This semester, students in the Business Information Group (BIG), the student consultancy group associated with Associate Professor Yoo-Seong Song's Applied Business Research class (IS 514), worked with clients in the areas of facial recognition technology, digital healthcare, telemetry-based marketing automation, cybersecurity, and market entry strategy.

Associate Professor Victoria Stodden has been invited to guest edit a special theme issue of the Harvard Data Science Review dedicated to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report on Reproducibility and Replication in Science. The Harvard Data Science Review, an open access platform of the Harvard Data Science Initiative, has a primary emphasis on reproducibility, replicability, and readability, along with broad Data Science topics.

After forty years of service to the iSchool, Associate Professor Terry L. Weech (MS '65, PhD '72) will retire at the end of December. Weech is well known for his teaching and research, his positive influence on students as an advisor and mentor, and his contributions to international librarianship and intellectual freedom.

Assistant Professor Jodi Schneider has received an award from the University of Illinois Research Board for her project, “Identifying Potential Bias in Science Using Citation Network Structures.” According to Schneider, citation bias happens when authors ignore relevant research and present one-sided evidence, which mispresents what is known about a topic. Citation bias benefits authors in the short-term by bolstering grants and papers, but it can have severe negative consequences for scientific inquiry.

Doctoral candidate K.R. Roberto successfully defended their dissertation, "Description Is a Drag (and Vice Versa): Classifying Trans Identities," on December 11. Their committee included Associate Professor Kathryn La Barre (chair and research director), Associate Professor Carol Tilley; Toby Beauchamp, Gender and Womens Studies, University of Illinois; and Melissa Adler, Faculty of Information & Media Studies, University of Western Ontario.

A new issue of Library Trends highlights the state of digital humanities in China. Digital Humanities and Libraries in China was edited by iSchool Research Affiliate Lian Ruan (PhD '11), head librarian at the University of Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI), and Xingye Du, associate research librarian at the National Science Library in China.

Professor Emeritus Alistair Black discussed his research at the UK's Library and Information Group Work-in-Progress Conference, which was held virtually on November 27. At the conference, he presented an analysis of the 1962 feature film Only Two Can Play as a tool for learning about the history of the post-war public library in the UK.

BS/IS student Bastian Sanchez has used the knowledge he gained from iSchool courses and campus internships to acquire post-graduate employment. He recently moved to Seattle to begin work as a systems support engineer with Legwork, a software development company.
Sanchez joined the BS/IS program as a senior after taking several iSchool courses. He has especially enjoyed learning about network systems and security.

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 Megdi Abebe holds a BA in journalism from Michigan State University.

Thanks to the generosity of Edward Koval and his family, MS/LIS student Claudia Farris can stop worrying about finances and simply focus on their studies. Farris is a recipient of the iSchool's Anna Mae Koval Scholarship, a need-based scholarship for students interested in youth services and literature.