Are you a LIS student, researcher, or practitioner from Europe and want to get involved in our chapter's activities? Do you want to share content in our next newsletter? Do you have any ideas for activities or events that could be organized by the EC? We are always looking for motivated folks who want to participate in our chapter. Feel free to contact us and share your ideas with us!
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7 Upcoming Events
Issue 17 | 2021
8 Past Activities & Events
Want to GET INVOLVED?
29 ASIS&T Chapter Awards
March 2021
This spring edition of the European Chapter (EC) newsletter offers you insights into the mission of the EU Chapter. It gives you impressions about the people involved and our past activities. We introduce our EU Chapter officers who talk about their favorite COVID-19 pastimes. Also, you do not know about our country representatives yet? Get to know them in this newsletter! In the last months we have organized and held several online events. We report about them and share our insights with you. You will experience the full charge of the EU Chapter's engagement. Lastly and most importantly, our officers received several ASIS&T Chapter Awards. Let's honor and celebrate them together. We hope you enjoy reading this newsletter! Your Chapter
3 ASIS&T Annual Meeting
Welcome!
European Chapter & European Student Chapter
18 EU Country Reps
Newsletter
5 EU Chapter Board
Welcome From The ChAIR!
European Chapter
Welcome to another EU Chapter Newsletter, packed with information about our Chapter activities, reports on events, and news about people and their work in our Chapter! The Covid-19 pandemic has posed many challenges for us all over the past year and continues to do so. However, while we have been unable to gather in person, we have seized opportunities to meet online, to hold events online, and most importantly, to share with each other. With vaccination now in progress, we hope to meet you all again soon in person. And our Chapter planning reflects the reality of the pandemic. We held an online session focused on the future of our research area at ASIS&T’s Annual Meeting in the autumn. We have welcomed new and existing members with an online Mixer event in January. In February, we met with our Country Representatives to explore ways of working together with other countries in our Chapter. Importantly, these events have helped us gather information about some of the events and activities that will support you as members, helping us all to meet and learn about each other. In keeping with our brainstorming about events, we have hosted a seminar to inform, network, and share information about funding opportunities in the EU. Watch this space for more activities and events! We are planning a very busy year! In the meantime, we hope our Newsletter brings a bit of cheer from the Chapter to you. Please keep in touch with your ideas for Chapter activities and with events you host and attend in your local areas.
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ASIS&T ANNUAL MEETING 2021, Information: Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Justice, and Relevance
This year's annual meeting runs under the slogan Information: Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Justice, and Relevance. For 84 years, ASIS&T researchers and practitioners, along with those from related fields, have been pushing advancements in information understanding, technology, and use, making substantial progress and contributions. However, the nirvana hinted at by Vannevar Bush with the sum total of human knowledge at our fingertips is not so blissful. With the advantages, we also see hate speech, rumors, conspiracy theories, cyberbullying, AI systems turned racist, fake news, click fraud, adversarial IR, privacy concerns -- the list goes on. What happened? As the premier international conference dedicated to the study of information, people, and technology in contemporary society, the ASIS&T Annual Meeting is a forum to assist in addressing these issues as we continue to push forward the positive contributions of information and technology. For further updates on the dates, pricing and platform, please visit: https://www.asist.org/am21/
SUBMISSION DEADLINES Long Paper | Short Paper | Panel | Alternative Event Proposal due: April 19, 2021 Notification: May 24, 2021 Layout-ready due: June 7, 2021 Poster Proposal due: June 9, 2021 Notification: July 7, 2021 Layout-ready due: July 28, 2021 Workshop | Tutorial Proposal due: April 19, 2021 Notification: April 30, 2021 More information: click here for submission instructions. You can also engage as a reviewer. To do this, registration within the submission system is necessary.
ASIS&T ANNUAL MEETING 2021 Salt Lake City, Utah - Oct. 30 - Nov. 2, 2021 SALT LAKE MARRIOTT DOWNTOWN AT CITY CREEK, SALT LAKE CITY SUBMISSION DEADLINES Long Paper | Short Paper | Panel | Alternative Event Proposal due: April 10, 2020 Notification: May 20, 2020 Layout-ready due: June 5, 2020 Poster Proposal due: June 5, 2020 Notification: July 17, 2020 Layout-ready due: August 3, 2020 Workshop | Tutorial Proposal due: April 10, 2020 Notification: April 28, 2020 More information: click here Likewise, you can engage as a reviewer. Therefore, a registration within the submission system is necessary.
