ProQuest Awards Samuel Dodson 2015 Summit Scholarship
ANN ARBOR, MI, June 15, 2015 – ProQuest names Samuel Dodson, an MLIS student at the University of British Columbia, the recipient of the 2015 Roger K. Summit Scholarship. For more than 20 years this prestigious scholarship of US$5,000, named in honor of Dialog founder Roger K. Summit, a pioneer in developing online information retrieval services, has been given to a promising graduate student in library and information sciences. Mr. Dodson was presented the award June 14 at the Special Libraries Association's annual conference in Boston.
“Our selection committee reviewed a remarkable field of applicants this year,” said Lynda James-Gilboe, ProQuest vice president, customer experience. “Samuel is one of the strongest candidates we have seen over the years. He has a computer science background and is currently pursuing a dual Master of Archival Studies and Master of Library and Information Studies. His innovative thinking and work in helping libraries make a smooth, successful digital migration make him an ideal recipient of the scholarship.”
After earning his bachelor's degree in computer science and psychology (received at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon), Mr. Dodson volunteered full-time at Longview Public Library. His participation in two important programs -- creating a digital literacy program for students, and the preservation of cultural and historical photographs for the library archive -- inspired him to pursue librarianship as a profession. “While my research as an undergrad was stimulating, I realized that it is gratifying to develop tools that help others discover information,” said Mr. Dodson. “I’m especially interested in utilizing technology to create greater digital access to content. For me, the transition to digital libraries makes it a compelling time to become an information professional.”
Read the full interview with Samuel Dodson here http://bit.ly/RKS_Recipient.
Mr. Dodson is focusing his graduate work on studying and identifying the problems caused by legacy technologies and preventing the degradation of digital records by creating digital archives. His post-graduation intent is to apply his research to navigating the difficult transition from paper to digital libraries and helping to connect people with information through technology.
The Roger K. Summit Scholarship is awarded annually to a graduate student enrolled in an accredited library or information sciences program. Scholarship winners must demonstrate understanding of digital information services, academic achievement, and interest in the field of electronic information services. Global in scope, the scholarship was established in 1993 and continues as part of ProQuest’s commitment to support graduate education and engage the next generation of information professionals.
About ProQuest (www.proquest.com)
ProQuest connects people with vetted, reliable information. Key to serious research, the company’s products are a gateway to the world’s knowledge including dissertations, governmental and cultural archives, news, historical collections and ebooks. ProQuest technologies serve users across the critical points in research, helping them discover, access, share, create and manage information.
The company’s cloud-based technologies offer flexible solutions for librarians, students and researchers through the ProQuest®, Bowker®, Dialog®, ebrary®, EBL® and Serials Solutions® businesses – and notable research tools such as the Summon® discovery service, the RefWorks® Flow™ collaboration platform, the Pivot™ research development tool and the Intota™ library services platform. The company is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with offices around the world.