Call for Application: The 2026 CALA Jing Liao Award for the Best Research

  • 02/24/2026
  • 12:00 AM
  • 03/31/2026
  • 11:59 PM

Dear CALA members,

The CALA Best Research Awards Subcommittee (2025-2026) is pleased to announce that the 2026 CALA Jing Liao Award for the Best Research is now open for application. Please see the call for application as follows.

Call for Application – 2026 CALA Jing Liao Award for the Best Research

Deadline: Tuesday, March 31, 2026

CALA Best Research Awards Subcommittee (2025-2026) now invites CALA members to submit their research works published between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025 for the competition of the 2026 CALA Jing Liao Award for the Best Research.

Jing Liao (1954-2011), a long-time CALA member and a devoted and accomplished librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was a perfect exemplar of the pursuit of excellence in research and service in her career. Honoring the memory of Jing Liao, the establishment of this memorial fund encourages CALA members to achieve excellence in research relating to information science and library-related fields.

CALA members in good standing for three consecutive years are eligible to apply for a $500USD cash award.

*There is no supplemental travel fund available for the 2026 cycle. The winner is encouraged to apply for CALA Conference Travel Grant if they wish to receive the award in person at the 2026 ALA/CALA Annual Conference (June 25–29, 2026 in Chicago, IL).

CALA Best Research Awards Subcommittee (2025-2026) will use the Guidelines for Jing Liao Award Application and Selection below to evaluate the research works submitted by CALA members, and ensure a fair and transparent process. The CALA Jing Liao Award for the Best Research Committee is charged with the task of calling for applications and selecting a work that best fits the criteria for the award.

Guidelines for Application:

Qualified CALA members who are willing to apply for the Award should follow this new guideline for the competition:

  • A cash award of $500USD will be granted to the author(s) of the winning publication;
  •  Applicants must be CALA members in good standing for three (3) consecutive years, including the award year;
  • Applicants must demonstrate excellence in scholarly research by publishing peer-reviewed publications (online or in print), including books, book chapters, conference proceedings, e-journals, and Open Access journals, focusing on the fields of Library and Information Sciences.
  • Applicants may submit one work, in either English or Chinese, published in the previous year for consideration;
  • The first author of the research publication must not be a past recipient of the award.
  • If multiple authors are included for the submitted publication, the applicant must be the first author (primary project lead) and fulfills the requirement above.

Selection Criteria:

The following criteria will be used to evaluate and select the best research works received:

  • Scholarly value: This criterion assesses the extent to which research work has demonstrated more creative ideas, new discoveries, meaningful impact, and innovative approaches that advance Library and Information Science (LIS) research.
  • Research focus: This criterion evaluates whether the author has the expertise, experience, and skills needed to effectively address the identified research topics
  • Range and scope of research: This criterion measures how broad and comprehensive the researcher’s perspectives and ideas as reflected in the work.
  • Methodology: This criterion examines whether the study utilizes a sound and appropriate method that supports credible and accountable conclusions, for example, by clearly linking the target population to the selected sample in a quantitative analysis.
  • Discovery: This criterion examines whether the submission offers new insights, findings, or implications that distinguish it from previous research in the same fields.
  • Influence: This criterion measures the study’s potential to inform practice, shape future research inquiries, or additional studies in related fields.

Application Package:

A complete application must consist of the following documents:

  1. A short cover letter that includes a statement of your CALA membership history and current status;
  2. A full text of your publication;
  3. A complete citation of your publication in either Chicago, or APA, or MLA style, including the DOI link or URL if available;
  4. A recent curriculum vitae (CV).

Application Deadline: Tuesday, March 31, 2026

This is the deadline for eligible CALA members to submit their research works for the CALA Jing Liao Award for the Best Research published between January 1 to December 31, 2025. After approval by the CALA executive board, the award will be announced in June 2026.

How to apply:

Please submit the application package as one single PDF document including all the required application documents to best-research-chair@cala-web.org by Tuesday, March 31, 2026.

Sincerely,

CALA Best Research Awards Subcommittee (2025-2026)

Yali Feng

Yanling Liu

Jinxuan Ma (Co-Chair)

Wei Zhang (Co-chair)

Meingjie Zou






CALA is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization (website: https://cala-web.org)

Copyright © 2008- CALA. All Rights Reserved.

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software