Communications Officer - Franziska Zimmer is a Research Associate at the Department of Information Science at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany. Her research interests include the analysis of information behavior on social media, especially social live streaming services, the impact of gamification on such systems, as well as content analysis of social media content, and human computer interaction. Her favorite COVID-19 pastimes are trying out new cooking recipes from all over the world and playing online games with family and friends via Discord, e.g., Gartic Phone or skribbl.io.
Secretary - Tamara Heck is a Researcher at the Information Center for Education at DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education in Frankfurt, Germany. She investigates how people seek information and online resources and how infrastructures and tools influence their behaviour and practices. Her research includes information seeking behaviour and the design of user-centred informational systems, as well as conceptions and behaviour of open science practices in research and education. Besides research, she is an open science advocate and loves to discuss new ways of making research more open, transparent, and inclusive. Her favorite Covid-19 pastimes are hiking and playing the guitar (after a long pause, thanks COVID-19 :-)).
Chair-Elect - Sheila Webber is a Senior Lecturer in the Information School, University of Sheffield, UK. She coordinates the Library and Information Services Management postgraduate programmes and is Head of the Libraries & Information Society Research Group. Her main interests for research and teaching focus on information literacy and information behaviour. In particular she is interested in the contextual nature of information literacy, and in information behaviour in computer gaming and 3D virtual worlds. She recently did her 5000th post on her blog http://information-literacy.blogspot.com. Her favorite COVID-19 pastimes are walks, playing with her virtual cats in Second Life, eating, and watching British TV series from the 1960s (currently Sword of Freedom and Stingray).
Chair - Crystal Fulton is an Associate Professor at University College Dublin, Ireland, where she studies the social interactions among people, information, and communication in daily life settings. Her research into the information worlds of people engaged in serious leisure (e.g., genealogists, urban explorers, gamblers) examines leisure participation and the connections among hobbies, behaviors around information supporting hobby activities, and impact on individuals, groups, and communities. In particular, her work moves beyond more traditional ideas around information acquisition to extend information theories in her investigations of how information is used, shared or hidden, and created in both digital and non-digital environments. Just as Covid-19 has brought challenges, it has also resulted in some relaxing coffee time in the garden where sunshine, flowers, and kitties provide entertainment.
Meet the EU Chapter Board 2021
Past-Chair - Aylin Imeri (Ilhan) is a Research Associate at the Department of Information Science at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany. In her dissertation, she investigated users’ health information behavior focusing on the self-quantifying technologies (such as activity tracking technologies). Recently, her research focused on the motivation to use activity tracking technologies, on privacy concerns, and also how users use, reflect, and adapt the received information by their activity tracking technologies. Overall, Imeri is interested in social media research as well, focusing on information behavior, human-computer, and human-information interaction. Her favorite COVID-19 pastimes are reading books and going for walks.
Treasurer - Noora Hirvonen is an Assistant Professor (tenure track) in AI literacies at the Research Unit for History, Culture and Communication Studies (Information Studies) at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Oulu, Finland. She studies the practices and competencies of young people in everyday information environments shaped by AI-powered technologies. Overall, her research has concentrated on ways people seek, evaluate, use, and create information in everyday life, particularly in health settings. Her favorite Covid-19 pastimes include all kinds of outdoor activities (to get out of the house) and she is often seen with her headphones on listening to podcasts, audiobooks, or music.
Webmaster - Katrin Scheibe is a Research Associate at the Department of Information Science at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany. Her research interests include the analysis of information behavior on social media, especially social live streaming services, the impact of gamification on such systems, as well as sentiment analysis and content analysis of social media content. Her favorite COVID-19 pastimes are going for long walks, trying out new recipes (too many banana breads), and playing online games with friends via Discord, e.g., Among Us, Codenames, Gartic Phone, skribbl.io, or exit games.
Social Media Manager - Carolanne Mahony is a Lecturer in the Department of Business Information Systems, Cork University Business School (CUBS), University College Cork, Ireland. She is co-director of the MSc in Design and Development of Digital Business. Her research interests include information systems ethics, information behavior, particularly how people process and use information, and education. Her favorite COVID-19 pastimes include watching movies, reading books, connecting with her sci-fi/fantasy book club online and going for walks away from screens.
