Thanks to new European Union (EU) legislation, those who perform on-demand work through an app or website, such as DoorDash or Uber, will enjoy better working conditions. PhD student Zachary Kilhoffer, who spent four years working as a researcher for the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) in Brussels prior to entering the iSchool's doctoral program, authored or co-authored several policy research pieces that informed the creation of the EU Platform Work Directive.

Several iSchool undergraduate students will participate in the 17th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. During the event, visitors will learn about undergraduate research projects through oral and poster presentations, creative performances, and art exhibits. All are welcome to attend the symposium, which will be held on April 25 from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. in the Illini Rooms and South Lounge of the Illini Union. 

Thanks to a new $1-million gift from Lionelle (BA English '66, MSLIS '67) and James (BS Business '66, MS Business '67) Elsesser, the iSchool will be better able to attract and retain outstanding faculty and educate future school librarians. Their latest donation will be directed to the iSchool Alumni Association Endowed Professorship Fund, Leigh Estabrook Faculty Development Fund, and Public School Licensure Program Fund.

The following iSchool faculty and students participated in the virtual portion of iConference 2024 from April 15-18. The in-person portion of the conference will be held in Changchun, China, from April 22-26. The theme of this year’s conference is "Wisdom, Well-being, Win-win."

PhD student Emily Wegrzyn has been selected for the prestigious Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship-for-Service Program, which is funded by the Department of Defense. The primary aim of this program is to increase the number of civilian engineers and scientists in the U.S. 

When the Fighting Illini men's basketball team played in the Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament this spring, BSIS student John Kramer was on the sidelines for each game—not simply as a fan but as a team manager. This is the second year that Kramer, a sophomore from Huntley, Illinois, has served in this role.

After graduating with his BSIS degree in May, Colton Keiser will head to St. Louis to work as an internal audit and financial advisory consultant with Protiviti. He gained experience in auditing while working as an intern for the Montgomery County Public Defender in his hometown of Hillsboro, Illinois.

MSLIS students Yung-hui Chou, Alice Tierney-Fife, and Elizabeth Workman are the winners of this year’s Graduate Student Exhibit Contest, sponsored by the University of Illinois Library. Their exhibit, "Culture and Cuisine in Diaspora: A Hidden Library Collection," displays items from seven campus libraries and highlights research and recreational material centered on traditional recipes from across the globe. The exhibit is on display in the library's Marshall Gallery through the end of April and also available online.

Senior Lecturer Kevin Trainor has been selected by the Division of Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) to receive the 2024 Karen Wold Level the Learning Field Award. This award honors exemplary members of faculty and staff for advocating and/or implementing instructional strategies, technologies, and disability-related accommodations that afford students with disabilities equal access to academic resources and curricula. 

Assistant Professor JooYoung Seo and Mine Dogucu, professor of statistics in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of California Irvine, have coauthored a chapter in the new book Teaching Accessible Computing. The goal of the book, which is edited by Alannah Oleson, Amy J. Ko and Richard Ladner, is to help educators feel confident in introducing topics related to disability and accessible computing and integrating accessibility into their courses.