SIG-USE Awards

Awards Overview and Past Winners

Available awards, application criteria and reviewer evaluation criteria:

Outstanding Contributions to Information Behavior Award (deadline: Sunday, July 27, 2025)
Early Career Best Paper Award (deadline: Sunday, July 27, 2025)
Best Information Behavior Conference Paper Award (deadline: Sunday, July 27, 2025)
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster Award (deadline: Sunday, July 27, 2025)
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Award (deadline: Sunday, July 27, 2025)
Innovation Award (no separate submission required)
Information Behavior Diversity Award (deadline: Sunday, July 27, 2025)
Student Conference Travel Award (deadline: August 10, 2025)

SIG-USE Academy of Fellows Inductees

2023, Chirag Shah
2022, Jenna Hartel
2021, Lisa Given
2020, Heidi Julien
2019, Soo Young Rieh
2018, Denise Agosto
2017, Dania Bilal
2016, Karen Fisher
2015, Sanda Erdelez
2014, Gary Marchionini
2013, Nick Belkin
2012, Pertti Vakkari
2011, Donald Case
2010, Barbara Wildemuth
2009, Elfreda Chatman, Raya Fidel, Karen Fisher, Catherine Ross, Tom WiIson, and Robert Taylor
2008, Reijo Savolainen
2007, Brenda Dervin
2006, Carol Kuhlthau
2005, Marcia Bates

Visit the SIG-USE Academy of Fellows page for more information.

Past Award Winners

2024

Best Information Behavior Conference Paper Award:
- We were Beaten Down”: Parents’ Concerns about Children’s Digital Media Use. Denise Agosto, School of Communication and Information, Rutgers University; June Abbas, School of Library & Information Studies, University of Oklahoma; Yuanyuan Feng, Department of Computer Science, University of Vermont; Gabrielle Salib, College of Computing & Informatics, Drexel University; Evelyn Cox, School of Library & Information Studies, University of Oklahoma; Moses Munyao, School of Library & Information Studies, University of Oklahoma
- Exploring Young Adults’ Mental Health Help-Seeking Journey: Preliminary Findings on Resource Navigating Behavior.
  
  Jiaying Liu and Yan Zhang, School of Information, University of Texas at Austin

Best Information Behavior Conference Poster Award: Welcome to #SpoonieTok: Understanding and supporting disability expertise, storytelling abilities, and collective information practices on TikTok and beyond. Morgan Lundy, School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Award: Enhancing AI Literacy Through Maker-Based Learning with Generative AI. Yong Ju Jung and Jiqun Liu, School of Library & Information Studies, University of Oklahoma
Innovation Award: Prompting Responses through Linguistic Cues: A Comparison of User and Chatbot Support for Consumers’ Questions. Qian Wu, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Student Travel Award Recipients:
- Antariksa Akhmadi, University of Maryland College Park
- Komala Cherukuri, University of North Texas
- Bo Geum Choi, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Yvonne Appiah Dadson, University at Albany- SUNY
- Hyun Seung Lee, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- Jinhao Li, Nanjing University
- Jiaying Liu, University of Texas at Austin
- Yifan Liu, University of British Columbia
- Lydia Ogbadu-Oladapo, University of North Texas
- Hayley Park, University of Maryland College Park
- Ziming Tan, Anhui University
- Fan Wang, Wuhan University
- Rina Wahyuni, University College London
- Yuxiang Ye, Peking University
- Tongrui Zhang, Sun Yat-sen University

2023

Best Information Behavior Conference Paper Award: Characterizing and Early Predicting User Performance for Adaptive Search Path Recommendation by Ben Wang and Jiqun Liu, The University of Oklahoma, USA
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster Award: Triangulation of Information About Cannabis Consumption During Pregnancy and Lactation Amidst a Shifting Policy Environment by Devon Greyson, University of British Columbia, Canada
Early Career Best Paper Award: The Convivial Capabilities Checklist: Translating Makerspace Research into Practice by Shannon Crawford Barniskis, University of Kentucky, USA
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Award: Understanding Information Practices in the Context of Rising Food Insecurity by Sarah Polkinghorne, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia
Diversity Award: 'Get our feet wet and hands dirty”: Black Community- Based Librarianship and the Fight Against Information Poverty, 1940-1975 by Alex Poole, Drexel University, USA
Outstanding Contribution to Information Behavior Research Award: Chirag Shah, University of Washington, USA

