Together with colleagues from eleven academic libraries and Ithaka S+R, Jessica Benner, Julie Chen, Matthew Marsteller, and Sarah Young from the University Libraries received the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Engineering Libraries Division (ELD) 2020 Best Paper Award for their co-authored 2019 Article, 'Supporting the Changing Research Practices of Civil and Environmental Engineering Scholars.'
The award committee unanimously agreed that this article represents a significant contribution to the field of engineering information. The study was described by committee members as 'groundbreaking' and a study that shared 'tremendous insights.' One committee member specifically noted that this study will 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. Another committee member commented that 'Ithaka S+R studies, in general, are always a welcome addition to the professional reading list.'
ASEE ELD Best Paper Award was established in 1998, to honor the best new paper or non-reference monographic work in engineering information each year.
The award-winning research this year focused on understanding the research practice and service needs from Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) researchers. As collaborative research, each of the institutions collected data individually and performed analyses based on their data. Lead by Julie Chen, the CMU research team recruited representative researchers in the CEE department and conducted a 60-minute interview with each participant. After the interview data were collected, the team analyzed the data with a grounded theory guided approach consisting of the initial and focused coding steps.
The CMU team found from their study that library services should focus on the following concepts to support CEE researchers: facilitate collaborations; strengthen data practices; provide sufficient published information; and support scholarly outputs. These recommendations can be a good guideline for academic libraries to provide services to their patrons.
After this successful research, the team evolved into a Library Research Support Committee chaired by Julie Chen. The purpose of the committee is to help library colleagues conduct research in information and library science or other fields. The committee has organized the University Libraries Research Internal Conference and Library Research Brainstorm Sessions to support the professional development of their library colleagues.