Much of the Midwest is experiencing drought due to very dry weather in the late summer and early fall. Half of the state of Illinois is in a severe drought, and portions of Central Illinois are in an extreme drought, affecting farmers' yields, particularly for soybeans. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign information sciences professor Dong Wang developed an artificial intelligence-driven drought estimation framework, called SIDE or Socially Informed Drought Estimation. The tool examines societal implications of drought beyond water availability or agricultural losses and how human behavior and environmental conditions influence one another. He talked with News Bureau arts and humanities editor Jodi Heckel.

Cindy Brya has been appointed assistant dean for communications and marketing. In her new role, she will lead the iSchool’s Communications and Marketing team, provide counsel to the dean, and shape the overall communications strategy.

iSchool faculty and students will present their research at the 27th International Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Special Interest Group (SIG) ACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2025), which will be held in Denver, Colorado, October 26–29, 2025. This conference allows researchers to present their scholarship on design, evaluation, use, and education related to computing for people with disabilities and older adults.

Professor Anita Say Chan will give an invited lecture at the American University of Beirut (AUB) on October 23. The talk, part of the "Confronted with America" series hosted by the Center for American Studies and Research, will be moderated by Jihad Touma, founding director of AUB's School of Computing and Data Sciences.

Precious Olalere, a doctoral student in information sciences, has been awarded the 2025 Helen Knoll Jira Scholarship from the Health Science Librarians of Illinois (HSLI). This award supports individuals pursuing education in library or information science in Illinois, especially those focusing on health science librarianship.

BSIS student Daria Meshcheriakova came to the iSchool with intention. Originally from Russia, where she lived for 17 years, Meshcheriakova moved to Chicago and attended Harold Washington Community College before transferring to the University of Illinois. Among potential universities, Illinois proved to be the best fit.

School faculty, staff, and students will present their research at the 2025 Illinois Library Association (ILA) Annual Conference, which will be held on October 14–16 in Rosemont. The theme of this year's conference is "You Belong Here."

Anne Craig, iSchool adjunct lecturer and senior director of the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI), has been inducted as an Illinois Library Luminary. The Illinois Library Luminary program, an initiative of the Illinois Library Association (ILA), recognizes those who have made a significant contribution to Illinois libraries.

Manas Godha (BSIS '24) learned how to connect "different contexts, people, and processes with data and technology" at the iSchool. He is putting those skills into practice in his work as the growth and strategy lead at Advaiya.

The iSchool at Illinois is pleased to announce the publication of Library Trends 74 (1), titled “Genres and Their Uses in Cultural Documentation: Exploring Generic Access to Creative Worlds.” Pushing back against the notion of genres as “inferior” classifications due to their ambiguity, this issue instead explores how genre classifications facilitate access to creative works in libraries and beyond.