2022

Best Information Behavior Conference Paper Award - From Communities of Practice to Smart and Connected Communities: Information Sharing Practices Among Social Service Providers, by Stephen C. Slota, Ishan Nigam, Kenneth R. Fleischmann, Sherri R. Greenberg, David Cruz, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster Award - Children’s Interest, Search, and Knowledge: A Pilot Analysis of a STEM Maker Workshop, by Yong Ju Jung and Jiqun Liu, The University of Oklahoma, OK, USA
Best Information Behavior Conference Early Career Paper Award - Researching the knowledge journey practices of Indigenous Elders relevant to the younger generation: A community-based participatory study, by Jelina Haines, University of South Australia, South Australia
Outstanding Contribution to Information Behavior Research Award - Jenna Hartel, University of Toronto

2021

Best Information Behavior Conference Paper Award - Predicting Surrogates' Health Information Seeking Behavior via Information Source and Information Evaluation, by Yung-Sheng Chang, Yan Zhang, and Jacek Gwizdka, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA
Outstanding Contributions to Information Behavior Research Award - Lisa Given, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia

2020

Best Information Behavior Conference Paper Award: Naresh Agarwal and Wenqing Lu, Response to non-response: How people react when their smartphone messages and calls are ignored
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster Award: Lo Lee, Melissa G. Ocepek, and Stephann Makri, Good, Bad, and Practical: Exploring Human Memory in Everyday Information Behavior
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Proposal Award: Tien-I Tsai, How Do Autistic College Students Work with Others in Academic Contexts: A Pilot Study on Collaborative Information Practices
Early Career Best Paper Award: Kaitlin Costello and Diana Floegel, "Predictive ads are not doctors": Mental health tracking and technology companies
Outstanding Contributions to Information Behavior Award: Heidi Julien

2019

Best Information Behavior Conference Paper Award: Nicole Dalmer and Pam McKenzie, Noticing the Unnoticed: Lines of Work in Everyday Life Information Practices
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster Award: Jelina Haines, Jia Tina Du, Gus Guersen, and Ellen Treverrow, Understanding the Information Landscape of Indigenous Elders’ Knowledge and Cultural Practices
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Proposal Award: Leslie Thomson, Amy Vanscoy, and Jenna Hartel, Information and the Lens of Leisure: Needs, Practices, and Resources Over the Serious Leisure Career
Student Travel Awards:
- Aaron Bowen-Ziecheck
- Jiqun Liu
Outstanding Contributions to Information Behavior Award: Soo Young Rieh

2018

Best Information Behavior Conference Paper Award: Caroline Mniszak, Heather O’Brien, Cathy Chabot, and Jean Shoveller, Role of information resources in young parents parenting experiences
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster Award: Jia Tina Du and Jelina Haines, Working with Indigenous communities: Reflections on ethical information research with Ngarrindjeri People in South Australia
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Proposal Award: Devon Greyson, Sympathy Sockpuppets: A Pilot Study on Non-Nefarious Online Community Infiltration
Student Travel Awards: Iman Tahamtan
Outstanding Contributions to Information Behavior Award: Denise Agosto

2017

Best Information Behavior Conference Paper Award: Eric Forcier, Re(a)d Wedding: A Case Study Exploring Everyday Information Behaviors of the Transmedia Fan
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster Award: Devon Greyson, Information Needs, Seeking, and Assessment of Parents of Gender Creative Children and Transgender Youth
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Proposal Award: Melissa G. Ocepek
Student Travel Awards: Eun Jung Baik, Yu Chi
Interdisciplinary Travel Award: Hengyi Fu
Innovation Award: Beth St. Jean, Gagan Jindal, and Yuting Liao, Is Ignorance Really Bliss?: Exploring the Interrelationships among Information Avoidance, Health Literacy, and Health Justice
Outstanding Contributions to Information Behavior Award: Dania Bilal

