The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books has released the 2018 Guide Book to Gift Books. This annual publication, available as a free downloadable pdf, highlights more than three hundred of the best books for giving and receiving. 

The variety of librarianship jobs held over the years by Alexander Salopek prepared him for his current position at the Supreme Court of the United States. He also credits an introductory course at the iSchool with helping him visualize a "different sort of librarianship" in nontraditional settings. 

A recent publication by a group of iSchool researchers provides new insight into the claim that men self-cite their publications more often than their women counterparts. The paper, "Self-citation is the hallmark of productive authors, of any gender," coauthored by doctoral student Shubhanshu Mishra, Brent Fegley (MS/LIS '10, PhD Informatics '16), Associate Professor Jana Diesner, and Associate Professor Vetle Torvik, was published in PLOS ONE on September 26 and selected as an Editor’s Pick by PLOS Collections.

iSchool faculty, staff, and students will participate in the 2018 Charleston Conference, which will be held November 7-9 in Charleston, South Carolina. The conference is an annual gathering that draws librarians, publishers, vendors, and others to discuss issues relating to the acquisition of books and serials. 

When Julia Hart, site leader for the COUNTRY Financial DigitaLab, is in need of interns, she looks to the iSchool for student talent. Hart's first hire for the DigitaLab, which was launched at the University of Illinois Research Park in October 2017, was MS/IM student Anmol Gandhi. Gandhi still works at the lab as a data analyst, along with fellow MS/IM student Tanvi Malhotra. The students' job duties include predictive modeling, machine learning, text mining, and data visualizations as well as data modeling and research.

MS/IM student Seung Jun discusses his practicum experience at the AbbVie Innovation Center.

The iSchool launched a new apprenticeship program this fall with The Urbana Free Library. The program, which is modeled after an internship partnership between the Dominican University School of Information Studies and Skokie Public Library, will provide students with practical experience and additional exposure to all facets of library operations.

CAS student Stephanie Shallcross (MS '18) presented her work on teaching digital literacy to youth at the Community Informatics Research Network (CIRN) annual conference, held October 24-28 in Prato, Italy. This year's conference addressed research, practice, and creative endeavors focused on shaping and influencing policy and programs.

iSchool students interested in crafting and socializing with their fellow students should check out the Stitch & Bitch student group. Despite the group's name, a knitting background is not necessary, and all students are welcome regardless of their level of crafting experience.

Professor Leslie "Les" Gasser passed away at his home on Tuesday, October 16, surrounded by family and close friends. He is survived by his wife of 21 years, Terry von Thaden; his daughter Lisette and son Liam; and extended family and many beloved friends and colleagues.