Connaway to Receive 2025 ASIS&T Research Impact Award
The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) is delighted to announce that Lynn Silipigni Connaway, retired Executive Director, Research, OCLC, will receive the 2025 ASIS&T Research Impact Award sponsored by Rutgers University. The award makes more visible the dimensions of the societal contribution of Information Science and provides role models and examples for new scholars wishing to translate research into practical benefits for others. The award shapes and nourishes information science as a discipline by encouraging future research that has important impact. This, in turn, supports researchers’ career development, as impact is highly valued by academic institutions and governments when assessing research contributions and research quality.
Lynn Silipigni Connaway is Past President of ASIS&T, Past Chair of the Association of College and Research Libraries Value of Academic Libraries Committee, recipient of the 2020 Distinguished Alumna Award of the Information School, and a 2024 Distinguished Achievement Award in the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was the 2023-24 Follett Chair at Dominican University’s School of Information Studies and received the 2019 ASIS&T Watson Davis Award for Service and the 2016 Association for Library and Information Science Educators Service Award. Lynn was the Chair of Excellence, Departmento de Biblioteconomía y Documentación, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Visiting Researcher in the Department of Information Studies, University of Sheffield, and Visiting Scholar at the Royal School of Library and Information Science (currently in the Department of Communication at the University of Copenhagen), Denmark. Connaway received research funding from the IMLS, Jisc, and the Arts and Humanities Research Council and is an international speaker. She is co-author of Basic Research Methods for Librarians, 4th and 5th editions, and of the 6th and 7th editions, Research Methods in Library and Information Science.
The award recognizes Connaway’s research, which “addresses user behavior and expectations in digital and physical information environments, guiding library services, systems, and policies worldwide. Grounded in real-world needs, my work has shaped school, public, and academic library practice; virtual reference services; user-centered design; and information access for diverse communities.”
In assessing Connaway’s work, one reviewer wrote, “Dr. Connaway's research contributions to the field of LIS are prolific and span several large-scale projects. Further, her work at OCLC has contributed substantively to the organization's goals to produce knowledge, evidence, and models that can accelerate and expand library learning, innovation, and collaboration. I believe that across the lifetime of her research contributions she has made tremendous impact that merits such an award at this juncture.”
Upon learning of their selection as winner of the 2025 Research Impact Award, Connaway responded, “I am honored to have been selected as the recipient of the prestigious ASIS&T Research Impact Award, especially since it recognizes exceptional achievement in translating information science research into meaningful societal outcomes. My collaborative user and community-centered research has been focused on bridging the gap between scholarly inquiry and real-world application, showcasing how rigorous research can positively impact communities and disciplines. My research exemplifies the transformative power of people-focused research in addressing complex societal challenges. I hope that my research serves as a model for future scholars seeking to transition research into practice to influence positive societal change.”
Connaway will receive the award during the 2025 meeting of ASIS&T, which will be held 14-18 November 2025 in Crystal City, VA.
About ASIS&T
ASIS&T is the pre-eminent professional association for thousands of researchers, developers, practitioners, students, and professors in the field of information science and technology from 50 countries around the world. For more than 85 years, ASIS&T has been leading the search for new and better theories, techniques, and technologies to improve access to information.