Dominguez receives award from SLA Military Libraries Division

Meredith Dominguez

Leep student Meredith Dominguez has received the 2019 Military Libraries Training Workshop Student Award from the Military Libraries Division of the Special Libraries Association (SLA). The award will cover her travel and registration expenses for the Military Libraries Training Workshop, which will be held on December 10-12 in Arlington, Virginia.

Dominguez is an Army veteran and senior real estate appraiser with the Department of the Navy in Jacksonville, Florida. Her interest in pursuing librarianship within the federal government prompted her to enroll in the iSchool's online MS/LIS program. Dominguez, who holds a BS in psychology and military science from Austin Peay State University, appreciates the flexibility and extensive course offerings of the Leep program.

"I feel like a kid in a candy store the way the LIS world is opening up to me," Dominguez said. "Each tweet, article, class, or forum post tends to send me on a scavenger hunt.  Probably because of my military and regulatory background, I enjoy working with systematic programs. So far, I keep coming back to courses and readings about archiving and cataloging and the use of linked data."

At the Military Libraries Training Workshop, she hopes to learn how she can improve her skill sets and plan her remaining coursework.

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Students put designs into practice in escape room course

In the past few years, escape rooms have been on the rise, evolving from simple locked boxes in an open room to complex adventures spanning multiple rooms involving electronics, sound design, and even live actors. This past semester, students enrolled in the Makerspace: Escape Rooms (INFO 418) course brought that same spirit of creativity and design to the Fairy Tale Ball at The Urbana Free Library. 

Children lined up at a station at the Fairy Tale Ball at The Urbana Free Library.

Weech passes away

Professor Emeritus Terry Laverne Weech passed away on June 5, 2025, in Staunton, Virginia. He was the widower of Eunice Hovis Weech, who passed away on October 16, 2022. He is survived by his sister-in-law, Brenda Bruce, and her husband, Timothy, and cousins, Wilber Rehmann and Susan Henry Anderson.

Terry L Weech

Library Trends examines generative AI in libraries

The iSchool at Illinois is pleased to announce the publication of Library Trends 73 (3). With the rapid adoption of AI, coupled with increasing ethical concerns relating to AI usage, bias, and authorship, "Generative AI and Libraries: Applications and Ethics, Part I" is the first of two special issues that examine how librarians are grappling with the effects of AI on the field.

Cover of Library Trends 73 (4), Generative AI and Libraries. The cover design is shades of blue with abstract connection points.

Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub wins Synergy Award

The Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub (MBDH) has won the Synergy Award from the Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST). The MBDH is a partnership of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Indiana University, Iowa State University, the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, and the University of North Dakota. It is part of the National Science Foundation’s regional Big Data Innovation Hubs program that comprises offices in the Midwest, West, South, and the Northeast. 

Kelly Desino, scientific director of AbbVie's Community of Science, presenting the Synergy Award from the Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST) to Professor Cathy Blake.