iSchool faculty are studying ways to improve user experience, with a common goal of improving technology and applications for the needs of individual users. These researchers are working with diverse groups to gain feedback, and several current projects are focused on experiences for users with disabilities.

Last month, Michael Ferrer showed appreciation for one of his MSIM instructors in a unique way—by inviting him for an insider’s look at his work as a reservist in the Illinois Army National Guard. For the ILARNG BOSS Lift, which took place on June 18 at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, Ferrer selected Michael Wonderlich, iSchool adjunct lecturer and senior associate director of business intelligence and enterprise architecture for Administrative Information Technology Services (AITS) at the University of Illinois.

A toolkit for public librarians can help them use data to communicate the value of their services and justify their funding needs. The Data Storytelling for Librarians Toolkit helps librarians present data in story form using narrative strategies. It was developed by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign information sciences professors.

Associate Professor Anita Say Chan will deliver the keynote at the 15th annual conference of the SHOT (Society for the History of Technology) Special Interest Group for Computing, Information, and Society (SIGCIS), which will be held on July 14 in Viña del Mar, Chile. SIGCIS is the leading international group for historians with an interest in the history of information technology and its applications. The theme for SIGCIS 2024 is "System Update: Patches, Tactics, Responses."

Adjunct Lecturer Kristen Mattson has received the 2024 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Making It Happen Award. The award honors educators and leaders who demonstrate outstanding commitment, leadership, courage, and persistence in improving digital learning opportunities for students.

The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) has announced the publication of the Communication of Retractions, Removals, and Expressions of Concern (CREC) Recommended Practice (NISO RP-45-2024), which is the product of a working group made up of cross-industry stakeholders, including Associate Professor Jodi Schneider. 

Maria Bonn, associate professor and director of the MSLIS and CAS programs, has been elected president-elect of the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T). She will begin her one-year term immediately following the ASIS&T Annual Meeting, which will be held from October 25-29 in Calgary, Canada, and will assume the presidency in fall 2025.

Adjunct Lecturer Kristen Mattson has authored a second edition of her book, Digital Citizenship in Action: Empowering Students to Engage in Online Communities, which was recently released by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). In the new book, Mattson provides additional history and context to the digital citizenship conversation as well as opportunities to bring digital citizenship into the classroom.

Members of Associate Professor Dong Wang's research group, the Social Sensing and Intelligence Lab, will present their research at the 2024 Annual Conference of the North American Chapter of the Association for Computational Linguistics (NAACL 2024), which will be held from June 16-21 in Mexico City, Mexico.

A collaborative project of the iSchool's Center for Children's Books (CCB) and the National Park Service (NPS) has been honored by the Organization of American Historians. The Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, which features the Books to Parks website, received the Stanton-Horton Award, which recognizes "excellence in National Park Service historical efforts that make the NPS a leader in promoting public understanding of and engagement with American history."