recipients of the OCLC/ALISE Library and Information Science Research Grants were recognized at an awards reception Jan. 8 during the ALISE 2004 Annual Conference in San Diego, California.

The OCLC/ALISE Library and Information Science Research Grants Program awards grants of up to $15,000 to foster research by faculty in schools of library and information science.

“The research aided by these grants complements the efforts of OCLC to advance librarianship and information science,” said Lorcan Dempsey, Vice President, OCLC Research.

OCLC/ALISE Library and Information Science Research Grants Program awards for 2004:

1. Corinne Jorgensen, Associate Professor, School of Information Studies, Florida State University, for a study, “Developing A Thesaurus For Indexing Images Across Diverse Domains.”  Since image and video collections encompass diverse domains and disciplines and exist in multiple formats, access to materials in these collections is often problematic, with little access to the visual content or interpretive aspects of items.  Dr. Jorgensen proposes development of a visual indexing thesaurus based on theoretical considerations from basic research, and testing this thesaurus across a variety of domains and collections.
2. Feili Tu, Assistant Professor, and Nancy Zimmerman, Associate Professor, School of Library and Information Science, University of South Carolina, for a study, “Consumer Health Information Services in American Public Libraries:  An Assessment of Current Status and Educational Needs.”  The purpose of this research is to help public libraries improve their health information services and develop appropriate service policies, and to help improve the education of health information professionals working in public libraries—which will improve the public’s access to information and services and help people make informed decisions regarding their health.
3. Elizabeth Yakel, Assistant Professor, School of Information, University of Michigan, for a study, “Academic Reference Librarians and Extending Access to Primary Sources.”  Dr. Yakel’s study acknowledges the expanded role of academic reference librarians as gatekeepers of information concerning primary sources and poses two key research questions concerning accessibility:  What is the role of system versus domain knowledge in searching for unpublished materials in bibliographic utilities and integrated library systems, and are the classic search strategies that break questions into concepts effective in searching MARC records for archives and manuscripts that are organized by provenance and have less precise subject analysis?

Application materials for future grants are available on the OCLC web site <www.oclc.org/research/grants/>.

About ALISE

Founded in 1915, the Association for Library and Information Science Education is a nonprofit organization located in Reston, Virginia.  Its mission is to promote excellence in research, teaching and service for library and information science education <www.alise.org>.      

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