EVENTS 2021
Hold the Date! Upcoming EU Chapter Events Watch our iConnect & our social media channels for further details and updates! April Coffee with the Author! Friday, April 30, 2021, 1pm GMT, Zoom May Coffee with the Author! Friday, May 14, 2021, 1pm GMT, Zoom. June EU Chapter Annual Seminar: Information Science Trends (IST). June 9-11th, Zoom. July EU Chapter Ice Cream or Gelato! Mixer event. Friday, July 16, 2021, 1pm GMT, Zoom. August A Global Community of Chapters! Networking Event with other Chapters, Zoom. tbc. September ASIS&T EU Chapter Country Representatives Meeting. Friday, September 17, 2021, 1pm GMT, Zoom. October Coffee with the Author! Date to be confirmed. 84th Annual Meeting of the Association for Information Science and Technology. Oct 30 - Nov 2, 2021. Theme: Information: Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Justice, & Relevance
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EU Chapter Events and Activities - Reports
Information Science Trends: Health Information Behavior, ASIS&T Online Meeting, June 08-10, 2020
This event was organized by ASIS&T’s European Chapter as a free online conference (rather than in-person), due to the pandemic. The focus was health information behavior, encompassing issues, such as open data, misinformation, information avoidance, and health literacy. Keynote speakers were Diane Pennington (Senior Lecturer in Information Science, University of Strathclyde iSchool, Scotland), Inez Bailey (Chief Executive of the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA), Ireland), and Christiane Grünloh (Senior Researcher eHealth, Roessingh Research & Development, the Netherlands). Presenters from around the world responded to an open call for papers. You can catch up with many of the presentations, by watching the Chapter's YouTube channel (click here), as well as by viewing the posters and presentations archived at Zenodo (click here) or our Twitter stream from the event (click here). Some of the sessions were also liveblogged at information-literacy.blogspot.com.
During the ASIS&T Annual Meeting 2020, The European Chapter organized an unCommons session, called Where are we Going? Information Science Research in Europe: Planning for 2030. The aim of this session was to provide a platform to provide insights into the EC’s activities and to discuss critical questions concerning the information science field in Europe. Before the session, we asked current and prospective EC members to introduce themselves and to offer their ideas around four different themes, presented via Google’s Jamboard. Comments were used as a basis for discussion in the unCommons session. Fig. 1 The Participants Based on the information in the Jamboard, the unCommons session participants represented a range of European countries including Germany, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Northern Ireland, England, Spain, Italy, Hungary, and Switzerland, as well as a participant from South Africa (see Fig. 1). What are the BIG questions in Information Science? Terminology: What should we call our research area? In Europe, Information Science, Library and Information Science, and Information Studies are all used to refer to more or less the same field of research, which can cause confusion. Event participants seemed to prefer Information Science. Although Information Science may have a natural sciences connotation, it can sound more convincing than Information Studies. Library and Information Science appeared less representative, since many current institutions are no longer focused primarily on the education of librarians or library-related research. On the other hand, some mentioned that “libraries always seem to lose out” when we talk about Information Science and that there is a growing divide between the subjects Libraries and Information Science.Regardless of how the field is labeled, participants thought this was an important independent discipline. Participants viewed having a separate, unique discipline as necessary, especially when it comes to the progress and accumulation of knowledge and development of the field in the long term. However, participants valued the exchange between disciplines. One participant also noted that terminologies can reinforce sub-identities and practice which is not always a positive thing; “[t]erminologies afford common ground to discuss theory and practice improvement but sometimes can be a barrier to progress.” The meaning and relevance of the discipline may not be generally understood outside the area. Prominent research themes and relevant questions There was some concern that an over-emphasis on technology might be problematic. Participants identified a tendency to focus on digital technologies, rather than more broad human and social issues. Participants suggested technological determinism was a negative. They also called for more qualitative research. Drawing on a variety of research interests, the participants came up with a range of relevant themes that need to be addressed in IS. These included: Access and provision of information, including issues of inequality. Managing and preserving personal, shared, and cultural digital information. Addressing current concerns in technological development (e.g., AI, changing information infrastructures, disinformation, fake news) from an IS perspective. Understanding information in people’s everyday lives looking at a wide range of contexts, cultures, and countries. Participants agreed that there is potential in IS research to have a great impact outside academia. Topics with high relevance outside academia included library development, public information literacy, ethical use of data, managing personal data and information, the impact of technology on information, and ways algorithms are impacting information flows. Addressing these topics may contribute to broader themes, such as democracy, lifelong learning, and social cohesion, although participants stated that this would require better articulation of the contribution of research and ways the IS approach differs from neighboring fields, such as Computer Science. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were mentioned as a good framework for thinking about the impact of research. Networking Although some found ASIS&T and other communities helpful in connecting IS researchers in Europe, there was a general agreement that European IS researchers are not connected enough. We do not have an up-to-date directory of programs and people, and IS communities tended to be either US-centric or struggling. A shared concern emerged on the position of the field in Europe: While IS is a relatively strong field in the US, this is not the case in Europe and many programs have been merged into neighboring fields. There was unanimous agreement that we need a common IS event in Europe. Read the discussion in full: Our Jamboard may be accessed here.
