Class Notes

Lauren (Huff) Anderson (MSLIS '22) began a new position as a metadata management librarian at the University of Oregon. 

Manas Godha (BSIS '24), growth and strategy consultant for Advaiya, writes, "My time at the iSchool was amazing, especially being part of the first batch of BSIS. I was part of the Academic Support Center as the head tutor and had so many opportunities to learn and grow!"

Katie Higley (MSLIS '25) began a new position as an instruction and reference sharing librarian at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota at the Winona Campus.

Colton Keiser (BSIS '24) is an IT Auditor and Python developer at a consulting firm, working with clients on IT compliance while developing tools using Python, Azure, and LangChain.

Rachel Riffe-Albright (MSLIS '23) was a 2025 fellow with the Society for Scholarly Communication. She served on the President's Early Career Panel and presented a poster discussing the professional needs of early career library and publishing professionals. 

Abigail Sewall (MSLIS '20) has worked in public libraries in the Denver metro area, since graduating. She has specialized in library outreach, primarily working on bookmobiles, and is grateful for her iSchool education and the valuable experience she received in her graduate assistantship roles.

Jessica Smith (MSLIS '24) has authored a new Choose Your Own Adventure book, Curse of Great Winter Academy, under her pen name Jessika Fleck. It will be coming out on June 17, 2025.

Peeya Thacker (MSIM ’25) has joined COUNTRY Financial as a product owner, where she works on an internal insurance issuing tool, enhancing efficiency and equipping insurance representatives with the resources they need to better serve clients and streamline operations across the organization.

After 28 years of service at Portland State University Library, Kimberly Willson-St. Clair (MSLIS '21) was awarded the rank of professor emerita.

Maria Emerson (MSLIS '14) received the 2024-2025 Outstanding Faculty Award from the University Library at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Sam Helmick (MSLIS '12), community and access services coordinator at Iowa City (IA) Public Library, was inaugurated ALA President for 2025-2026. 

A Little Like Magic, an author-illustrated picture book by Sarah Kurpiel (MSLIS '11), was awarded the 2025 Schneider Family Book Award by the American Library Association.

In February 2025, Kristi Lear (MSLIS '18) was promoted to Archival Program Administrator, overseeing the Operations Division, at the Illinois State Archives. In September 2024, Lear was awarded the Ancestry Leadership Award at the Council of State Archivists Annual Meeting.

Laura Sheets (MSLIS '12) was promoted to associate professor with tenure in the University Libraries at Bowling Green State University.

Joel Spencer (MSLIS '10) has served as an adult services librarian at The Urbana Free Library since 2011. 
 

Liz Svoboda (MSLIS '12) was named the Michigan Academic Librarian of the Year in 2025 by the Michigan Academic Library Association and will be honored at the Michigan Library Awards ceremony in October.
 

Kelli Trei (MSLIS '12), Biosciences Librarian at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has been appointed as the Transition Director through July 2026 for the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL), the world’s largest open access digital library dedicated to biodiversity literature.

Taliah Abdullah (MSLIS '03) has been appointed as executive director of The Urbana Free Library. She will begin her new role on July 7, 2025.

Mitch Barber (MSLIS '08) recently accepted a position as librarian for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Mitch wrote, "My journey back to librarianship was a 14-year one and I am pleased to be back in the library saddle."

Rob DeLand (MSLIS '08) retired from his position as head librarian and archivist at Ruppel Library at the VanderCook College of Music in July 2025. In his message to the iSchool, Deland noted having many fond memories of Linda Smith, Leigh Estabrook, Scott Schwartz, John Wagstaff (Music Library), and many others in the School who helped prepare him for his career.

Tiffany (Torbeck) Erickson (MSLIS '06) is publishing her first picture book, The Snack Thief, with Lawley Publishing on July 22, 2025. The book is described as "a delicious whodunit for ages 3-5."

Jimi Jones (MSLIS '07, PhD '19) has accepted a position at the University of Illinois Foundation as manager of gifts documentation.

Nancy Kirkpatrick (MS '07) has been named the dean of libraries for Smith College, effective August 1, 2025.

Karen Kohn (MSLIS '02) has published a book titled, "Assessing Academic Library Collections for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion." It was released through Bloomsbury in July 2025.

Jon Mark Bolthouse (MSLIS '99) recently started his new job as director of the North Suburban Library District near Rockford, Illinois. 

Jill Gengler (MSLIS '99) started work as a seventh grade science teacher at Edison Middle School in Champaign in October 2024.

Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe (MSLIS '95) was elected to the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Governing Board.

Tom Kmetz (MSLIS '97) retired in September 2025 as coordinator of instructional and research services at Camden-Carroll Library at Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky.

Donna J. Lilly (MSLIS '92) passed away on December 28, 2024. 

The Library History Round Table of the American Library Association selected Eric C. Novotny (MSLIS '94) as the recipient of the 2025 Innovation and Advocacy in Library History Award.

Scott Finet (MSLIS '84) retired from his position as legal information manager at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, District of Columbia. 

Lorraine J. Haricombe (MSLIS '88, PhD '92) will retire from her position as vice provost and director of the University of Texas Libraries at the end of August after leading the libraries for almost 11 years.

Carol Leibiger (MSLIS '87) has been named professor emerita in the University Libraries at the University of South Dakota. She will retire from her position as information literacy coordinator on June 20, 2025, after 36 years at the university.

Rita Bartholomew (MSLIS '76) passed away in March 2025. For most of her career, she worked as a reference librarian.

Peggy Tutor (MSLIS '77) passed away on December 22, 2024.

Norma Poinsett (MSLIS '53) passed away on January 26, 2025.