Drexel University College of Computing & Informatics (CCI) is proud to announce that Deborah A. Garwood, PhD information science ‘21 is the recipient of the 2022 ALISE Eugene Garfield Doctoral Dissertation award and the 2022-23 Beckman Center Fellowship from the Science History Institute’s Beckman Center.
Advised by CCI Associate Professor Alex H. Poole, PhD, Garwood received the 2022 ALISE Eugene Garfield Doctoral Dissertation award for her dissertation titled “To Our Health: A Case Study of Archivists’ Information Work and Information Practices at History of Medicine Collections in Philadelphia.” Her dissertation focuses on archivists’ work at history of medicine collections in Philadelphia. Garwood used the lenses of information work and information practices to develop a theoretical framework for analyzing archivists’ work contexts.
The ALISE Eugene Garfield Doctoral Dissertation Award selection committee noted that Garwood’s “research findings are well-presented, with reflective thoughts about the identified issues within the research literature,” and emphasized that her research makes a “theoretical contribution by mapping sensitizing concepts in the library and information science field to study archivists’ work . . . such interdisciplinary experimentation is critical to continuous theoretical creativity in both fields.” Garwood will accept the award at the ALISE Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh this fall (October 24 to 26).
As a 2022-23 Beckman Center Fellow, Garwood will conduct qualitative research on the Center for Oral History’s documentary practices for oral histories, as well as the cataloging of these resources by the Donald F. and Mildred Topp Othmer Library of Chemical History (an independent research library encompassing the history of chemistry and related sciences and industries). Her research aims to develop a framework for theorizing documentary practices as collaborative constructs embodying human intellectual agency, ethics and intercultural competence.
As a qualitative researcher in the field of library and information science (LIS), Garwood’s research interests include archives, data curation, information work, information practices and metadata. Garwood holds a Master of Science in Library & Information Science from Drexel University, a Master of Fine Arts degree from Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY), and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oberlin College.