Pam McKenzie receives 2025 ASIS&T Research in Information Science Award

June 3, 2025

Pamela McKenzie, Professor and Western Teaching Fellow at the Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS) at The University of Western Ontario, is the recipient of the 2025 Research in Information Science Award from the Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T). The award is for a systematic “program of research” in a single area at a level beyond the single study, but not at the level of a lifetime’s work.

Quotes

Professor McKenzie’s sustained programme of research into what she refers to as ‘the lived, contingent, messy, material, embodied, and relational’ world of practices has produced a rigorous body of theory, empirical findings, and testimony that documents the complexity of how humans engage with information. Her research has stimulated generations of scholars across the world to engage with the social constructs that shape how people engage with information.

– Alison Hicks, Associate Professor at University College London (Nominator)

Pam McKenzie is a scholar’s scholar and a teacher’s teacher. She has long been a leading light in studying what information is to us, how we find it, how we use it, how we integrate it in our everyday lives and our systems and institutions. Pam has guided so many graduate students and so many young colleagues at Western and beyond. The ASIS&T award is brilliant and well-earned.

– Lisa Henderson, Dean, Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS)

It’s such an honour to have my research colleagues nominate and support me for this award. I’ve had the amazing good fortune to work with a wonderful network of scholars, students, and ideas throughout my career. These interactions have inspired my most fruitful partnerships and research directions.

– Pam McKenzie, Professor and Western Teaching Fellow at The University of Western Ontario

ASIS&T Announcement: McKenzie to Receive 2025 Research in Information Science Award

The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) is delighted to announce that Pamela McKenzie is the recipient of the 2025 Research in Information Science Award. The award recognizes an individual or team who has made an outstanding contribution to information science research. The award is for a systematic “program of research” in a single area at a level beyond the single study, but not at the level of a lifetime’s work.

McKenzie is Professor and Western Teaching Fellow in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS) at The University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. From 2020-2022, she held the Western Faculty Scholar Award, which recognizes significant recent scholarly achievements. In 2025, she won the FIMS Award for Excellence in Teaching, which acknowledges a variety of contributions to teaching that support the intellectual development and well-being of students at all levels.

In nominating McKenzie, Alison Hicks, Associate Professor at University College London, wrote that Hicks’ nomination is “based on her outstanding and pioneering research into human information practices. Professor McKenzie’s sustained programme of research into what she refers to as ‘the lived, contingent, messy, material, embodied, and relational’ world of practices has produced a rigorous body of theory, empirical findings, and testimony that documents the complexity of how humans engage with information. Her research has stimulated generations of scholars across the world to engage with the social constructs that shape how people engage with information. … It is impossible to overestimate the impact of Professor McKenzie’s scholarship. Introducing a discursive focus to a field that had previously been characterised by systems and users, Professor McKenzie is also credited with moving the field beyond a focus on information seeking. … Information practices now form a viable and a vibrant field of study (Huvila & Gorichanaz, 2022) and the global reach of her work, including research published in Chinese and Portuguese, further highlights her unparalleled contributions. To this, McKenzie adds a track record of generous mentorship alongside long-standing and ongoing leadership in the field. Professor McKenzie is a pioneer of a rich area of information scholarship, and we cannot think of a more appropriate recipient of this distinguished award.”

Upon learning of her selection as winner of the Research in Information Science Award, McKenzie responded, “It was a surprise and delight to be nominated for this award. ASIS&T has brought me into contact with a wonderful worldwide group of scholars and ideas over the years and has sparked many of my most fruitful partnerships and research directions. It is an absolute honour to receive this award.”

McKenzie will receive the award during the 2025 meeting of ASIS&T which will be held 14-18 November 2025 in Crystal City, VA.

(Via Association for Information Science & Technology)

Western University News: Professor Pam McKenzie wins 2025 ASIS&T Research in Information Science Award

Congratulations to FIMS Professor Pam McKenzie, recently announced as the recipient of the 2025 Research in Information Science Award by the Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T). The award recognizes a researcher for a “systematic ‘program of research’ in a single area at a level beyond the single study, but not at the level of a lifetime’s work.” The Association of Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) is the largest research organization in the library and information science field, with thousands of members from 50 countries.

“It’s such an honour to have my research colleagues nominate and support me for this award. I’ve had the amazing good fortune to work with a wonderful network of scholars, students, and ideas throughout my career. These interactions have inspired my most fruitful partnerships and research directions,” said Professor McKenzie.

Professor McKenzie has published prolifically, collaborating internationally with other scholars and practitioners to produce articles focused on the foundations of human information practices, exploring how information seeking, sharing, creation, management and use are situated within communities and everyday life contexts. She is also currently studying the value and purpose of the public library historically and where it might best fit in a modern society undergoing transformation. Most recently, McKenzie has been examining equity-focused professional learning for teacher educators.

“Pam McKenzie is a scholar’s scholar and a teacher’s teacher,” said FIMS Dean Lisa Henderson. “She has long been a leading light in studying what information is to us, how we find it, how we use it, how we integrate it in our everyday lives and our systems and institutions. Pam has guided so many graduate students and so many young colleagues at Western and beyond. The ASIS&T award is brilliant and well-earned.”

Professor McKenzie joined the Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS) in 1998 to teach for the Library and Information Science program and has since served in a number of teaching, research, and academic leadership roles within the Faculty and at Western. She held a Western Faculty Scholar Award from 2020-2022, and has been a Western Teaching Fellow since 2024, developing guidance and best practices for teaching blended and online courses. McKenzie also served as Assistant Dean, Research, Associate Dean, and Associate Dean Graduate and Postdoctoral between 2009 and 2023.

Professor McKenzie was nominated for the Research in Information Science Award by colleague Alison Hicks, Associate Professor at University College London.

(Via Western University, Faculty of Information and Media Studies)