Theme: Where are we going?
UnCommons Session, ASIS&T Annual Meeting, October 26, 2020
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Research practices differ between and within research fields. We investigate different questions, have different goals, and apply different methods to gain new knowledge. We might have different values and stick to different norms as well. With this in mind, it is not hard to guess that we likely have different understandings of open practices in research and education. It is similar to the image of an “open door.” Someone says: “Hey, just ring the bell and I will open the door for you.” Another offers you the key or leaves the door widely open. And another even makes sure you will be guided to his or her open door. The webinar organized by the European Chapter talked about the development of the current movements and initiatives that aim at fostering open practices in science and education, the history of openness in research with regard to technical milestones, and current attitudes and beliefs of researchers and teachers that support or hinder practicing openness. One conclusion is that open science and open educational practices are shaped by technical opportunities that rapidly developed, but they also reflect a kind of norm that regulates our behaviour. The latter refers to open practices as a social construct that we need to re-create and negotiate continuously. Advice for researchers and teachers is to adapt open practices in one’s own context step by step and to seek support by bottom-up initiatives that are community-driven, discipline-specific and practical oriented. For sure, there will be more initial activities in the information science community in the future as well. See the recorded webinar here!
Open Practices in Science and Education - Think Pragmatically, Less Idealistically, ASIS&T webinar, January 27, 2021 Speaker: Tamara Heck
Maximising on Funding Opportunities in the EU & Finding Research Partners, EU Chapter Seminar, March 19, 2021
In keeping with the requests of our members, the EU Chapter hosted an online seminar to explore funding opportunities in the European context, providing information about funding in the EU, as well as an opportunity to connect with potential research collaborators. Diane Sonnenwald spoke about the EU funding process in her talk, Widening Participation, Proposal Review Processes, and Reviewer Insights, sharing her experiences as the vice-chair of several grant review processes during Horizon 2020. A slide presentation via Horizon Europe provides useful context for the reviewing process, available for download (in 22 languages) at https://ec.europa.eu/info/files/horizon-europe -investing-shape-our-future_en Tatjana Aparac-Jelušić presented Experiences Developing and Managing Successful Erasmus+ Proposals, in which she presented two successful approaches to Erasmus+ calls EINFOSE (European Information Science Education: Encouraging Mobility and Learning Outcomes Harmonization) and DECriS (Digital education for Crisis Situations: Times when there is no alternative). She focused on the process of preparing and leading an Erasmus+ project, from proposal requirements to project implementation. The EINFOSE website (http://einfose.ffos.hr) has further useful information for applicants.
Photo: by Sheila Webber, taken in Second Life (TM Linden Labs)
Information Gathering EU Chapter Events to Help Us Support You! EU Chapter Mixer, January 22, 2021
The EC organized a mixer event to meet and share ideas among EC officers and members. After a brief introduction to the European Chapter, the networking began! As part of getting to know each other, participants were asked to share, on-the-spot, an object that represented their information science research or practice. The objects that were shared were as follows: noise-canceling headphones, an information science award, an Apple pencil, a freebie from an information science conference, an activity tracker, a coffee cup, a planner, a laptop, a completed questionnaire from a project, digital assistants, a phone, a gift from a colleague, a bust of Aristotle, and a notebook. It was fascinating to hear the associations that these physical or digital objects had with their life and work!
After that, it was time to talk about what we could do together in the coming year. To give us some ideas, we briefly pointed out some key points from the findings of a survey the EU Chapter conducted last summer asking about people's ideas on how we could better serve EC members.
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Poll Question: When should we plan events? Answer: Ideal times vary With different teaching terms and other time commitments, people had varying times when they could attend events. Ultimately, there was no perfect time for everyone, with some suggesting the end of the year and others the summer months. No one proposed February, March, and April as ideal times for activities. This makes timing events difficult. The EU Chapter has taken the approach this year of running an event every month where possible, with the hope that there will always be something members can take part in over the year. Poll Question: What types of events would you prefer? Answer: Social networking events (78%), Conferences (78%), Training workshops (67%), and Other Events (11%). Participants suggested events that included brainstorming, finding collaborators, and learning about research funding. In particular, there was interest in holding an EU funding event prior to EU funding submission deadlines to allow people to find collaborators and prepare an application.
