News & Noteworthy

2013 Kilgour Award Winner

LITA has announced Barbara Tillett as the 2013 winner of the  Frederick G. Kilgour Award for Research in Library and Information Technology. The award, which is jointly sponsored by OCLC, is given for research relevant to the development of information technologies, especially work that 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 is manipulated and managed. The awardee receives $2,000, a citation and travel expenses to attend the award ceremony at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois, where the award will be presented on June 30, 2013.

Dr. Barbara Tillett is recognized for her outstanding leadership in library metadata standards, technology integration and international standards in cultural heritage and information institutions. As the chief of the Cataloging Policy and Support Office in the Library of Congress, Dr. Tillett led the work of metadata standards exploration and research for 18 years.

Dr. Tillett is the current chair of the Joint Steering Committee for the Development of Resource Description and Access and is a leader internationally in the world of metadata. She obtained her PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles and her dissertation research, titled “ Bibliographic Relationships: Toward a Conceptual Structure of Bibliographic Information Used in Cataloging,” helped transform the library community’s view of bibliographic metadata and emerging models of records and relationships. This work is still resonating in the field with her leadership in RDA design and adoption.

Dr. Tillett’s long and distinguished career has included work with the Library of Congress, University of California, San Diego, The University of Hawaii and the University of California, Los Angeles.  She has been both a leading practitioner and researcher in library and cultural heritage metadata and has helped influence the profession through service with numerous IFLA and JISC organizations, including RDA and the FRBR working group.  In 1999, Dr. Tillett received the Library of Congress Distinguished service award, as well as the Library’s Meritorious Service Award in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000.

Notified of the award, Dr. Tillett said:  “I’m especially thrilled about this award, as I have worked with LITA and OCLC since the 1970’s and have a great appreciation of the significance of this recognition by my professional colleagues. Thank you so very much.”

Members of the 2013 Frederick G.  Kilgour Award committee are: Brett Bonfield, chair; Nancy Roderer,  past chair; Rene J. Erlandson; Erik Mitchell; David King, LITA board liaison; and Roy Tennant, OCLC liaison.  The award will be presented during Sunday Afternoon with  LITA on Sunday June 30, 2013, at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.