The American Library Association (ALA) is pleased to announce the selection of MSLIS student Sarah Shuai Martin of Chicago, Illinois, as the 2025 recipient of the Mary V. Gaver Scholarship.

MSLIS student Fi Keane found their way to the iSchool after working in the children’s section of a bookstore. For the past academic year, they have served as the graduate assistant for Research on Diversity in Youth Literature, a peer-reviewed, open access, academic journal hosted by the iSchool’s Center for Children’s Books.

Assistant Professor Karen Wickett has received a $30,000 Arnold O. Beckman Research Award from the University of Illinois Campus Research Board for her project, "Who is seen? New digital frameworks to address archival silences."

Of the seven Cordells, you’ll find three of them on campus with connections to the iSchool: Ryan is a faculty member; Evie, an iSchool alum, University of Illinois librarian, and faculty member; and Cadence, an MSLIS student. 

Doctoral candidate Smirity Kaushik successfully defended her dissertation, "Digital Trust, Safety, and Privacy in the Age of Emerging Technologies," on June 16. 

Join the iSchool at the American Library Association (ALA) 2025 Annual Conference and Exhibition on June 26–30 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Paul Marty and Michelle Kazmer met on the first day of class in the first semester of their PhD program. 

Glen Layne-Worthey, associate director for research support services for the HathiTrust Research Center (HTRC), and J. Stephen Downie, professor and HTRC co-director, have edited a new book, Navigating Artificial Intelligence for Cultural Heritage Organisations, which was recently released by UCL Press. 

Most of Jeannette C. Pearson Johnson's ninety-five years have been spent in a library. Over the course of her lifetime, Johnson has served as an elementary school librarian, a public librarian, and a church librarian, as well as a library volunteer until as recently as last year. 

The iSchool is pleased to announce that Yonghan Jung will join the faculty as an assistant professor in August 2025, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.