Three iSchool alumni have been selected by the American Library Association (ALA) to participate in its 2020 class of Emerging Leaders.

Elizabeth (Lizzy) Boden (MS '18), Teresa Moreno (MS '19), and Jodi Silverman (MS '16) are included in this year's class of fifty individuals from across the country. This leadership development initiative provides opportunities for newer library professionals to participate in problem-solving work groups, network with peers, observe ALA structure, and serve the profession in a leadership capacity.

Affiliate Professor Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe, professor and coordinator for information literacy services in the University Library, has been elected as the co-secretary general of the International Steering Committee (ISC) for the UNESCO Global Alliance on Partnerships for Media and Information Literacy (GAPMIL). GAPMIL is a groundbreaking effort to promote international cooperation to ensure that all citizens have access to media and information competencies. In consultation with the international agencies, the ISC coordinates the overall implementation of GAPMIL activities.

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.

On October 21, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's McIntyre Library was named the 2019 Federal Depository Library of the Year by the U.S. Government Publishing Office. iSchool alumna Robin Miller (MS '09), associate professor and government documents librarian at McIntyre Library, accepted the award during the annual Federal Depository Library Program conference in Washington, D.C.

Celia C. Pérez (CAS '12) credits her experience as a student in the Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS) program with her decision to become a children's book author. Her debut children’s book, The First Rule of Punk, published by Viking Books for Young Readers in 2017, was a hit. In addition to receiving several honors, including the 2018 Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award, the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis is currently adapting the book into a musical.

Two iSchool alumni have received the Up and Comer Award from ATG Media. Aaisha N. Haykal (MS '11), manager of archival services at the Avery Research Center of African American History and Culture at the College of Charleston, and Paolo P. Gujilde (MS '09), assistant head of acquisitions at Northwestern University, are among the fifteen individuals who were selected for the award, which is intended for early-career librarians and information professionals.

David King (MS '78, PhD '94) believes libraries must be reinvented to meet the needs of professional practitioners. This "out of the box" mindset has led him to design and build digital libraries for professionals providing services to victims of crime and abuse.

Four iSchool alumni—Kristine Hammerstrand (MS '79), Stacey Knight-Davis (MS '01), Heather McCammond-Watts (MS '95), and Brian Shepard (MS '05)—have been selected to receive awards from the Illinois Library Association (ILA).

The iSchool Alumni Association (ISAA) honored its 2019 award recipients at the ISAA annual meeting and reception, which was held on June 23 during the annual meeting of the American Library Association in Washington, DC.

Professor Emerita Linda C. Smith was the first person that Richard Pearce-Moses (MS ’01) contacted after discovering that Illinois offered an ALA-accredited library and information science program online. He was interested in pursuing his MS/LIS degree through the School’s Leep program but had missed the application deadline by a few days.

Anne Miskewitch (MS '05), deputy director for Schaumburg Township District Library, and Elisandro Cabada (MS '17), medical and bioengineering librarian at the University of Illinois, have been selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants to participate in the American Library Association Leadership Institute.

High School District 214, located in Arlington Heights, Illinois, is the recipient of the American Association of School Librarians' (AASL) 2019 National School Library of the Year Award. Sponsored by Follett, the annual award honors a single school or district-wide school library that exemplifies implementation of AASL's "National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries." High School District 214 has an iSchool connection: two of the district’s librarians, Dawn Ferencz and Kim Miklusak, have participated in the School's continuing education program.

Lian Ruan (MS '90, PhD '11) has been selected as the recipient for the 2019 Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA) Distinguished Service Award. According to the announcement from CALA, "Dr. Ruan has been dedicated to Chinese-American librarianship throughout her career. She has committed to the growth and integrity of CALA as a strong ethnic professional association through her outstanding leadership [as Vice-President, President, and Executive Director], passionate activism, and professional involvement."

As the director of artificial intelligence strategy at Benefitfocus, Jen Clark (MS '14) works on leading-edge technology to solve complex data and AI problems. She credits her iSchool coursework with laying the foundation for her career in data science.

Serving as a mentor for iSchool students has been a rewarding experience for Leora Siegel (MS '91), senior director of the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Lenhardt Library. "My experiences over the past two decades as a librarian have provided insight into the profession, and I'm happy to share my knowledge if it can benefit a student or new grad or new professional, figuring out the path they wish to take," she said.

Four iSchool alumni are included in Library Journal’s 2019 class of Movers & Shakers, an annual list that recognizes fifty professionals who are transforming what it means to be a librarian. Jarrett Dapier (MS '15) and Gwen Evans (MS '02) were honored in the Change Agents category; Heather Thompson (MS '13) was honored in the Educators category; and Anton Chuppin (MS '99) was honored in the Digital Developers category.

The iSchool Alumni Association (ISAA) is seeking nominations for three distinguished awards. The awards are given annually at the iSchool alumni reception held at the American Library Association conference. The deadline for nomination is April 1, 2019.

Fayrene Muhammad (MS '01) has been selected as the 2018 winner of the DEMCO/ALA Black Caucus Award for Excellence in Librarianship. The annual award is presented to the librarian who has made significant contributions to promote the status of African Americans in the library profession. These contributions may include, but are not limited to, research and scholarship, recruitment, professional development, planning or implementation of programs, or advocacy.

Professor and Executive Associate Dean Linda C. Smith (MS '72) has been named an Illinois Library Luminary by the Illinois Library Association (ILA). This distinction honors individuals whose efforts have made a significant contribution to Illinois libraries. Smith's nearly 50-year career began when she came to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Graduate School of Library Science (now the School of Information Sciences) in 1971 shortly after graduating summa cum laude in physics and mathematics from Allegheny College (PA). She received her MS from Illinois in 1972 and spent a year at Washington University School of Medicine Library in St. Louis as a trainee in computer librarianship. She then earned an MS in information and computer science from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1975 and a PhD from Syracuse University, School of Information Studies in 1979. 

The lessons that Dorothy Vickers-Shelley (MS '75) imparted to students still resonate nearly a decade after her death. Vickers-Shelley was the head librarian at Yankee Ridge Elementary School in Urbana for 33 years, retiring in 2003.