Our discussion about coming events and activities continued at a meeting with EU Country Representatives. Again, we ran two polls. Poll Question: What type of events would you like to organize in collaboration with the EC? Answer: Research events organized by EC (100%), Country-hosted events supported by EC, e.g., EC-hosted events on funding or networking (60%), Country-hosted local events with support of EC (40%) All participants (100%) were interested in events focusing on a research topic organised by EC. Around 60% of the participants were interested in hosting an online event with the support from the EC, participating in EC-organized events focused on funding opportunities or meeting other people. Of the participants, around 40% were keen on hosting a local event with the support of the EC. Other ideas included organizing a summer school for doctoral students or training summer school for professionals. It was discussed that due to the covid situation, it is difficult to organize local events but hopefully there will be a post pandemic time when the situation is different. The uncertainty around vaccines means that there is still uncertainty around planning locally. A summer school (or autumn when Covid-19 permits) was noted as a possibility. This summer school could be devoted to doctoral students and it could also include a session directed to professionals. Poll Question: What types of events would you prefer? Answer: Social networking events (71%), Conferences (57%), Training workshops (86%) Potential topics of interest for training events included writing workshops, research funding, data management, and open access training. Some disciplinary themes were suggested, including digital long term archiving theory and practice, information literacy and fake news, and management of cultural heritage. It was noted that some of the training topics might in fact be conference topics. The country representatives reported a need for professional collaboration opportunities. They also observed that the large numbers of local associations make promotion of ASIS&T in European countries a challenge.
EU Chapter Country Representatives Meeting, February 12, 2021
EU FP6 Coordination action CALIMERA (Cultural Applications: Local Institutions Mediating Electronic Resource Access), COST Action ARKWORK (Archeological Practices and Knowledge Work In the Digital Environment), Erasmus+ project EINFOSE (European Information Sciences Education: Encouraging Mobility and Learning Outcomes Harmonization), and DECRIS (Digital Education for Crisis Situations: Times when there is no alternative). I was a PI in the UNIOS project, "Information Needs of Alzheimer Patients and Their Caregivers.” I served as a President of the Croatian Reading Association (2006-2008) and I am a co-director for the biennial international conference Libraries in the Digital Age (LIDA). I am the recipient of the Ljerka Markić Čučuković Award, awarded to the best LIS student at the University of Zagreb (2000), the Croatian Librarians' Association (CLA) award Eva Verona, which is presented to the best young LIS professional (2006), and the FFHS Excellence in Research Award (2021). ASIS&T events in Croatia A session about ASIS&T EC will take place at the international conference, LIDA (http://lida.ffos.hr/), to be held virtually April 19-22, 2021. A session about the European Student Chapter was presented at the student conference, infoDASKA (organized alternatively by students from 3 Croatian universities (Osijek, Zadar, Zagreb) offering degrees in LIS. An interview with ASIS&T ESC officers appeared in LIBROS, the magazine published by LIS students at the University of Osijek. Facts about Croatia Croatia has 1697 libraries and 4071 librarians. The Croatian archipelago consists of 718 islands and 389 islets. The Croatian island of Hvar has 300 sunny days per year. The famous genius inventor, Nikola Telsa, who had over 300 patents, was born in Croatia. One of the greatest writers of the 20th century, James Joyce, worked as a professor of English at the Berlitz School in the Croatian city of Pula. A number of famous movies and series were filmed in Croatia: Winnetou, Sophie's Choice, James Bond: From Russia with Love, Doctor Who, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Game of Thrones, Mamma Mia! Here We Go, etc. Croatian film producer, Branko Lustig, won two Academy Awards for Best Picture for Schindler's List and Gladiator. According to the famous film director and Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, the Croatian city of Zadar "has the most beautiful sunset in the world, more beautiful than the one in Key West, Florida.”
Sanjica Faletar Tanackovic - Croatia
Meet Our EU Chapter Country Representatives
About me I am a Professor in the Department of Information Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FFHS), University of Osijek (UNIOS), Croatia. I obtained my PhD in Information Science (2009) from University of Zagreb, Croatia. My research interests include library services to the under-served and marginalized (prisoners, people with Alzheimer’s Disease, people with dyslexia etc.) and their information needs and behavior, LIS education, and library architecture. I have participated in several projects:
About me I am an Assistant Professor (tenure track) in AI literacies at the Research Unit for History, Culture and Communication Studies (Information Studies) at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Oulu, Finland. My research interests are focused on the practices and competencies of young people in everyday information environments shaped by AI-powered technologies. Overall, my research has concentrated on ways people seek, evaluate, use, and create information in everyday life, particularly in health settings.
Noora Hirvonen - Finland
ASIS&T events in Hungary I would like to build-up some new collaboration forms with the national library, research and higher education libraries and LIS departments in Hungary to grow the visibility of ASIS&T and to show its potential in international professional collaboration fields.
