SIG News, October 2026
ASIS&T would like to celebrate and recognize the accomplishments of our Special Interest Groups (SIGs). Please share with us news of events you hosted, newsletters, award recipients, and accomplishments. We will recognize these accomplishments in each issue of Inside ASIS&T.
Please complete this form to let us know what your SIG has done!
SIG-AI
We are happy to announce the SIG-AI election results! The Chair-Elect for 2026-2027 is Ghazal Hussain. At the conclusion of the ASIS&T Annual Meeting in November, Satyam Kumar will begin serving as Chair. Thank you to Stefanie Havelka for serving as 2025-2026 Chair, and congratulations to Ghazal Hussain on being elected Chair-Elect.
SIG-BIZ
We are happy to announce the SIG-BIZ election results! The Chair-Elect for 2026-2027 is Kevin Adams. At the conclusion of the ASIS&T Annual Meeting in November, Casey Kelly will begin serving as Chair. Thank you to Susan Hahn for serving as 2025-2026 Chair, and congratulations to Kevin Adams on being elected Chair-Elect.
SIG-BIZ hosted their first social happy hour on September 10! They also hosted an event on October 6 titled "Patents for Non-Lawyers" which focused on how publicly available patent records can support competitive, strategic, and financial decision-making.
SIG-CMR
We are happy to announce the SIG-CMR election results! The Chair-Elect for 2026-2027 is Thiago Henrique Bragato Barros. At the conclusion of the ASIS&T Annual Meeting in November, John Kausch will begin serving as Chair. Thank you to Paulo Vicente for serving as 2025-2026 Chair, and congratulations to Thiago Henrique Bragato Barros on being elected Chair-Elect.
SIG-CMR and SIG-USE co-hosted "Information Hygiene, Information Use and Digital Wellbeing" on October 14. This event explored the concept of information hygiene and what it means for our work, wellbeing, and digital lives. It discussed healthy information habits, the challenges of information overload, the influence of digital platforms and organisational environments on information use, and the role of information systems and knowledge organisation in creating healthier, more supportive information environments.
SIG-EduLearn
Sig-EduLearn hosted the "SIG-EduLearn Expert Talk: Information Literacy and Generative AI Literacy: Relationships and Pedagogy for the Future" on August 20, 2026. This SIG-led event and guest lecture on “Information Literacy and Generative AI Literacy: Relationships and Pedagogy for the Future,” delivered by Sheila Webber, explored the evolving intersection between traditional information literacy and emerging generative AI competencies in contemporary education.
SIG-HFIS
SIG-HLTH
SIG-IEP
We are happy to announce the SIG-IEP election results! The Chair-Elect for 2026-2027 is Ece Gumusel. At the conclusion of the ASIS&T Annual Meeting in November, Oghenere Salubi will begin serving as Chair. Thank you to Mahbub E Shobhanee for serving as 2025-2026 Chair, and congratulations to Ece Gumusel on being elected Chair-Elect.
SIG-IEP published their Annual Newsletter Report 2026.
SIG-III
We are happy to announce the SIG-III election results! The Chair-Elect for 2026-2027 is Dimuthu Nayani Thumbehewa Gunawardhana. At the conclusion of the ASIS&T Annual Meeting in November, Satyam Kumar will begin serving as Chair. Thank you to Namali Suraweera for serving as 2025-2026 Chair, and congratulations to Dimuthu Nayani Thumbehewa Gunawardhana on being elected Chair-Elect.
SIG-III released their newest newsletter: "Developing Professional Capacity and Leadership in Information Services"
SIG-LIB
We are happy to announce the SIG-LIB election results! The Chair-Elect for 2026-2027 is Faiza Bashir. At the conclusion of the ASIS&T Annual Meeting in November, Dan Bostrom will begin serving as Chair. Thank you to Darin Freeburg for serving as 2025-2026 Chair, and congratulations to Faiza Bashir on being elected Chair-Elect.
SIG-LIB has continued to host “SIG-LIB Grand Challenges/First Fridays” on the first Friday of each month. These are low-key, member-oriented virtual gatherings, intended to reignite community and spark ideas around the challenges facing librarianship. Click here to find the recurring Zoom meeting link.
SIG-MET
On September 22, SIG-MET hosted the SIG-MET Distinguished Speaker Series featuring Professor Johann Mouton, Director of the DSTI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Scientometrics and STI Policy and Professor at CREST, Stellenbosch University. Professor Mouton presented "An overview of the scientometric work at CREST and the DSTI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Scientometrics and STI Policy," highlighting scientometric and bibliometric studies undertaken by CREST, including recent digital platforms on STI funding flows to Africa and scientific fields in South Africa.
On October 8, SIG-MET hosted the ASIS&T SIG-MET Distinguished Speaker Series for a talk by Prof. Giovanni Abramo, President of the International Society for Scientometrics and Informetrics (ISSI) and Full Professor at Universitas Mercatorum. Prof. Abramo compared peer review with bibliometric approaches, introduced Fractional Scientific Strength (FSS), a metric that measures research productivity as impact per unit of research input, and critically examined MNCS, PP(10%), the h-index, university rankings, and national peer-review exercises.
On October 21, SIG-MET hosted the Distinguished Speaker Series, featuring Ludo Waltman (CWTS, Leiden University). Ludo discussed the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information, a global initiative to promote openness of research information, and reflect on why it matters for advancing responsible indicator use. He also explored the role of open data sources such as OpenAlex, and how cloud infrastructures, demonstrated by the ORION-DBs initiative, open these sources to a broad community of users.
SIG-USE
We are happy to announce the SIG-USE election results! The Chair-Elect for 2026-2027 is Ayoola O. Ajayi. At the conclusion of the ASIS&T Annual Meeting in November, Niloofar Solhjoo will begin serving as Chair. Thank you to Maja Krtalic for serving as 2025-2026 Chair, and congratulations to Ayoola O. Ajayi on being elected Chair-Elect.
SIG-USE has selected the winners of the SIG-USE Awards for 2026. Congratulations to the following awardees:
- Best Conference Paper: Precarious Information Practices: Disabled and Chronically Ill Communities and the Use of AI-Enabled Chatbots to Navigate Epistemic Injustice in Healthcare Systems, Morgan Gray and Megan Threats
- Best Conference Poster: The Role of Perceived Hostility in the Information-Seeking Behaviour of Canadian Midwives, Richmond Yeboah and Joan Bartlett
- Elfreda A. Chatman Research Award: Small Worlds in the Archives? The Information Behavior of LGBTQ Community Memory Workers, Alex H. Poole
- Diversity Award: Information Creation Characteristics and Differentiation among Rural Residents in the Context of Livelihood Transitions: A Case of Rural Tourism-Driven Transition in China, Tingxiao Liu, Lijuan Yang, Zhenjia Fan, Xiaojun Xu
- Innovation Award: Making Sense of Symptoms across Information Tools: Recognition, Responses, and Decision Processes, Ziyi Wei, Bochun Li, Shaobo Liang
- Student Travel Award: Yujin Choi, School of Information, UT Austin; Zeyang Luo, Department of Information Management, Peking University
SIG-USE & SIG-CMR co-hosted "Information Hygiene, Information Use and Digital Wellbeing" on October 14. This event they the concept of information hygiene and what it means for our work, wellbeing, and digital lives. lt discussed healthy information habits, the challenges of information overload, the influence of digital platforms and organisational environments on information use, and the role of information systems and knowledge organisation in creating healthier, more supportive information environments.