When MSLIS student Deborah Walters was offered a graduate assistantship to work in the Alpha Tau Omega Archives, she viewed it as a "unique opportunity to have a hands-on independent experience in archives" that she couldn't pass up. Alpha Tau Omega (ATO) is a social fraternity that was founded at the Virginia Military Institute in 1865. Its archives are among the national fraternity collections housed at the Student Life and Culture Archives at the University of Illinois.

The School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is pleased to announce the publication of Library Trends 72 (3). This issue, "Feminist and Global Perspectives on an Evolving Profession: Papers Honoring Mary Niles Maack," celebrates Maack’s life and career as well as her scholarship’s influence around the globe. Maack’s colleagues, Michèle V. Cloonan and Suzanne M. Stauffer, served as guest editors.

Ian Brooks, research scientist and director of the Center for Health Informatics (CHI), has received a 16-month, $1.2 million grant from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to study the effects of climate on health in the state. Partners on the project include the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) and University of Illinois System Office of Strategic Initiatives. The goal of the new project is to support the IDPH and local health departments in understanding and preparing for changes in climate and extreme weather events.

Donald G. Davis (PhD '72), one of three alumni who launched the iSchool at Illinois' endowed Professorship in the History of Libraries and the Information Professions, passed away on November 21, 2024. Born in 1939, he was raised and educated in California, earning a bachelor's degree in history from the University of California, Los Angeles and master's degrees in history and library and information science from the University of California, Berkeley. He earned his doctorate in library and information science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 

MSLIS student Victora Antwi is grateful for the financial support that she has received through the Balz Endowment Fund. An international student from the Mampong-Nsuta in the Ashanti Region, Ghana, Antwi earned her bachelor’s degree in information studies in 2020 from the University of Ghana. 

Teenagers use generative artificial intelligence for many purposes, including emotional support and social interactions. A study by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers found that parents have little understanding of GAI, how their children use it and its potential risks, and that GAI platforms offer insufficient protection to ensure children’s safety.

Little did doctoral candidate Kainen Bell know in 2013 when he was an undergraduate studying abroad in Brazil that the country would play a major role in his future dissertation research. Since his first trip, he has returned to Brazil multiple times, even completing a Fulbright study and working for a community-based organization in the country. Now, Bell is preparing to return again, this time to spend ten months conducting research as a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) Fellowship.

Complementary medicine approaches, such as natural products, acupuncture, and meditation, are increasingly used by the public and accepted by the medical community. However, knowledge of the safety and effectiveness of these approaches, as well as their impact on human health, is limited in comparison to conventional medical approaches.

With his Choctaw and Muscogee Creek heritage, PhD student David Eby has a personal connection to his research, which seeks to blend Indigenous knowledge with quantitative data practices. Eby, who is a member of Native American House at University of Illinois, is also interested in analyzing online community identity and representation. 

Twelve iSchool master’s students were named 2024-2025 Spectrum Scholars by the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services. This "Spectrum Scholar Spotlight" series highlights the School's scholars. MSLIS student Mateo Caballero graduated from Northeastern University with a BA in communications and media and screen studies.