Ninety-five Leep students traveled to campus from over twenty-five states for the iSchool's inaugural Welcome Weekend on September 23-25. During the course of the weekend, Leep students interacted with faculty and fellow classmates, learned about student organizations, and attended workshops on a variety of topics.

Nine iSchool instructors were named in the University's List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent for Summer 2016. The rankings are released every semester, and results are based on the Instructor and Course Evaluation System (ICES) questionnaire forms maintained by Measurement and Evaluation in the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning

The University of Illinois is home to two extraordinary collections of modern reproductions of medieval Irish art, including jewelry, reliquaries, and manuscripts dating back to before the twelfth century. Many of these copies were acquired by the University around 1916, the year of the Irish “Easter Rising” against British rule.

Music, politics, art, prison justice, comics . . . the topics of zines are as diverse as the individuals creating them. Unlike a traditional magazine, a zine is self-published, small in scale, and more personal. On September 16, iSchool Associate Professor Kathryn La Barre answered questions about zines and her role as caretaker of the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center (UCIMC) Zine Library on the Harukana Show, a broadcast of UCIMC's radio station WRFU, which is also webcast internationally.

Michele Plante joined the School on September 12 as the employer relations coordinator. In this new role, she will develop, maintain, and evolve partnerships with employers for student preprofessional and professional opportunities as well as increase corporate engagement.

In the new book, Reference and Information Services, An Introduction (5th Edition), Professor Linda C. Smith (MS '72) and coeditor Melissa A. Wong (MS '94) have assembled chapters from experts in library and information science that focus on new ideas and methods for providing reference service; discuss the effective use of print, online, and fee-based sources; and explore the future of reference services in light of today's fast-changing technology.

The iSchool is pleased to announce the appointment of Martin Wolske as interim director of the Center for Digital Inclusion (CDI). Wolske assumes the position following the departure of Jon Gant, founding director, who recently accepted the deanship of the School of Library and Information Sciences at North Carolina Central University in Durham.

Fifteen iSchool instructors were named in the University's List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent for Spring 2016. The rankings are released every semester, and results are based on the Instructor and Course Evaluation System (ICES) questionnaire forms maintained by Measurement and Evaluation in the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning.

Moises Orozco Villicaña joined the iSchool on August 22 as director of enrollment management. In this new position, he is responsible for overall recruitment and admissions.

Ann Ohms (MS '08) joined the School on August 1 as K-12 program coordinator. In this role, she advises students interested in pursuing licensure or endorsement as a K-12 library information specialist and supervises teacher-librarian candidates during their student teaching.