The UK e-information Group (UKeiG) is delighted to launch a call for nominations for three international awards in the fields of information retrieval/search, library and information services and open science.

All three awards are open to individuals or groups from anywhere in the world. Nominations for all three 2023 awards must reach UKeiG by 6 pm GMT on Friday 29 September 2023.


The award categories are:

1 - Information retrieval/search – The Tony Kent Strix Award
The Tony Kent Strix Award was inaugurated in 1998 by the Institute of Information Scientists. It is presented by UKeiG in partnership with the International Society for Knowledge Organisation UK (ISKO UK), the Royal Society of Chemistry Chemical Information and Computer Applications Group (RSC CICAG) and the British Computer Society Information Retrieval Specialist Group (BCS IRSG) and awarded in recognition of an outstanding practical innovation or achievement in the field of information retrieval and search. Nominations must be for a major, sustained or influential achievement that meets one or more of the criteria listed below.

Science
The advancement of our understanding of information retrieval methods, experimentation and evaluation, at either the theoretical or the practical level. The scope includes approaches as diverse as linguistic, probabilistic, fact-checking or artificial intelligence applied to search.

Service Delivery
The development and management of systems, networks or services:

Ø  Enhancement of the mechanisms/technology/standards underpinning information products or services.

Ø  Establishing an innovative information resource or service.

Ø  Innovations leading to improved accessibility/usability of information resources.

Education and organisational infrastructure
The provision of leadership in education, training, community development and/or collaboration to advance information retrieval at local, national or international level.

2 - Library and information services – The Jason Farradane Award
The Jason Farradane Award is presented in recognition of an outstanding, creative and enterprising contribution to the wider library and information profession. It will be awarded to an individual or a team in recognition of exemplary and innovative practice. This may take the form of a specific project, a piece of research or the development of a service or resource.

The Award celebrates creativity and enterprise across the library and information profession in its broadest sense and honours Jason Farradane, who first made an impact on the LIS community with a paper on the ‘scientific approach to documentation’ presented at a Royal Society Scientific Information Conference in 1948. He was instrumental in establishing the Institute of Information Scientists in 1958, alongside the first academic information science courses in 1963 at the precursor to City University, London, where he became Director of the Centre for Information Science in 1966.

Nominations should meet one or more of the following criteria:

Ø  Contributing to the creation, promotion and exploitation of digital resources and services

Ø  Raising the profile of library and information services across the organisation

Ø  Raising awareness of the value and impact of library and information services internally and/or externally

Ø  Evidencing a significant contribution to organisational goals and strategies through internal and/or external collaborative partnerships and cross team working

Ø  Demonstrating excellence in library and information science education and teaching

Ø  Making a significant contribution to the theory and practice of library and information science.

3 – The UKeiG Open Science Award
UKeiG’s inaugural open science award will be presented in recognition of an outstanding contribution in terms of digital/electronic information to one or more of the following areas of Open Science: Open Access, Open Data, Open Peer Review, Open Science Tools.

It will be awarded to an individual or a team in recognition of exemplary and innovative practice. This may, for example, take the form of a specific project, the development of a service, resource or research activity.

Nominations should meet one or more of the following criteria:

Ø  Contributing to the creation, promotion and exploitation of Open Science resources, services and tools

Ø  Raising awareness of the value and impact of Open Science internally and/or externally

Ø  Evidencing a significant contribution to Open Science through internal and/or external collaborative partnerships

Ø  Demonstrating excellence in support for and the implementation of Open Science

Ø  Making a significant contribution to the theory and practice of Open Science.

Submission guidelines
In all cases nominations should take the form of a succinct justification (maximum 2 pages) for the individual or team nomination showing clearly which of the award criteria the nominee meets and how they are met. Please include full contact details, job title and qualifications of both the nominee and the nominator emailed to Richard Bridgen – Hon. Secretary UKeiG secretary.ukeig@cilip.org.uk and copied to: Gary Horrocks - UKeiG administrator info.ukeig@cilip.org.uk and Sue Silcocks – Hon. Treasurer UKeiG treasurer.ukeig@cilip.org.uk.

Please clarify in the email subject heading - ‘UKeiG 2023 award nomination’ - followed by the award name.

Self-nominations will not be accepted.

If you want your nomination to be considered in two or all three of the specified award areas, please clarify that in your justification.

Please include testimonials, letters of support, references, a selective bibliography relevant to the nomination, or links to supplementary information including professional profiles or social media, for example. 

Please email info.ukeig@cilip.org.uk for more information and guidance.

Deadline
Nominations for all three 2023 awards must reach the UKeiG by 6 pm GMT on Friday 29 September 2023.

Further information
Further information about UKeiG awards and bursaries is available here, and includes previous winners.

Please share the news
The library and information science community is encouraged to raise awareness of these awards with individuals and groups in their networks and help encourage nomination submissions.

All winners will be invited to present at an awards ceremony in late November 2023 and featured in UKeiG’s open access e-journal eLucidate.