The iSchool Alumni Association (ISAA) honored its 2018 award recipients at the ISAA Annual Meeting and reception, which was held on June 24 during the annual meeting of the American Library Association in New Orleans.
Lynne M. Thomas (MS '99), head of The Rare Book & Manuscript Library and an iSchool adjunct professor, has won two Hugo Awards—science fiction's most prestigious award. Thomas, now a seven-time Hugo Award winner, joined the University Library in July 2017.
Jill Gage's degree from the iSchool and specialty in English makes her a perfect match for her work at the prestigious Newberry Library. In her current role, she manages one of the world's leading collections in printing history and serves as bibliographer for British literature and history. Gage credits the innovative coursework at the iSchool as excellent preparation for her career in special collections.
iSchool alumna Sarah T. Roberts (PhD '14) will receive a 2018 Pioneer Award from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) for her groundbreaking content moderation research. Awarded every year since 1992, EFF's Pioneer Awards recognize the leaders who are extending freedom and innovation on the electronic frontier.
Over thirty Chinese academic librarians have a better understanding of American libraries after participating in a visit to the Urbana campus. The visit was hosted by Lian Ruan (MS '90, PhD '11), head librarian and director of international programs at the Illinois Fire Service Institute
Anita Mechler (MS '08) has been named the new executive director of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association.
Two iSchool alumni, Jennifer Bueche (MS '94) and Lucas McKeever (MS '13), have been selected to receive awards from the Illinois Library Association (ILA).
Recent graduate Wendy Hoi Yan Wong (MS '18) has been awarded a Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) Digital Scholarship Postdoctoral Fellowship to work at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). The fellowship program offers scholars the chance to develop new research models, collaborate with information specialists, and explore new career opportunities. In addition to her MS/LIS degree from Illinois, Wong holds a PhD in music from CUHK.
iSchool alumnus Alexander Salopek (MS '15), acquisitions/government documents librarian for the Supreme Court of the United States, has been chosen to participate in the highly competitive American Library Association Leadership Institute.
Cheryl Ziegler very nearly wasn't the librarian at the Union League Club. She had applied for several jobs, but on the day of her interview at ULC, she got a call saying that she had been selected for an independent contractor position on a project with Chicago Public Schools. "Well, I can't have two jobs," she thought to herself, and canceled the interview.
