iSchool Affiliate Professor John Price Wilkin, Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Dean of Libraries and University Librarian, has been named the 2019 winner of the Hugh C. Atkinson Memorial Award. Wilkin will receive a cash award and citation during an ALCTS event at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, DC.

As the current president of the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), Paolo P. Gujilde aims to streamline the organization's workflow and processes, increase membership, and provide more opportunities for members to be involved. He credits the continued support from APALA members for making a very busy year a wonderful one as well.

The Committee on Accreditation (COA) of the American Library Association (ALA) has granted continued accreditation status through 2025 to the iSchool's Master of Science in Library and Information Science (MS/LIS) program. The decision was based on the "totality of the accomplishment and the environment for learning" of the program.

MS/LIS student Brianna Collins discusses her internship with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Associate Professor Victoria Stodden has been elected Member-at-Large for the Statistics section of The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). AAAS is an international, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing science, engineering, and innovation around the world for the benefit of all people. As a Member-at-Large, Stodden will support the Statistics section's steering group in its responsibilities, which includes nominating and reviewing Fellows as well as proposing and reviewing symposia for the AAAS Annual Meeting. She will serve a four-year term, starting in February.

School and youth services librarians will not have to wait until the next Summer Getaway for professional development and networking opportunities. Next month the iSchool is offering its first annual Midwinter Getaway. The event, which will be held February 16-17 on the Urbana campus, is open to all information professionals serving youth and builds on the success of the annual Summer Getaway. 

Affiliated faculty member Clara Chu, director of the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs, is the recipient of the 2019 American Library Association Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT) Distinguished Librarian Award. The Distinguished Librarian Award recognizes significant accomplishments in library services that are national or international in scope and include improving, spreading, and promoting multicultural librarianship.

Studies consistently show that students achieve higher test scores and greater academic success when they have access to fully staffed, effective school libraries. The School Librarian Licensure program at the iSchool welcomes those who want to make a difference in the lives of youth by becoming a school librarian. Applications to the program are due February 15 for summer/fall admission.

Kati Richardson (MS '18) is the district librarian for the Highland (IL) school district. She has always been passionate about libraries, so school librarianship was a natural choice.

Doctoral candidate Henry A. Gabb successfully defended his dissertation, "An Informatics Approach to Prioritizing Risk Assessment for Chemicals and Chemical Combinations Based on Near-Field Exposure from Consumer Products," on January 14.

Professor Ted Underwood has authored a new book about recent discoveries in literary history and the changes that made those discoveries possible. His book, Distant Horizons: Digital Evidence and Literary Change, will be published by The University of Chicago Press Books in March and is available for pre-order.