The ASEE ELD 2020 Best Publication Award was awarded to four University of Illinois Grainger Engineering Library Information Center colleagues, as well as two former employees. William Mischo, Mary Schlembach, Christine Wiley, Elisandro Cabada, Ali Krogman, and Carly Hafner are all co-authors of the winning 2019 Ithaka S+R article, “Supporting the Changing Research Practices of Civil and Environmental Engineering Scholars.”

ASEE is the American Society for Engineering Education. The Engineering Libraries Division (ELD) in ASEE is the premier professional society in engineering librarianship. The Best Publication Award was established in 1998 and its purpose is to honor the best new paper or non-reference monographic work in engineering information.

The winning article is based on a study that focuses on the research needs of civil and environmental engineering faculty. Data was collected from eleven academic libraries in the United States and Canada using a semi-structured interview style. Key themes were then identified for each participating institution where the Ithaka S+R publication provided an overall analysis of the findings. The report describes the “distinctive ways in which civil and environmental engineering scholars conduct their research and draws out broad implications for academic libraries, universities, publishers, research technology developers, and others.”

ELD Awards Committee members describe the study as “groundbreaking” and one that shared “tremendous insights.” One committee member specifically noted that this study would serve as a baseline for years to come. While the study focused on civil and environmental engineering specifically, it used a clear and thoughtful methodology that can be used in any area of engineering. 

Co-authors Mischo, Schlembach, Wiley, and Cabada are “proud to be part of this study which identified the scholarly communication behaviors and needs of researchers in civil and environmental engineers (CEE). The CEE department at Illinois is ranked as the top department in the country and the research performed there influences many aspects of transportation, construction, energy, and the environment.”