Glen Worthey is the new associate director for research support services in the HathiTrust Research Center (HTRC), a collaboration between the University of Illinois, Indiana University, and the HathiTrust to enable advanced computational access to text found in the HathiTrust Digital Library. He will be based at the iSchool at Illinois.

Associate Professor Emily Knox has been named interim associate dean for academic affairs for the iSchool. In this role, she will provide leadership and oversight for academic programs, including program development, curriculum coordination, and continuous improvement of educational experiences. Knox most recently served as the School's first program director for the new BS/IS degree. Associate Professor Kate McDowell, who previously held the position of interim associate dean for academic affairs, stepped down to return to her teaching and research.

Whitney McComas joined the iSchool on January 8 as an instructional technology support specialist. She comes to the School from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, where she worked as the Moodle service manager and an educational technology specialist for Applied Technologies for Learning in the Arts and Sciences (ATLAS). 

The University Library's Diversity Committee and the iSchool's Diversity Committee are recipients of a Strategic Programs Initiative Funds grant to support programs on "Becoming a Trans Inclusive Library."

For more than a century, the iSchool has been, and continues to be, a top-tier school for preparing leaders for the library and information professions. Now the iSchool is pleased to announce the establishment of a new endowed professorship, the Professorship in the History of Libraries and the Information Professions. The professorship was spearheaded by Laurel A. Grotzinger (MS '58, PhD '64), who passed away in 2017; Don (PhD '72) and Avis Davis; and Mark (PhD '83) and Barbara Tucker.

The Center for Children's Books (CCB) at the iSchool is hosting its Nineteenth Annual Book Sale from February 17-19, 2020. Sale hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. each day. Thousands of brand-new children's books will be available for youth ages birth through high school. The titles available represent the full spectrum of publishing in children's fiction and nonfiction: board books, picture books, easy and transitional readers, chapter books, series fiction, novels, activity books and kits, nonfiction series, mass-market paperbacks, and more.

Brett Peugh joined the iSchool on January 2 as an endpoint services specialist. He comes to the School from the Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning (CITL) on campus.  In his new position, Peugh will order, install, and provide second-level tech support for the laptops and desktops in the School.

Lindsey Sharp joined the iSchool on December 18 as a senior instructional technology support specialist. Sharp comes to the School from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, where she worked in various roles involving educational technology for Applied Technologies for Learning in the Arts and Sciences (ATLAS). In her most recent position at ATLAS, she managed the student support team, provided instruction design support, and was involved in the LAS online administration and steering committee.

Leep student Meredith Dominguez has received the 2019 Military Libraries Training Workshop Student Award from the Military Libraries Division of the Special Libraries Association (SLA). The award will cover her travel and registration expenses for the Military Libraries Training Workshop, which will be held on December 10-12 in Arlington, Virginia.

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books has released the 2019 Guide Book to Gift Books. This annual publication, available as a free downloadable pdf, highlights over one hundred of the best books for giving and receiving.