2016

Best Information Behavior Conference Paper Award: Devon Greyson, Evolution of Information Practices over Time
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster Award: Saguna Shankar, Heather O’Brien, Elissa How, Wendy Lu, Millicent Mabi, and Cecelia Rose, The Role of Information in the Settlement Experiences of Refugee Students
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Proposal Award: Heather O’Brien, Saguna Shankar, Elissa How, and Peter Wanyenya, The Information Worlds of Student Refugees in Canada
Student Travel Awards: Yiwei Wang, Manasa Rath, Saguna Shankar
Interdisciplinary Travel Award: Devon Greyson
Innovation Award: Tim Gorichanaz, A Gardener’s Experience of Document Work at a Historic Landscape Site
Outstanding Contributions to Information Behavior Award: Karen Fisher

2015

Best Information Behavior Conference Paper Award: Grace Young Joo Jeon & Soo Young Rieh, Social Search Behavior in a Social Q&A Service: Goals, Strategies, and Outcomes
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster Award: Devin Greyson, Health Information Triangulation: A Complex and Agentic Practice Among Young Parents
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Proposal Award: Debbie Rabina & Emily Drabinsky, A Blueprint for Information Intervention for Incarcerated People
Student Travel Awards: Leslie Thomson, Sarah Chizari, Danielle Pollock
Interdisciplinary Travel Award: Dr. Jenna Hartel
Innovation Award: No award for 2015
Outstanding Contributions to Information Behavior Award: Dr. Sanda Erdelez

2014

Best Information Behavior Conference Paper Award:Wang-ching Whu and Dr. Diane Kelly, Online search stopping behaviours: An investigation of query abandonment and task stopping
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster Award:Leslie Thomson, When PIM Goes Public: A Case Study of OrganizedLikeJen
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Proposal Award: Diane Sonnenwald, Towards a Theory of Human-Rare Book Information Behaviour
Student Travel Award:Rebekah Wilson
Interdisciplinary Travel Award: Dr. Eric Meyers
Innovation Award: No award given
Outstanding Contributions to Information Behavior Award: Gary Marchionini
Certificate of Merit Posters: Drs. Kyungwon Koh, Ellen Rubenstein, and Kelvin White, Implications and Potential Impacts of Information Behavior Research

2013

Best Information Behavior Conference Paper Award: Youngseek Kim and Jeffrey M. Stanton, Institutional and Individual Influences on Scientists’ Data Sharing Behaviors: A Multilevel Analysis
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster Award: Vanessa Kitzie, Erik Choi, and Chirag Shah, From Bad to Good: An Investigation of Question Quality and Transformation
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Proposal Award: Waseem Afzal, Information Needs: A Conceptualization, Operationalization and Empirical Validation
Student Travel Award: Devon Greyson
Interdisciplinary Travel Award: None
Innovation Award: Jenna Hartel, Karen Pollock, and Rebecca Noon, The Concept Formerly Known as Information
Outstanding Contributions to Information Behavior Award: Nick Belkin

2012

Best Information Behavior Conference Paper Award: June Ahn, Mega Subramaniam, Kenneth R. Fleischmann, Amanda Waugh, Greg Walsh, & Allison Druin, Youth Identities as Remixers in an Online Community of Storytellers: Attitudes, Strategies, and Values
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster Award: Ji Yeon Yang & Soo Young Rieh, Dual Roles in Information Mediation at Work: Analysis of Advice-receiving and Advice-providing Diary Surveys
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Proposal Award: Joung Hwa Koo, Yong Wan Cho & Melissa Gross, “Is Ignorance Really Bliss?”: Understanding the Role of Information-Seeking in Coping with Severe Traumatic Stress Among Refugees
Student Travel Award: Laura Christopherson
Interdisciplinary Travel Award: Roberto Gonzalez-Ibanez
Innovation Award: None
Outstanding Contributions to Information Behavior Award: Pertti Vakkari

