School of Information Sciences

SLA honors alum with Engineering Librarian of the Year award

James Blank (MS '97) is the recipient the of the Special Libraries Association (SLA) Engineering Librarian of the Year Award. The Engineering Librarian of the Year, sponsored by IHS, highlights the accomplishments and contributions of SLA Engineering Division members to the engineering librarian profession.

Blank is a technical knowledge specialist in the engineering library at Caterpillar Inc. Since joining Caterpillar in 2000, his responsibilities have included many library functions, such as cataloging, acquisitions, collection development, and website administration. He currently has responsibility for performing in-depth research, administering access to industry standards, and serving as a knowledge management steward, among other duties.

IHS will present Blank with the award and a $1500 check during the Engineering Division Luncheon & Business Meeting, held Monday July 16, 2012 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

SLA was founded in 1909 and is an international association of nearly 9,000 information professionals working in corporate, academic, government or non-profit organizations and institutions.

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Kraus wins 2026 Pulitzer Prize Award in Fiction

iSchool alumnus and New York Times bestselling author Daniel Kraus (MSLIS '05) has won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for Angel Down. Kraus, a prolific writer whose works span several genres—children's fiction, horror, science fiction, graphic novels, and comics—learned the good news last week.

Daniel Kraus 2026

Raji invited to join UN Working Expert Group

PhD student Mubarak Raji has been invited to join the Working Expert Group on AI Governance Interoperability. This group operates under the United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies' new AI Governance for Humanity Lab. It supports the Secretary-General's High-level Advisory Body on AI by providing evidence-based analysis for the Global Dialogue on AI Governance, which will be held in July 2026 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Mubarak Raji headshot

Cloonan to deliver iSchool Convocation

Michèle Cloonan (MS '84, PhD '88), dean and professor emerita in the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons University, will deliver the 2026 iSchool Convocation address on Sunday, May 17, at 1:30 p.m. at the Activities and Recreation Center. For those who would like to watch the ceremony online, live video will be available as well as archived for future viewing.

Michèle Cloonan 2026

Faculty and staff recognized with inaugural iSchool awards

The iSchool recognized faculty and staff for their contributions to teaching and outstanding service to the School at a ceremony on May 6. Interim Dean Emily Knox presented plaques to the inaugural recipients of the Faculty Teaching Award, Adjunct Teaching Award, and Staff Excellence Award.

School of Information Sciences

501 E. Daniel St.

MC-493

Champaign, IL

61820-6211

Voice: (217) 333-3280

Email: ischool@illinois.edu

Back to top