[image2-right]Lian Ruan (MS '90, PhD '11) is the focus of a recent Illuminate Illinois feature by the Special Libraries Association (SLA) Illinois Chapter. Ruan is the director/head librarian of the Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI) Library at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an adjunct lecturer at GSLIS. At IFSI, Ruan works to provide resources to firefighters and…

[image1-right]An assistantship with the Instructional Technology and Design (ITD) office at GSLIS prepared Juliana Perry for her current position as web services project manager at Bryn Mawr College. According to Perry, her degree in LIS brings a new perspective to the IT world. Where do you work and what is your role?I work at Bryn Mawr College as the web services project manager, which…

The GSLIS eUpdate, published every other month, summarizes current news, events, alumni and advancement highlights, and continuing professional development opportunities. Other publications that may be of interest to alumni and friends are listed on the GSLIS Publications web page. _____________________________________________________ IN THIS ISSUE GSLIS Spotlight News Summary…

Elementary school librarian DaNae Leu is the recipient of the 2013 Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award given by the faculty of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Leu is being honored for her efforts to defend the picture book In Our Mothers’ House by Patricia Polacco against her school administration’s…

[image1-right]An assistantship with The Center for Children's Books (CCB) during her time at GSLIS provided Ayanna Coleman with the knowledge and skills she needs to navigate the publishing world, and now she is launching her own literary agency, Quill Shift Literary Agency.Where do you work and what is your role?I'm the associate manager of events and programs as well as the librarian at the…

Assistant Professor Carol Tilley has been elected director of external relations for the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE). She will officially begin her work after the ALISE annual meeting in January, 2014.

Five GSLIS master's students have been chosen by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) as 2014 Career Enhancement Program (CEP) fellows: Alonso Avila, Raquel Flores-Clemons, Sophie Hou, Bradley Kuykendall, and Jerrod Moore. Each year, ARL member libraries select a group of library and information science master's students to participate in this competitive program, which provides avenues…

[image1-right]To help accomplish her goal of becoming a law librarian, LEEP student Lindsey Carpino, JD, balances teaching law courses to paralegal students, working as a reference associate at a law school, and taking GSLIS courses.Why did you decide to pursue an LIS degree?I wanted to pursue an LIS degree because I developed an interest in becoming a law librarian while I worked as a reference…

A first career in journalism led Melinda Miller to explore information architecture, and her experience at GSLIS helped prepare her for a recent promotion. [image1-right]Where do you work and what is your role? I work at Pixo as the director of user experience and research. Pixo, located in Urbana, is a software company that designs and develops websites, mobile apps, and custom…

GSLIS Assistant Professor Jana Diesner will deliver a keynote speech at the Daegu Gyeongbuk International Social Network Conference (DISC) 2013, which will be held in South Korea from December 12-14. The theme of the conference is "Knowledge Network Analysis in the Emerging Big Data Research." Diesner’s keynote, "Words and Networks: Relevance of methodological choices for practical…