Knox elected president of Beta Phi Mu

Emily Knox
Emily Knox, Interim Dean and Professor

Associate Professor and Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Emily Knox has been elected president of Beta Phi Mu, the international honor society for library and information studies. 

Knox was inducted into Beta Phi Mu in 2003 upon receiving her master's in library and information science from the University of Illinois, and she has served as the faculty liaison to the Alpha Chapter (Illinois) since 2014. She was elected director of the national organization in 2015 and appointed treasurer in 2018. Knox’s book, Book Banning in 21st Century America, was the first monograph in the Beta Phi Mu Scholars' Series.

"I'm excited to work with members of the Beta Phi Mu board as the organization adapts to the landscape of higher education in the twenty-first century," Knox said. "The national board recently amended the bylaws to permit undergraduates in information sciences and related fields to become members. Hopefully, students in the iSchool's newly launched BS in information sciences program will soon be invited to join the honor society."

Knox joined the iSchool faculty in 2012. Her research interests include information access, intellectual freedom and censorship, the intersection of print culture and reading practices, and information ethics and policy. In addition to Beta Phi Mu, she serves on the boards of the Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) and National Coalition Against Censorship. Knox received her PhD from the doctoral program at the Rutgers University School of Communication and Information.

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Education of Things named a SHARP Book Prize finalist

A book by Associate Professor Elizabeth Hoiem, The Education of Things: Mechanical Literacy in British Children's Literature, 1762-1860, has been named a finalist for the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP) Book History Book Prize. 

Elizabeth Hoiem

iSchool alumni and student named 2025 Movers & Shakers

Two iSchool alumni and an MSLIS student are included in Library Journal's 2025 class of Movers & Shakers, an annual list that recognizes 50 professionals who are moving the library field forward as a profession. Leah Gregory (MSLIS '04) was honored in the Advocates category, Billy Tringali (MSLIS '19) was honored in the Innovators category, and University Library Assistant Professor and Digital Humanities Librarian Mary Ton (current MSLIS student) was honored in the Educators category.

Spectrum Scholar Spotlight: Dalia Ortiz Pon

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 Dalia Ortiz Pon earned her bachelor's degree in Latina/Latino studies from San Francisco State University. 

Dalia Ortiz Pon

Debnath datafies "The Bulletin"

MSIM student Tan Debnath, whose interests span data mining, statistical modeling, text mining, and digital humanities, joined the Center for Children's books as a research assistant. He was tasked with building curation processes that would datafy seventy-five years' worth of archival issues of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, one of the nation's leading children's book review journals.

Tan Debnath stands casually with his hands in his pockets and smiles broadly at the camera. It's a sunny day