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Ella Milliken Detro Wins Pratt Severn Award

The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) is delighted to announce Ella Milliken Detro has been selected as the 2018 recipient of the Pratt Severn Best Student Research Paper Award. The purpose of the award is to encourage student research and writing in the field of information science.

Ella was selected from among a pool of outstanding candidates who were judged based on criteria including: technical competence in information science; significance of information science findings; originality; clarity of expression; compliance with JASIST instructions; style; and organization.

In selecting Ella, the Jury said, “Ella’s paper, entitled A Librarian’s Guide to Algorithmic Bias, was judged to provide a well-written and detailed overview of algorithmic bias and its impact on patrons’ access to and opportunities to engage with information. Designed to engage librarians with this emerging topic, Ella’s paper draws upon a broad selection of studies that explore the impact of bias on both academic and public information systems before offering a series of recommendations for the design of educational interventions to address some of these issues. In selecting Ella’s paper, the jury was particularly impressed with the timeliness and relevance of her focus. The jury also cited the depth of analysis within Ella’s paper as well as the impressive range of sources that she synthesises within her work. Written during Ella’s first term at Pratt for her Information Profession class, which is taught by Professor Irene Lopatovska, the paper is further recognised for its strong focus on social justice and the role of both librarianship and information literacy in combatting systems of institutionalised oppression.”

Upon learning of her selection as the Pratt Severn Award winner, Ella said, “I’m honored to be the 2018 recipient of the award! I appreciate the care with which the jury considered my paper, and am looking forward to learning more about this topic as I move forward in my academic and professional career.”

Ella will accept the award at the 2018 meeting of the Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) which will be held in Vancouver, Canada, November 10-14, 2018.