2011

Best Information Behavior Conference Paper: Maria Souden (University College Dublin, Ireland) and Joan C. Durrance (University of Michigan), Information Use in Chronic Illness Care: The Role of the Electronic Health Record in Bridging Patient Experience and Healthcare Contexts
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster: Chang Liu (Rutgers University), Using Dwell Time as an Implicit Measure of Usefulness in Different Task Types
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Proposal Award: Julie Hersberger (University of North Carolina at Greensboro), A Resilience and Information Behavior Model: Understanding Information Roles and Use Outcomes in Homeless Populations.
PhD Student Travel Award: Xi Niu (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Interdisciplinary Travel Awards: Jenna Hartel (University of Toronto)
Outstanding Contributions to Information Behavior Award: Donald Case (University of Kentucky)

2010

Best Information Behavior Conference Paper: Denise Agosto (Drexel University) and June Abbas (Oklahoma University)
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster: Shelagh Genuis (University of Alberta)
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Proposal Award: Heather Piwowar (NESCent-Durham, NC)
PhD Student Travel Award: Kyungwon Koh (Florida State University)
Masters Student Travel Award: Steven Fazzio (University of Texas-Austin)
Interdisciplinary Travel Awards: Roberto Gonzalez Ibanez (Rutgers University)
Outstanding Contributions to Information Behavior Award: Barbara Wildemuth (University of North Carolina)
Barbara was also inducted in the Fellow of the SIG USE Academy of Fellows

2009

Best Information Behavior Conference Paper: Tiffany Veinot (University of Michigan), A lot of people didn’t have a chance to support us because we never told them…’: Stigma management, information poverty and HIV/AIDS information/help networks
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster: Joy Joung Hwa Koo & Melissa Gross (Florida State University), Adolescents’ Information Behavior when Isolated from Peer Groups: Lessons from New Immigrant Adolescents’ Everyday Life Information Seeking
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster – Runner Up: Ellen Rubenstein (University of Illinois), Dimensions of Information Exchange in an Online Breast Cancer Support Group
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Proposal Award: Rachael Clemens & Amber Cushing (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Deeply Meaningful Contexts: Probing the Boundaries of Everyday Life Information Seeking
Ph.D. Travel Award: Diane Mizrachi (UCLA)
Masters Travel Award: Margaret Lam (University of Toronto)
Interdisciplinary Travel Award Winner: Chirag Shah (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Outstanding Contributions to Information Behavior: Elfreda Chatman, Raya Fidel, Karen Fisher, Catherine Ross, Tom Wilson, and Robert Taylor

2008

Best Information Behavior Conference Paper: Patricia Souto, Brenda Dervin, Reijo Savolainen (University of Tampere, FINLAND; Ohio State University), Designing for knowledge worker informing: an exemplar application of sense-making methodology
Best Information Behavior Conference Paper – Runner Up: Erin M. Peach (University of Denver), The Information Seeking Behaviors of Individuals with Celiac Disease
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster: Maria Souden (University of Michigan), Information Work in the Chronic Illness Experience
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster – Runner Up: Bin Li (Wayne State University), Inside Look at Travelers’ Information Suitcase
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Proposal Award: Yaling Lu (State University of New Jersey, Rutgers), Children’s information behaviors in coping with daily life
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Proposal Award – Runner Up: Yuelin Li (The University of Southern Mississippi), Modeling Work Tasks and Information Seeking Behavior of Natural Disaster Victims
Ph.D. Travel Awards:
Jing Chong (Pennsylvania State University)
Heather Piwowar (University of Pittsburgh)
Interdisciplinary Travel Award Winners: Maria Souden (University of Michigan)
To attend: American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) annual conference, Making Information Behavior Relevant to Consumer Health Informatics
Outstanding Contributions to Information Behavior: Reijo Savolainen (University of Tampere, Finland)