About me I am currently working as a web librarian at the Web Archiving department of the National Széchényi Library, Budapest, Hungary. I am also finishing my PhD about web archiving in general and about the evolution of the Hungarian service project. I have master degrees from Szeged University, Hungary in the fields of History and Library and Information Science. I have also obtained a Master’s degree from Aalborg, Denmark in European Studies and another one from an international master programme in Digital Library Learning. I have taken courses throughout Europe, in Oslo, Tallinn, and Parma, and an internship in Loughborough, UK.
Márton Németh - Hungary
ASIS&T events in Finland To my knowledge, there has been at least one ASIS&T event in Finland: the ASIS&T European Workshop organized in Turku, Finland in 2013. I think there would be potential for something similar locally or online, perhaps organized in collaboration with national associations. So far, I have been involved in organizing online events with the ASIS&T European Chapter. Facts about Finland Especially in Northern Finland, there are stark contrasts between the four seasons with temperatures ranging from +30°C to -30°C on the extreme ends and the length of the day varying dramatically between the seasons. Darkness prevails for November-December, with the sun hardly rising above the horizon, whereas in the middle of the summer, the nights are “nightless.” So consider carefully when is the best time to visit Finland (November is not for everyone)!
ASIS&T events in Ireland Céad míle fáilte! A hundred thousand welcomes! We hope to host a Chapter event, either virtually or in person soon in Ireland. Facts about Ireland Ireland is variously known by such names as the Land of Saints and Scholars, and the Emerald Isle. Some say the island features over forty shades of green across its gently rolling landscape. The national symbol of Ireland is the Celtic harp or cláirseach, and it may be found everywhere, including on the country’s coins. Ireland means so many things to us all…shamrocks, music, and importantly St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th, the one day each year when we are all Irish.
Crystal Fulton - Ireland
Facts about Hungary Hungary has a non-indo-european and very poetic language. It has its own logic and you can play a lot with the words. We do not have sea or high mountains; however, you can find some truly amazing places in our country, such as the Danube panorama of the city center of Budapest, Lake Balaton or the wine region of Tokaj.
About me I am an Associate Professor in the School of Information & Communication Studies at University College Dublin, Ireland, where I research the social interactions among people, information, and communication in daily life settings. This year, I am wearing two hats for our EU Chapter - Chair, as well as Country Representative for Ireland. I am also the Deputy Chair of ASIS&T Chapters this year.
About me I am currently a Researcher at the Department of Engineering and Architecture, at the University of Parma (Italy), where I participate in two European projects, one on research data management and one on Gamification. I have taught courses on the Digital Library for about twenty years in collaboration with other European universities (Northumbria University, Tallinn University, and Oslo Ackerius University). I believe in the internationalization of LIS education as a strategy and a tool for innovation.
Anna Maria Tammaro - Italy
ASIS&T events in Italy So far, I have promoted ASIS&T among my colleagues, but this year I have prepared a dissemination plan. I am going to do a promotion campaign with digital tools that I hope will see an increase in members. The major obstacle in Italy is that Information Science is not taught, but is considered to be included in Computer Science or Engineering. Facts about Italy The Italian Peninsula is known for its boot shape. The Trevi Fountain in Rome is one of the most popular fountains in the world. It is said that you will return to Rome if you throw 3 coins into the fountain. In Northern Italy, Milan is known globally for fashion and design. The city will host the 2026 Winter Olympics.
About me I have been an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Porto since 2013. I am also a Researcher at CITCEM (Transdisciplinary Culture, Space and Memory Research Centre) and CLUP (Centre of Linguistics of the University of Porto). My current research interests are knowledge organization systems, content analysis, and subject indexing in various domains. I am also interested in graduate and post-graduate education in Information Science, especially in information and knowledge organization.
ASIS&T events in Portugal At the moment, we have no upcoming activities. However, when the Covid-19 pandemic ends, we hope to run a summer school. Facts about Portugal Portugal is a southern European country with mild weather, 3000 hours of sunshine per year, 850 km of splendid beaches, and magnificent views. Among several awards received by Portuguese citizens, we can highlight two Nobel Prizes (José Saramago: Nobel Prize in Literature, 1998; António Egas Moniz: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1949) and two Pritzker Architecture Prizes (Eduardo Souto de Moura: 2011 Laureate; Álvaro Siza: 1992 Laureate).
