J. Stephen Downie, professor and associate dean for research, participated in the Center for Open Data in the Humanities (CODH) seminar, "Big Data and Digital Humanities," on January 23 at the National Institute of Informatics in Tokyo, Japan.

A new book co-edited by Associate Professor Bonnie Mak investigates how archives, archival practices, and the notion of the archive are being explored across the disciplines. Showcasing the work of established and emergent scholars, as well as information professionals, Engaging with Records and Archives: Histories and theories bridges theory and practice to offer fresh perspectives on recordkeeping and archives.

As fake news reports spread like a disease over the internet, online users need to more carefully consider the credibility of their news sources. Jeanine Finn (MS '96), former reference librarian, recent PhD grad, and self-described "ninja of information spaces," has been doing research on information credibility for about eight years.

Assistant Professor Nicole A. Cooke's book, Information Services to Diverse Populations: Developing Culturally Competent Library Professionals, is now available from Libraries Unlimited.

The iSchool will be well represented at the annual conference for the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE), which will take place from January 17-20 in Atlanta. ALISE '17 will explore how LIS educators and researchers can develop curricula, programs, and research activities that support partnerships with communities to manage and create change.

The staff at The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (BCCB) has announced the 2016 Blue Ribbons, their choices for the best of children's and young adult literature for the year. Blue Ribbons are chosen annually by BCCB reviewers and represent what they believe to be outstanding examples of fiction, nonfiction, and picture books for youth.

Tim Lockman discovered on the job that the field of librarianship is "broader and deeper than I imagined when I began, and I find myself doing work that I hadn’t pictured myself doing as a grad student." He is currently pursuing a master's certificate in instructional design from the University of Wisconsin-Stout to add to his professional training. With a full-time job, graduate school, and a side career in music, Lockman is one busy librarian.

Associate Professor Bonnie Mak will present, "On Interdisciplinary Endings," as part of a panel at the upcoming Modern Language Association Annual Convention (MLA 2017) in Philadelphia.

Andreas Witt, director of the Research Infrastructure Division at the Institute for German Language, has been selected by the iSchool faculty as a research fellow for the 2016-2018 academic years.

After working for several years as a bank examiner with the federal government, Erin Glasco switched gears to pursue her interest in archives and special collections, enrolling in the iSchool as a Leep student in 2015. While Glasco enjoyed the variety of her work at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, she was frustrated by her inability to help consumers solve their issues with financial institutions until after the damage had been done.