2007

Best Information Behavior Conference Paper: Soo Young Rieh (University of Michigan), Toward an Integrated Framework of Information and Communication Behavior: College Students’ Information Resources and Media Selection
Best Information Behavior Conference Paper – Runner Up: Peiling Wang, Dimitris Dervos, Yan Zhang & Lei Wu (University of Tennessee Knoxville), Information-seeking behaviors of academic researchers in the Internet Age: A user study in the United States, China and Greece
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster: Yi Shen (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Digital Information And Communication Networks And Scientific Research Substance – An Investigation Of Meteorology
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster – Runner Up: Brenda Dervin, CarrieLynn D. Reinhard (Ohio State University), Predicting Library, Internet And Other Source Use: A Comparison Of The Predictive Power Of Two User-Defined Categorizations Of Information Seeking Situations — Nature Of Situation Versus Situation “Emotions” Assessments
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Proposal Award: Lorri Mon (Florida State University), Information Service Providers in Intermediated Information-Seeking in Virtual Worlds [View Abstract]
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Proposal Award – Runner Up: Julie Hersberger (University of North Carolina at Greensboro), The Information User Environment of Refugees in the United States
Ph.D. Travel Awards:
Eric M. Meyers (University of Washington)
Nan Zhou (Drexel University)
Outstanding Contributions to Information Behavior: Brenda Dervin

2006

Best Information Behavior Conference Paper: Bharat Mehra and Kendra S. Albright, Health Information Services Available for People Living With HIV/AIDS: Perspectives of Library and Information Professionals
Meritorious Information Behavior Conference Papers: Joan C. Durrance, Dana Walker, Maria Souden, Karen E. Fisher, The Role of Community-Based, Problem-Centered Information Intermediaries in Local Problem Solving
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster: Carol F. Landry, MLIS, Karen E. Fisher (University of Washington), The Missing Piece: Affect and the Information Behavior of Stay-at-home Mothers
Meritorious Information Behavior Conference Posters: Theresa Dirndorfer Anderson (University of Technology- Sydney), Analyzing Uncertainty Tolerance in Information Discovery and Use; Lynn Westbrook (University of Texas-Austin) Formal Information Support Systems for Domestic Violence Victims
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Proposal Award: Laurie Bonnici (Drexel University), Information Acquisition and Life Satisfaction in Cancer Survivors
Student Travel Awards: Ellen Rubenstein (University of Illinois) and Jennifer Berryman (University of Technology- Sydney)
Interdisciplinary Travel Award Winners:
Wu He (Center for Learning Technologies)
To attend: AECT (Association for Educational Communication & Technology) – Anaheim, CA Oct 23rd-27th, 2007
Crystal Fulton (University College Dublin)
To attend: Sunbelt XXVII, INSNA (International Network of Social Network Analysts), Corfu, Greece May 1-6, 2007
Outstanding Contribution to Information Behavior Research Award: Carol C. Kuhlthau

2005

Best Information Behavior Conference Paper: Michael Summers (Nielsen Norman Group) & Kathryn Summers (University of Baltimore), Reading and Navigational strategies of web users with lower literacy skills
Meritorious Information Behavior Conference Papers: Diane Nahl (University of Hawaii at Manoa) Affective and cognitive information behavior: Interaction effects in Internet use; Katy Newton Lawley, Dagobert Soergel, and Xiaoli Huang, University of Maryland, Relevance criteria used by teachers in selecting oral history materials
Best Information Behavior Conference Poster: Theresa D. Anderson (University of Technology, Sydney) Relevance assessment as an everyday experience
Meritorious Information Behavior Conference Posters: Kyung-Sun Kim (University of Wisconsin-Madison) Experienced web users’ search behavior: Effects of focus and emotion as control factors; Carol F. Landry (University of Washington) Work roles, tasks and the information behavior of dentists
Elfreda A. Chatman Research Proposal Award: Crystal Fulton (University College Dublin) Leisurely Pursuits: Community and Social Inclusion through Irish Lacemaking
Student Travel Awards: Abe Crystal (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) and Tawnya Means (University of Missouri-Columbia)
Outstanding Contributions to Information Behavior: Marcia Bates