News Feed

Get to know Tamela Chambers, branch manager

Tamela Chambers (MS/LIS '05) serves as the branch manager of the Chicago Public Library's Beverly Branch. She is also the recipient of the 2022 Demco Black Caucus American Library Association (BCALA) Excellence in Librarianship Award, which recognizes librarians who have made significant contributions to the promotion of African Americans in the library profession. "I'm deeply honored to be a recipient of an award that so many others that I admire have received," said Chambers. "It is great to have my work acknowledged but is also a reflection of all who took the time to mentor/coach and instruct me on my path to librarianship."

Tamela Chambers

Jean Wilkins and Patricia Boze named Illinois Library Luminaries

iSchool alumni Jean Wilkins (MS/LIS '85) and Patricia Boze (MS/LIS '88) have been named Illinois Library Luminaries by the Illinois Library Association (ILA). This distinction honors individuals who have made a significant contribution to Illinois libraries. 

Jean Wilkins

Ruan receives CALA Outstanding Leadership Award

Research Affiliate Lian Ruan (MS/LIS '90, PhD '11) has been selected as the recipient of the 2021-2022 Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA) Outstanding Library Leadership Award in memory of Dr. Margaret Chang Fung. She was recognized at the CALA awards ceremony and board meeting on June 17.

Lian Ruan

Get to know Olivia Warren, program coordinator

Olivia Warren (MS/LIS '21) serves as the program coordinator for Allerton Park and Retreat Center, which is owned by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and located in Monticello, Illinois. She loves serving her community and providing quality programs and other learning opportunities.

Olivia Warren

Yen supports student success through annual fund

Julie Yen (MS/LIS '07) wants students to receive the same quality educational experience that she enjoyed during her time at the iSchool. For this reason, she is a loyal donor to the iSchool Annual Fund, which provides dollars for scholarships, annual student awards, new technology, and conference travel.

Julie Yen

iSchool alumni named 2022 Movers & Shakers

Five iSchool alumni are included in Library Journal’s 2022 class of Movers & Shakers, an annual list that recognizes 41 professionals who are moving the library field forward as a profession. Jeanie Austin (PhD '17) was honored in the Advocates category, Van McGary (MS/LIS '18) was honored in the Change Agents category, Elisandro Cabada (MS/LIS '17) and Robin Davis (MS/LIS '12) were honored in the Innovators category, and Barbara Alvarez (MS/LIS '12) was honored in the Educators category.

Get to know Catheryne Popovitch, supervisor, Operations and Publications Sections, Illinois State Archives

Catheryne Popovitch (MS/LIS '11) had never considered working in government archives when she was a student in the iSchool but is now relishing the variety in her job with the Illinois State Archives. Her work has garnered accolades from the Council of State Archivists (2021 Rising Star Award) and the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators (inaugural Emerging Leader Award).

Catheryne Popovitch

Get to know Kam Wells, data engineer, baseball systems

For Kam Wells (MS/IM '18), working for the Boston Red Sox is a dream come true. A baseball player and lifelong fan of the sport, Wells was a graduate data analyst for the U of I Division of Intercollegiate Athletics Sports Technology Department while he was an iSchool student. Now he works with player-related data—analyzing and storing it, as well as everything that goes into running a professional baseball team.

Kam Wells

iSchool alumni share their zine experiences in new publication

Zines—small-scale, self-published works about anything and everything—have made their way from homes to libraries over the years. As libraries' zine collections grow, librarians must address the acquisition and circulation of these unique publications and develop new ways to promote the creation of future zines. iSchool alumni Ann "A'misa" Matsushima Chiu (MS/LIS '15), Ziba Pérez (MS/LIS ’12), and Josh Lupkin (MS/LIS '08) recently penned chapters on this topic for Zines in Libraries: Selecting, Purchasing and Processing (ALA Editions/CORE, 2022).