Jasmine Schreiber, a Leep (MSLIS online) student, has been awarded the Valerie J. Wilford Scholarship Grant for Library Education from the Illinois Library Association (ILA). The award is given to those in pursuit of education in librarianship, including classes, webinars, seminars, or conferences.
Schreiber works full time as a library technician at the William J. Campbell Library for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. She is responsible for acquisitions, collection maintenance, and interlibrary loans; provides basic reference support; and helps maintain the library's website. She will use the grant money to take the course Foundations of Information Processing (IS 430), which covers common data, document processing, and programming concepts.
"I am hoping to use the programming skills I learn in this class at my current position and to gain a better understanding of what goes on in the background of digital library spaces," she said.
Originally from Champaign, Schreiber earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Illinois Chicago. She decided to pursue a graduate degree in LIS because she enjoyed working in the field and wanted to continue to grow her career. While colleagues who are iSchool alumni encouraged her to apply to the University of Illinois, it was the School's outstanding reputation and the flexibility of its online program that ultimately influenced her decision.
"I am interested in the growth of library and information science into the digital space and the influence of emerging technology in libraries," she said. "I'm also interested in database design and search and discovery."
Schreiber will be recognized at an awards ceremony during the 2024 ILA Annual Conference, which will be held from October 8-10 in Peoria, Illinois.