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.

Baby Monkey, Private Eye written by Brian Selznick and David Serlin and illustrated by Brian Selznick (Scholastic Press, 2018), is the winner of the 2019 Gryphon Award for Children’s Literature. The Gryphon Award, which includes a $1,000 prize, is given annually by The Center for Children's Books.

Katelyn Talbott joined the iSchool on January 14 as an academic advisor. In this role, she primarily advises MS/LIS students, but she also works with MS/IM students during peak advising times.tal

Midori Clark (MS '17), director of community relations, development & strategic initiatives for the Pueblo (CO) City-County Library District; Amita Lonial (MS '09), assistant director of the Tacoma (WA) Public Library; and Nataliya Papushina (MS '15), branch supervisor for the Indian Trails Public Library District in Wheeling (IL) are among the twenty-eight public librarians selected to participate in the Spring 2019 PLA Leadership Academy, which will be held March 25-29 in Chicago.

Students enrolled in Postdoctoral Research Associate Rhiannon Bettivia's Digital Preservation (IS 586) class can expect to work on real-life projects. 

A $1-million dollar gift from Lionelle (BA, LAS '66; MS, LIS '67) and James (BS, Business '66; MS, Business '67) Elsesser will both expand the iSchool's academic programs and support the recruitment of promising students. The gift will be invested in the School's new programs, and that investment will generate $50,000 annually for the Katharine L. Sharp Scholarships, which will be available to students in all iSchool programs.

Sonya Chambers will join the iSchool on January 22 as associate dean for administration, bringing 28 years of experience in finance, management, and operations to her new role. She will provide executive leadership, oversight, and coordination for the School's administrative units and work closely with the dean and the other associate deans to advance iSchool strategic initiatives.