Paul Evan Peters Fellowship Recipient
2008-10:
ELISABETH JONES
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
Elisabeth Jones is the 2008 recipient of the Paul Evan Peters Fellowship for graduate study in the information sciences or librarianship. Jones is currently a PhD student in information science at the University of Washington. The fellowship, which was established to honor the memory of CNI founding Executive Director, Paul Evan Peters, recognizes outstanding scholarship and intellectual rigor, and also civic responsibility, democratic values, and imagination.
With a research agenda that focuses on large-scale information-digitization initiatives, such as Google Book Search, Jones is interested in the complex web of social and political issues that affect, and are affected by, these ambitious undertakings. While a student at the University of Michigan (UM) School of Information, Jones served as a research intern for the UM-Google Library Partnership, according her first-hand experience with the project.
Jones approaches her current pursuits with the benefit of a diverse background, including anthropology, the visual arts, and librarianship. Her experiences in both political activism and community service help to inform her curiosity and concern regarding the transformations digitization initiatives can elicit. She expresses a “desire to support artistic and intellectual flourishing, and through it fundamental democratic values, through research and teaching.”
Described by University of Washington professor Joseph Janes as having a “wry sense of humor,” Jones has proven herself to be a leader among her peers, and someone who motivates others to think probingly about challenging issues. In a statement about this year’s fellowship winner, selection committee member Barbara Dewey of the University of Tennessee said, “Elisabeth Jones is an exceptional 21st-century new scholar in the spirit of Paul Evan Peters’s creativity and leadership.”
“We had a fabulous candidate pool for the fellowship this year; Paul Peters would have been proud of the quality, insight, and diversity of the new generation of information professionals,” stated CNI Executive Director Clifford Lynch. “Elisabeth Jones is a wonderful choice; her work and her achievements beautifully match what we look for in honoring Paul’s memory through this award,” added Lynch.
A four-member committee selected Jones for the award. The committee included Kathleen Christoph, Director of Academic Technology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison; Barbara Dewey, Dean of Libraries at the University of Tennessee; R. Bruce Miller, University Librarian at the University of California, Merced; and Joan Lippincott, Associate Executive Director of the Coalition for Networked Information.
About the Fellowship
The Paul Evan Peters Fellowship was established to honor and perpetuate the memory of the founding executive director of the Coalition for Networked Information. Funded by donations from colleagues, friends, and family, the fellowship provides a two-year award of $5000 per year to a student who demonstrates intellectual and personal qualities consistent with those of Peters, including:
— A commitment to the use of networked information and advanced technology to enhance scholarship, intellectual productivity and public life;
— An interest in the civic responsibilities of networked information professionals, and a commitment to democratic values and government accountability;
— A positive and creative approach to overcoming personal, technological, and bureaucratic challenges; and
— Humor, vision, humanity, and imagination.
Application information is available on online.
For more information, please contact:
Diane Goldenberg-Hart
Communications Coordinator
Coalition for Networked Information
21 Dupont Circle
Washington, DC 20036
diane@cni.org
202-296-5098