Dr. Trevor Owens Wins 2021 Core/OCLC Kilgour Research Award

NISO Member News

Dr. Trevor Owens has been selected as the recipient of the 2021 Frederick G. Kilgour Award for Research in Library and Information Technology, sponsored by OCLC and Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures. He is the Head of Digital Content Management at The Library of Congress.

The Kilgour Award honors research relevant to the development of information technologies, especially work which shows promise of having a positive and substantive impact on any aspect(s) of the publication, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information, or the processes by which information and data are manipulated and managed. It recognizes a body of work probably spanning years, if not the majority of a career. The winner receives $2,000, and a citation.

Owens is being recognized for his work on the Zotero project, a National Endowment for the Humanities-funded study on the potential for text mining and data visualization tools for historical scholarship, the Viewshare collection visualization platform, and how he is reimagining the Library of Congress as a platform for the acquisition, preservation, and dissemination of digital materials of all types. He has also written several essential titles, including Designing Online Communities: How Designers, Developers, Community Managers, and Software Structure Discourse and Knowledge Production on the Web and The Theory and Craft of Digital Preservation: An Introduction, as well as dozens of journal articles, book chapters, conference proceedings, keynote presentations, and invited lectures. Through his pioneering work and leadership, he has helped change the understanding of information technology and its transformative application to libraries, especially around digital materials and strategies for access to, preservation of, and tools for maximizing use of them.

Dr. Steven D. Yates, chair of the Kilgour Award jury, praised Owens' body of work, saying, "The committee was impressed by the nomination and letters of support that highlight Owens’ commitment to research and innovation in library and information technology. Trevor’s contributions to the literature of digital preservation and digital cultural heritage continue to inspire scholar practitioners in our field and the committee honors his work while looking forward to his continued impact in our field."

When notified he had been selected, Owens said, "I'm honored and humbled to receive this award. Kilgour's impact and legacy on the field is massive and the list of previous winners is full of both former mentors and role models for the work I have aspired to do in the field. I am filled with gratitude and thanks to the committee and to my mentors, colleagues and students who I have collaborated and learned with. The contributions I have made to research in the field that this award recognizes have only been possible through those collaborations and the generosity of the broader digital library and digital preservation community of practice."

Members of the 2021 Kilgour Award Committee are: Dr. Steven D. Yates (chair), Joye Cauthen, Patricia M. Dragon, Faye Mazzia, Janelle Zetty, and Andrew Pace (ex officio, OCLC representative).

About These Organizations

About Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures

Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures is the national association that advances the profession of librarians and information providers in central roles of leadership and management, collections and technical services, and technology. Our mission is to cultivate and amplify the collective expertise of library workers in core functions through community building, advocacy, and learning. Core is a division of the American Library Association. Follow us on our Blog, Twitter or Instagram.

About OCLC

OCLC is a nonprofit global library cooperative providing shared technology services, original research and community programs so that libraries can better fuel learning, research and innovation. Through OCLC, member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the most comprehensive global network of data about library collections and services. Libraries gain efficiencies through OCLC's WorldShare, a complete set of library management applications and services built on an open, cloud-based platform. It is through collaboration and sharing of the world's collected knowledge that libraries can help people find answers they need to solve problems. Together as OCLC, member libraries, staff and partners make breakthroughs possible.