PhD student Shadi Rezapour will present her research with the Diesner lab at the 22nd ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW 2019), which will be held November 9-13 in Austin, Texas. CSCW brings together experts from industry and academia to explore the technical, social, material, and theoretical challenges of designing technology to support collaborative work and life activities.

For the first time in the journal’s history, Library Trends has published a bilingual issue. Communities and Technologies: Realities, Challenges, and Opportunities for Librarians in Cuba was edited by Kate Williams, iSchool associate professor; Pedro Urra González, professor of information technologies at the University of Havana’s School of Library and Information Sciences; and Professor Yohannis Martí-Lahera, professor, director of information, and director of the Central Library at the University of Havana.

Moises Orozco Villicaña, director of enrollment management at the iSchool, was featured in the fall 2019 issue of Perspectives, the magazine of NAGAP, which is the Association for Graduate Enrollment Management. In the interview, "A Candid Conversation on Increasing Enrollment of Underrepresented Students in Graduate School," Orozco Villicaña described his personal motivations for pursuing higher education, his experiences working with underrepresented students, and some of the challenges associated with the recruitment and retention of students of color. He also presented on this topic at the 2019 NAGAP Annual Conference earlier this year.

The iSchool is hosting a special two-day gathering, INDABA: Why Libraries? Why Librarians?, from November 15-16. All are invited, and remote participants can join online. The event will be recorded.

Professor Allen Renear, School of Information Sciences, will join the Provost's leadership team as special advisor for strategic initiatives. Renear will be working closely with other University academic and research units to provide analysis, guidance, and leadership with the planning, coordination, and launch of selected strategic initiatives in the University's Strategic Plan, The Next 150. Priority will be given to activities and programs in support of the digital transformation initiative; graduate, professional, and continuing education at the intersection of disciplines; and, workforce-development strategies across the public and private sectors through the Discovery Partners Institute and the Illinois Innovation Network.

Associate Professor Bonnie Mak is an invited speaker at Literature and Formats, a symposium on the materiality of texts, which will be held at the University of Copenhagen on November 15-16. Organized by the Department of English, Germanic and Romance Studies, the event will bring together an international slate of speakers to examine the complex relationship between text and format. Mak's paper, "Scholarship and Its Formats: Documenting the Humanities," explores the enduring features of humanistic scholarship in different technological contexts.

Assistant Professor Rachel M. Magee will present her research at the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Symposium, which will be held on November 1-3 in Memphis, Tennessee. She will discuss her IMLS-funded Young Researchers project during the preconference workshop, "Literacies You Didn't Talk About in Library School." The workshop will involve "hands-on activities and conversation focused on supporting youth library staff, and the teens they work with, in the development of literacies that lead to future academic, civic, and personal success."

As a young professional working to advance her career, Leep student Erica Halpern appreciates the flexibility and convenience of the iSchool's online MS/LIS program. She also is grateful for the George Bonn Scholarship that she received from the School, which removed a "huge financial burden" and has allowed her to focus on her studies.

Héctor Hernández (MS '78) retired in September after 40 years with the Chicago Public Library, having served the past 30 years as branch manager of CPL's Rudy Lozano Branch. Located in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, the Rudy Lozano Branch is the largest Hispanic public library in the Midwest. Hernández was drawn to the field of librarianship because he never saw any Hispanic librarians when he was growing up. Over the course of his lengthy career at CPL, he became a role model for Hispanic youth in his community.

Teaching Assistant Professor Martin Wolske will present his work at the 17th annual Community Informatics Research Network (CIRN) Conference, which will be held on November 6-8 in Prato, Italy. The theme of this year's conference is "Whose Agenda: Action, Research, & Politics." Wolske also serves on the 2019 conference committee.