Archives, Libraries and Digital Scholarship Section

Archives, Libraries and Digital Scholarship Inaugural Section Award

The LASA "Archives, Libraries and Digital Scholarship" Section invites nominations for its first annual section award. Via this award, the section seeks to honor publications and projects, by groups or individuals, that deploy research materials (i.e. primary/secondary sources found in library circulating collection or special collection/archives and research data) and/or technology in innovative ways in the broad field of Latin American Studies. The award will recognize far-reaching scholarship or initiatives that disseminate knowledge and provide new methodological or pedagogical approaches.

Nominations are due by February 15, 2021. To nominate a project or publication, please complete this form: https://forms.gle/CtbHR4JeEKSRaV8s7

The selection committee welcomes nominations for the following types of initiatives developed in the last two years (January 2019- December 2020):

• Publicly-accessible digital projects (e.g. databases, DH projects, digital collections)
• Public-facing initiatives that promote access to research materials (e.g. exhibits, workshops, school outreach)
• Accepted or in-press article or book chapter

The committee encourages nominations of projects that demonstrate any of the following in Latin American Studies:

• Innovative use of traditional archives or library collections in research or teaching
• Implementation of innovative digital scholarship methods, tools, or practices in new forms of collaboration, publication, visualizing/analyzing data, research, or instruction
• Open or significantly increased access to research materials

Eligibility

We welcome self-nominations and nominations for other projects or publications. Any current LASA member is eligible to apply. In the case of a center or group initiative, one member must be a LASA member. The nominated project or publication must have been developed in the last two years (January 2019- December 2020).

Prize

The award includes a US$300 cash prize, acknowledgement on the section website, and a one-year membership to the section. The committee reserves the right to not give an award if no deserving project is nominated.

Selection Criteria

A subcommittee of the LASA "Archives, Libraries and Digital Scholarship" Section will evaluate nominations on the following criteria. The subcommittee will favor nominations with demonstrable results that are publicly available or forthcoming at the time of application.

Significance and impact

• Use of innovative approaches to research in archives and libraries, and/or digital scholarship methods
• Overall quality of research and resulting project or publication
• Potential to stimulate new research and its relevance to broader trends in Latin American Studies

Access

• Commitment to Open Access by making the project or publication freely available
• Encourages the access and reuse of research materials through published data or extensive appendices
• Collaboration and interdisciplinarity
• Product of collaboration between institutions/organizations, communities, scholars, regions and/or disciplines

Audience

• Successfully addresses its intended audience
• Pedagogical value
• Has practical application for educators at the K-12, undergraduate, graduate, or professional level
• Application Process

For questions please email our section chair Alberto Palacio (aapalacios@austin.utexas.edu).