Three iSchool alumni and a current student are included in Library Journal's 2020 class of Movers & Shakers, an annual list that recognizes fifty professionals who are transforming what it means to be a librarian. Thomas Padilla (MS '13) and Nicholas Weber (MS '10, PhD '15) were honored in the Digital Developers category; Haley Samuelson (MS '08) was honored in the Educators category; and MS/LIS student Edward Kristan was honored in the Community Builders category.

MS/LIS students Michael Cummings and Josh Hackel have been selected as recipients of the 2019-2020 Outstanding Graduate Student Award from the University Library at the University of Illinois. Cummings works in the Scholarly Commons, providing service at the Scholarly Commons front desk and Main Library Information desk, updating web pages and maintaining social media, and providing GIS (Geographic Information Systems) support. Hackel holds two positions at the Library. At Grainger Engineering Library, Joshua covers a wide variety of responsibilities, including serving as a duty officer with supervisory responsibilities, providing reference and instruction, and supporting Virtual Reality (VR) technologies in the IDEA lab. He also works in Records and Management Services on a three-year grant project.

Associate Professor and MS/LIS Program Director Maria Bonn and three iSchool alumni have received the 2020 Library Publishing Coalition (LPC) Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Library Publishing, which recognizes significant and timely contributions to library publishing theory and practice. Bonn’s coauthors include Katrina Fenlon (MS '09, PhD '17), assistant professor in the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park; Megan Senseney (MS '08), head of the Office of Digital Innovation and Stewardship at the University of Arizona Libraries; and Janet Swatscheno (MS '14), instructor and digital publishing librarian, University Library, at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The Community Data Clinic, a mixed methods data studies and interdisciplinary community research lab led by Associate Professor Anita Say Chan, is partnering with the Cunningham Township Supervisor's Office, one of the primary social services agencies in Champaign County, to help vulnerable populations and families in crisis. Their partnership will result in a research project to inform a new online version of the 211 directory that connects people, based on locality, to dozens of crisis response and social services, including housing, mental health services, and food support. Funded by the United Way of Champaign County and Champaign County Mental Health Board, with a call center run by PATH in Bloomington, Illinois, 211—a service available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year—provides information and referrals to 44 counties in the state, all at no cost and with anonymity to users.

Associate Professor Carol Tilley has been selected as a judge for the 2020 Ringo Awards for achievement in comic books. Tilley is part of a five-member esteemed jury representing a cross-section of the comic book industry, which includes educators, publishers, press, and creators across numerous genres. Among her fellow jury members is Gene Luen Yang, a recent MacArthur Fellow and the Library of Congress' fifth National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Unlike other professional industry awards, the Mike Wieringo (Ringo) Comic Book Industry Awards include fan participation in the nomination process.

MS/LIS student Mia Adams' work with local and international nonprofits has earned her a Special Recognition in Graduate Student Leadership from the Graduate College at Illinois. Adams serves as director of development and board member for Three Spinners, a nonprofit organization serving refugees and immigrants in the Champaign-Urbana community.

The American Library Association's New Members Round Table (NMRT) Student Chapter of the Year Award (SCOTYA) Committee is pleased to announce the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as the winner of the 2020 ALA Student Chapter of the Year Award. The committee also offers congratulations to the University of Southern California as this year’s runner-up.

Assistant Professor Jessie Chin has received a $389,810 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to identify false information about the HPV vaccine and model its impact on risk perceptions.

Lecturer Elizabeth Wickes has organized and will be leading virtual versions of the Python Trainers Summit on April 23 and Python Education Summit on April 24.

Leep student Marilyn Creswell has been accepted into the Librarian-in-Residence Program at the Library of Congress. In addition to the experience she will gain working in the U.S. Copyright Office, Creswell will participate in enrichment assignments, receive professional mentoring, and take part in library-wide activities.