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Sharon Han has been selected as the winner of the 2019 sponsored by Ex Libris Group and the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) for her paper titled "Weathering the Twitter Storm: Early Uses of Social Media as a Disaster Response Tool for Public Libraries During Hurricane Sandy." Han is a Master of Science in Library and Information Science candidate at the University of Illinois School of Information Sciences.

"Sharon Han's paper is an excellent case study of the nascency of social media that also offers pragmatic guidance for libraries responding to community needs in times of crisis. Her substantial dataset, well-developed taxonomy, and the systematic coding and analysis resulted in interesting research findings as well as fertile grounds for further research on social media as an extension of library services," said Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe, the Chair of this year's selection committee.

When notified she had won, Han remarked, “I am honored to receive the the LITA/Ex Libris Student Writing Award for 2019. As a library student, I am grateful for the professional library community that supports student research and development. I would like to thank the award committee, Ex Libris, Professor Melissa Ocepek (UIUC) for encouraging me to apply, and my friends, mentors, and family for their support.”

The LITA/Ex Libris Student Writing Award recognizes outstanding writing on a topic in the area of libraries and information technology by a student or students enrolled in an 91´«Ã½-accredited library and information studies graduate program. The winning manuscript will be published in , LITA's open access, peer reviewed journal, and Han will receive $1,000 and a certificate of merit.

The members of the 2019 LITA/Ex Libris Student Writing Award Committee are: Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe (Chair), Eric Phetteplace (Past Chair), Sofia A. Slutskaya, and Ken Varnum (ITAL Editor).

About LITA

The is the leading organization reaching out across types of libraries to provide education and services for a broad membership of systems librarians, library technologists, library administrators, library schools, vendors, and others interested in leading edge technology and applications for librarians and information providers. LITA is a division of the 91´«Ã½. Follow us on our , , or .

About Ex Libris

, a ProQuest company, is a leading global provider of cloud-based solutions for higher education. Offering SaaS products for the management and discovery of the full spectrum of library and scholarly materials, as well as mobile campus solutions driving student engagement and success, Ex Libris serves thousands of customers in 90 countries. For more information about Ex Libris, , and join us on , , , and .