Over thirty Chinese academic librarians have a better understanding of American libraries after participating in a visit to the Urbana campus. The visit was hosted by Lian Ruan (MS '90, PhD '11), head librarian and director of international programs at the Illinois Fire Service Institute

Anita Mechler (MS '08) has been named the new executive director of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association.

Two iSchool alumni, Jennifer Bueche (MS '94) and Lucas McKeever (MS '13), have been selected to receive awards from the Illinois Library Association (ILA).

Recent graduate Wendy Hoi Yan Wong (MS '18) has been awarded a Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) Digital Scholarship Postdoctoral Fellowship to work at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). The fellowship program offers scholars the chance to develop new research models, collaborate with information specialists, and explore new career opportunities. In addition to her MS/LIS degree from Illinois, Wong holds a PhD in music from CUHK.

iSchool alumnus Alexander Salopek (MS '15), acquisitions/government documents librarian for the Supreme Court of the United States, has been chosen to participate in the highly competitive American Library Association Leadership Institute. 

Cheryl Ziegler very nearly wasn't the librarian at the Union League Club. She had applied for several jobs, but on the day of her interview at ULC, she got a call saying that she had been selected for an independent contractor position on a project with Chicago Public Schools. "Well, I can't have two jobs," she thought to herself, and canceled the interview. 

According to Roy Saldaña (MS '08), the best part of his job is the opportunity to work with college students from underrepresented groups: first-generation and lower-income students as well as those with documented disabilities. He has found his niche as the director of a program aimed at helping these individuals succeed in college and beyond.

Throughout her racing career, Paralympian Amanda McGrory (MS '18) has had many fans cheering her on, but she considers her fans at the iSchool to be particularly special. At commencement ceremonies last weekend, she presented the iSchool with the Order of Ikkos, a medal given to Olympic and Paralympic medalists to pass on to organizations or people who have supported them on their journey.

Four iSchool alumni are among the twenty-five professionals selected to participate in the 2018-2019 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Leadership & Career Development Program (LCDP). These new fellows include Sandra Enimil (MS '09), Adebola Fabiku (MS '12), Myung-Ja Han (MS '06), and Thomas Padilla (MS '13). 

Sarah T. Roberts (PhD '14), assistant professor of information studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, has been named a 2018 Andrew Carnegie Fellow. Roberts joins thirty other Carnegie Fellows from across the nation as a recipient of what are often referred to as the "brainy awards" and will receive a $200,000 stipend from the Carnegie Corporation in support of her work. Roberts was selected along with the other 2018 fellows from among 270 applicants. 

The iSchool is hosting a special three-day gathering, INDABA: Conquering Racism, from April 27-29. All are invited, and remote participants can join online. The event will be recorded.

iSchool faculty and alumni played an active role in the Playful by Design Spring Symposium, which took place April 5-7 on the Urbana campus. The symposium, organized by the Playful by Design Research Cluster, included presentations and panel discussions as well as a new exhibit at the Spurlock Museum, movie screening, keynote address, and games and gaming make-a-thon. The event was sponsored by the iSchool, Illinois Informatics Institute, Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning, Spurlock Museum, CU Community FabLab, and Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities.

Diedre Conkling (MS '79), director of the Lincoln County Library District, has been selected as the 2018 winner of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Women and Gender Studies Section (WGSS) Career Achievement Award. The award honors significant long-standing contributions to women and gender studies in the field of librarianship over the course of a career.

Scott A. Collard (MS '99), head of specialized research services at New York University, is the recipient of the 2018 Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Education and Behavioral Sciences Section (EBSS) Distinguished Education and Behavioral Sciences Librarian Award. This award honors a distinguished academic librarian who has made an outstanding contribution as an education and/or behavioral sciences librarian through accomplishments and service to the profession.

Three iSchool alumni are included in the Library Journal's 2018 class of Movers & Shakers, an annual list that recognizes fifty professionals who are transforming what it means to be a librarian. Robin Bradford (MS '00), Roberta Koscielski (MS '82), and Chera Kowalski (MS '09) were honored in the "Advocates" category. ​​​​​

M. Kathleen Kern (MS '99) has been appointed incoming editor of Reference and User Services Quarterly (RUSQ), the journal of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA). Kern began as editor-designate in early February and will assume the position of editor on July 1, 2018.

Assistant Professor Emily Knox and iSchool alumnus James LaRue (MS '81), director of the American Library Association's (ALA's) Office for Intellectual Freedom and the Freedom to Read Foundation, will serve as panelists for a special forum on March 5 at the University of Oregon. The event is part of the University's 2018 event series, which aims to address challenging, contemporary issues of free expression on college campuses.

iSchool alumna Soraya Silverman-Montano (MS '11) is the 2018 president of the Nevada Library Association (NLA). In this role, one of her goals is to work with library organizations across the state to get their staff involved and active in the organization. Silverman-Montano, head of Youth Services at the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District’s Spring Valley branch, was named the NLA's…

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, 2018.

A commitment to library innovations led a small group of librarians, including iSchool alumnus Joshua Finnell (MS '07), to create the Awesome Libraries Chapter. The chapter originated from a working group of the Library Pipeline, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting structural changes by providing opportunities, funding, and services that improve the library as an institution and librarianship as a profession. Finnell, head of research and instruction and associate professor in the University Libraries at Colgate University, started the chapter with group members Bonnie Tijerina, researcher at the Data & Society Research Institute in New York, and Robin Champieux, scholarly communication librarian at Oregon Health & Science University.