A record fifteen iSchool master's students were named 2020-2021 Spectrum Scholars by the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services. This "Spectrum Scholar Spotlight" series highlights the School's scholars. MS/LIS student Luisa Leija holds a BA in Chicana/o studies with an emphasis in Xicana art history from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MFA in writing from the California College of the Arts, San Francisco.

See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog, written by David LaRochelle and illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka, and published by Penguin Random House, has won the 2021 Gryphon Award for Children's Literature.

Moises Orozco Villicaña, director of enrollment management for the iSchool, has been selected to participate in the University of Illinois System's Professional Staff Leadership Academy (PSLA). Twenty professionals were selected from across the University of Illinois' three campuses for the program, which includes speakers, leadership activities, facility tours, state legislative education, relevant literature reviews, system-wide networking, and a mentor program.

Doctoral candidate Natã Barbosa successfully defended his dissertation, "Exploring Algorithmic Realism in the Data Economy," on January 14. His committee included Associate Professor Yang Wang (chair); Professor Michael Twidale; Gang Wang, assistant professor of computer science at Illinois; and Blase Ur, assistant professor of computer science at the University of Chicago.

In the fall semester, three iSchool students worked on a 3D scanning service project and software development project as part of their practicum experience at the Innovation, Discovery, Design, & Data Lab (IDEA Lab). Located in Grainger Engineering Library, the IDEA Lab serves as a demonstration and prototyping site for exploring the interface between design learning, informatics, visualization, and data analytics. Students who completed the practicum include PhD student Yingying Han, MS/IM student Xiaohan Yin, and MS/LIS student Nathan Moore.

The staff at The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (BCCB) have announced the 2020 Blue Ribbons, their choices for the best of children's and young adult literature for the year. Blue Ribbons are chosen annually by BCCB reviewers and represent what they believe to be outstanding examples of fiction, nonfiction, and picture books for youth.

A paper coauthored by Assistant Professor Madelyn Rose Sanfilippo and Yan Shvartzshnaider (New York University) has been named a finalist for the Lee Dirks Award for Best Full Research Paper at iConference 2021. Five finalists were selected for the award, which recognizes "the most exceptional completed research paper" presented at the conference. The winner will be announced during iConference 2021, which will take place online from March 17-31.

Our School is grateful for talented and dedicated staff, who contribute greatly to our teaching and research excellence. This "Get to Know" series highlights our staff, sharing their friendly faces and stories of professional success. 

Adjunct Assistant Professor Ellen Knutson (MS '02, PhD '08) and Quanetta Batts, director of outreach and engagement at The Ohio State University Libraries, have coauthored a chapter in the new book, Ask, Listen, Empower: Grounding Your Library Work in Community Engagement (ALA Editions, 2020). Edited by Mary Davis Fournier and Sarah Ostman, the book features contributions by leaders active in library-led community engagement and serves as both an educational resource for LIS students and a "go-to handbook" for current programming, adult services, and outreach library staff.

In response to the World Health Organization's (WHO) need for timely, accurate, and searchable material about COVID-19, Elaine R. Hicks—research, education, and public health librarian at Tulane University in New Orleans—pulled together an ad hoc organization she named the Librarian Reserve Corps (LRC). Among those who answered her call for volunteers were Stacy Brody, reference and instruction librarian at the George Washington University (GWU) School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD; and Sara Loree, medical librarian at St. Luke’s Health System, Boise, ID, both of whom soon stepped up to serve as the project's co-leads.