Nicolae Dragulanescu - Romania
Olívia Pestana - Portugal
About me I am a Professor in the Department of Applied Electronics and Information Engineering in the Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technology at the University Polytechnics of Bucharest. My research interests include Electronic Devices and Circuits, Industrial Electronics, Electronic Measuring Instruments, Consumer Electronics, Digital Image Processing, Information Science and Technology, and Quality Management.
ASIS&T events in Romania The government of Romania has recently founded a Ministry for the Information Society. We hope to organize a national workshop on the information or knowledge society to promote the importance of Information Science in Romania. Facts about Romania According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Romania is home to the heaviest building in the world, as well as the largest legislature building in the world, accommodating the two houses of the Parliament of Romania. This is the Palace of the Parliament in the national capital, Bucharest.
Josep CobarsÍ-Morales -Spain
disasters: Pequeños y grandes desastres de la información (Barcelona: Infonomia, 2006). I am a researcher with the Internet Computing and Systems Optimization Group IN3-UOC, https://dpcs.uoc.edu/wordpress. My academic and professional activity is mostly devoted to data science, information systems for planning and decision making, and digital behavior. ASIS&T events in Spain I would like to promote some webinars targeted at information professionals in the Iberic-Peninsula and Mediterranean who are interested in the internationalization of their curriculum.
About me I am an Associate Professor in Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunication Studies at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), where I was director of Information Science undergraduate programme from 2008-2015. UOC is an online, open distance university, with headquarters in Barcelona. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications Engineering and a PhD in Organization Management. I am also a postgraduate alumni of Syracuse University. I have written a book about information
Facts about Spain Spain is a country with diverse geography, climate, culture, and food. Spain has a curious fact related to information — or rather misinformation. About Spain, there is the “Black Legend,” a long tradition of anti-Spanish propaganda, which has significantly shaped western culture and historiography.
ASIS&T events in Sweden The Swedish and Nordic information science community is lively. The membership collaborates actively with colleagues throughout the region and participates in European and global ASIS&T activities and leadership. Facts about Sweden Sweden currently has six universities with undergraduate and graduate programmes in Library and Information Studies, as well as between 300,000 and 400,000 moose, and legal deposit legislation dating back to 1661.
About me I am a Professor of Information Studies in the Department of ALM (Archival Studies, Library and Information Studies and Museums and Cultural Heritage Studies) at Uppsala University in Sweden. My primary areas of research include information and knowledge management, information work, knowledge organization, documentation, research data, and social and participatory information practices. I have served as Chair-Elect, Chair, and Past-Chair for ASIS&T’s European Chapter, as well as a member of the Board for ASIS&T’s European Student Chapter.
Isto Huvila - Sweden
About me I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Information and Records Management at Marmara University. I completed my PhD at the Hacettepe University in April, 2017, with the dissertation entitled “Increasing the visibility and usage of cultural heritage objects with the digital humanities approach: A proposal of a conceptual model for Turkey.” My research interests are information science, digital humanities, cultural heritage, digital history, network analysis, Ottoman history, and manuscripts. I have served as Editor for Information World since 2016. I am also on the advisory board for Digital Ottoman.
ASIS&T events in Turkey We look forward to participating in events in the EU! We have held several webinar events during the pandemic, which focused on scholarly communication and librarianship issues and new challenges. We continue to collaborate with two important institutions here: the Turkish Librarianship and the University and Research Librarians Association. Facts about Turkey Turkey has many historical and natural attractions and rich cultural diversity, such as the Göbeklitepe Temple, which is 12,000 years old. The Fairy Chimneys in Cappadocia, Mount Nemrut are beautiful cultural and natural places. Istanbul is the cultural center of the country. It is the capital city of the Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Latin Empire and Ottoman Empire. Turkey also has traditional cuisine culture. The Turkish coffee culture and tradition is on the UNESCO intangible Cultural heritage list. Baklava, kebab and the other traditional Ottoman cuisine offer a delicious experience to humanity.
Sümeyye Akça - Turkey
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Here is a full list of our Country Representatives. Please feel free to get in touch! Don’t see a representative for your country here? We are looking for volunteers to fill these gaps. We look forward to working with you!
