2025 ISAA Annual Awards announced

Karen Schneider (MSLIS '92) is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award, which recognizes an alumnus who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of library and information science.  

Schneider has had a remarkably varied and impactful career, coming to librarianship after eight years in the US Air Force as an engine mechanic, aircraft maintenance officer. She has held leadership roles in public, special, and academic libraries. She has been an innovator in library automation. Schneider uses her blog and lively and learned columns in library publications to keep librarians informed about trends in technology. She continued her formal education beyond her MSLIS with an MFA in creative writing from the University of San Francisco and a PhD in managerial leadership in the information professions from Simmons College. She is an enthusiastic speaker (frequent presenter and keynoter on technology trends and change management) and educator (adjunct faculty for SUNY Albany and San Jose State University) and co-moderated PUBLIB, a discussion list for public librarians, for close to twenty years. She has been involved in professional service on committees for Library and Information Technology Association, ACRL, and the Rainbow Round Table (formerly GLBTRT). Most noteworthy are her many terms of service as an ALA councilor-at-large and more recently as a member of the ALA Executive Board. Each Executive Board member is a liaison to specific committees, and Schneider was highly engaged with and supportive of the Committee on Accreditation as it revised the accreditation standards that subsequently were approved by ALA Council. Schneider is the 2014 recipient of the Elizabeth Futas Catayst for Change Award.

Hailley Fargo (MSLIS '16) is the recipient of the Leadership Award, which honors an alum who has graduated in the past ten years and has shown leadership in the field.

Fargo has emerged as a leader in academic librarianship. Her focus includes the intersection of student engagement and academic libraries, digital and information literacy, community informatics, reference, peer-to-peer communities in the academic library, student work in the library, and community engagement. She has advanced into positions of increasing responsibility at Northern Kentucky University, currently serving as interim associate dean and head of education and outreach services. In her administrative role, she collaborates with the interim dean and library colleagues to support assessment, reporting, communication, and benchmarking initiatives. As the head of education and outreach services, she leads a team of librarians and the makerspace coordinator to provide one-shot information literacy instruction and makerspace instruction to students; oversees a BS in library informatics; develops and sustains an outreach program; and participates in local and national service. Fargo has an unusually strong record of publications and presentations contributing to the literature of academic librarianship in her areas of expertise. Her awards recognize her leadership (e.g., ALA Emerging Leader) and innovation (e.g., University Libraries Section Outstanding Professional Development Award recognizing her work as a co-founder and editorial board member of The Librarian Parlor (LibParlor), an online space for sharing and discussing research in library and information science). Her post about LibParlor Online Learning promotes a new curriculum that launched in fall 2024 aimed at supporting LIS professionals in developing their research skills and reflects on her experience launching a big, IMLS-funded project.

Melissa A. Wong (MSLIS '94) is the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes an individual who has served the ISAA or the School in an exceptional way.

Wong has served the iSchool for twenty-four years as an adjunct lecturer, mentor to hundreds of students, peer mentor to faculty, author and editor of textbooks, and, most recently, as editor in chief of Library Trends, the iSchool's scholarly journal. Wong has taught five different courses: Instructional Strategies and Techniques for Information Professionals, eLearning (a course she created), Academic Librarianship (a course she co-created), Reference and Information Services, and Administration & Management of Libraries and Information Centers. She is consistently recognized on the List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students and was the first adjunct faculty member to be recognized at the campus level with the Campus Award for Excellence in Online and Distance Teaching. She has pursued certifications to enhance her expertise in online teaching and accessibility and has collaborated with the iSchool Instructional Technology & Design team to enhance the virtual classroom experience for iSchool students. She willingly provides peer mentoring to faculty seeking to become more effective online instructors. She has extended this peer mentoring beyond the iSchool as the co-founder and co-convenor since 2020 of LIS Pedagogy Chat. As editor in chief of Library Trends, Wong is bringing more visibility to the journal through webinars that provide the opportunity for in-depth conversations about the timely themes and topics explored in each issue.