Poole to Receive Bob Williams History Fund Best Paper Award
The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) is delighted to announce that Alex H. Poole has been awarded a 2025 Bob Williams History Fund Award for his research paper titled “‘There’s a big difference between going through life with the wind at your back, and going through life leaning into the wind’: Feminism in Post-World War II Information Science.” The Bob Williams History Fund was created for the purpose of supporting and encouraging research and publication in the history of information science and technology.
Poole was selected from among a pool of outstanding candidates who were judged based on the relevance of a central topic or question to be researched within the history of information science and technology.
In nominating Poole, Katherine W. McCain, Professor Emerita of Drexel University College of Computing and Informatics, wrote that the “paper uses rigorous methods of analysis which are clearly and completely explained. Poole’s paper is packed with data but is highly readable and effectively organized. He has an impressive eye for detail and subtlety of meaning, which is evidenced in his analysis of organizational records and scholarly articles. The paper is certainly sophisticated but not heavy-handed theoretically. Poole uses feminist epistemology effectively. He has mastered and builds upon previous research on women in science and scientific societies, which provides useful context for ASIS’s historical trajectory and highlights much that is missed in a standard bibliometric analysis (grounded as it is in one type of source and visibility).”
Alex H. Poole is an Associate Professor at Drexel University’s College of Computing and Informatics. His work centers on history, archives and records management, diversity, equity, and inclusion, information behavior and information practices, digital curation, digital humanities, and pedagogy. He earned his degrees from Williams College, Brown University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Accepting the award, Poole wrote, “In addition to the Awards Jury, I wish to thank Drexel University College of Computing and Informatics Professor Emerita Kate McCain, Associate Dean for Research Ellen Bass, Department Head Helena Mentis, and Dean Ali Shokoufandeh. I am also quite grateful to Michael Buckland for his longtime encouragement.”
Poole will receive the award during the 2025 meeting of ASIS&T which will be held 14-18 November 2025 in Crystal City, VA.
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 80 years, ASIS&T has been leading the search for new and better theories, techniques, and technologies to improve access to information.