Belgium Jerry Jacques Research Centre in Information, Law & Society (CRIDS) University de Namur, Namur (e) jerry.jacques@unamur.be Croatia Sanjica Faletar Tanackovic Department of Information Sciences Faculty of Humanities & Social Science Josip Juraj Strossmayer University, Osijek (e) sfaletar@ffos.hr Finland Noora Hirvonen Information & Communication Studies Faculty of Humanities University of Oulu, Oulu (e) noora.hirvonen@oulu.fi Hungary Márton Németh School of Informatics, Faculty of Informatics University of Debrecen, Budapest (e) nemethm@gmail.com Ireland Crystal Fulton School of Information & Communication Studies University College Dublin, Dublin Email: crystal.fulton@ucd.ie Italy Anna Maria Tammaro Department of Information Engineering University of Parma, Fiesole (e) annamaria.tammaro@unipr.it Portugal Olívia Pestana Faculty of Arts University of Porto, Porto (e) opestana@letras.up.pt Romania Nicolae Dragulanescu Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications & Information Technology Polytechnics University of Bucharest, Bucharest (e) nicolae.dragulanescu@yahoo.com Spain Josep CobarsÍ-Morales Universitat Oberta de Catalunya Barcelona (e) jcobarsi@uoc.edu Sweden Isto Huvila Information Studies, School of Business &Economics Åbo Akademi University, Åbo, Finland (e) isto.huvila@abo.fi Turkey Sümeyye Akça Department of Information Management Hacettepe University, Çankaya/Ankara (e) akcasumeyye@yahoo.com
Who are your European Country Representatives?
The European Chapter of ASIS&T has two main social media channels, Twitter (@asist_ec) and Facebook (@ASISTEuroChap). These channels will be used in conjunction with iConnect and our newsletter to communicate with you, our members. We invite you to follow our social channels for updates on news and events. We also encourage you to contact us, if you would like us to promote your events via our social media channels. Simply tag our accounts for a reshare or send us a DM. We would love to promote European information science research and events!!
EU Chapter Social Media Channels Connect with us
ASIS&T Chapter Awards
The officers of the European and European Student Chapter appreciate being selected as the winner of several awards. It is an honour and we would like to thank ASIS&T’s Awards Committee for acknowledging our contributions and work. We look forward to continuing our work over 2021
ASIS&T Chapter Event of the Year, Title: IST 2020: Health Information Behavior (Europe), June 8-10, 2020
We would like to thank the authors, keynote speakers, attendees and ASIS&T Central for three days of exciting research, networking, and get together. The event covered a variety of health-related topics, such as “Health (mis)information behavior in the COVID-19 era” up to “correcting health misinformation online: collaborative cross checking.”
The abstracts as well as some of the presentations are available: Click here for Zenodo abstracts Click here for our YouTube Channel More about past schedule: Click here
Summer issue (June 2020) See here for the Summer issue Topics, for example: How scholars are coping with COVID-19 Interview with Olof Sundin (Lund University)
Winter issue (February 2020): See here for the Winter issue Topics, for example: Interviews with Anna Maria Tammaro (University of Parma) and Josep Cobarsí Morales (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya)
ASIS&T Chapter Publication of the Year - Europe & European Student Chapter, Editors: Franziska Zimmer & Isabelle Dorsch
ASIS&T Chapter Member of the Year, Aylin Imeri (Ilhan)
Aylin: “I would like to thank my awesome colleagues/friends! Without you, those exciting projects and collaboration would not be possible. Thank you for the time, effort, and joy and for not being afraid of doing new projects, even if you have enough on your plate.”
The officers of the European and European Student Chapter appreciate being selected as winners for several awards. It is an honor and we would like to thank the awards committee for acknowledging our contributions and work. We are looking forward continuing the work and many exciting collaborations.
We are excited to have you on board!
Elections for the Student European Chapter board are coming soon! Your help is need to represent our student membership across the EU. Please consider supporting your chapter! Positions included but not limited to: Chair Chair-Elect Secretary/Treasurer Period of position: 1 year If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask our current EC Chair: Crystal Fulton crystal.fulton@ucd.ie https://www.asist.org/chapters/europe/
Students! Your European Student Chapter needs YOU!
Elections Be part of the EC!
Have you ever wanted to be a Board Officer of the European Chapter and work for ASIS&T? This is your chance! The elections for the Chapter board is held annually. Nomination procedures and deadlines will be announced through our regular communication channels (e.g., website, ASIS&T community page, and social media). Positions included but not limited to: Chair-Elect Secretary/Treasurer Webmaster Further positions, e.g., in the field of Communications, Designer, Newsletter, etc. Period of position: 1 year If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask our current chair: European Chapter: Crystal Fulton crystal.fulton@ucd.ie https://www.asist.org/chapters/europe/
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Do you want to share anything with us in our upcoming newsletter? Feel free to contact us via our social media channels: Twitter (@asist_ec) Facebook (@ASISTEuroChap) ranziska.zimmer@hhu.de
Have a great time and see you all in the next edition!
Next Newsletter 2021
Thank you! Stay healthy! All the best!