Evanston, Illinois, has a growing Latino population—over 10% according to 2015 figures. Building connections with the Latino community served by the Evanston Public Library is what Miguel Ruiz likes best about his job.

Rana Hutchinson Salzmann (MS '05) has been appointed director of education for the Society of American Archivists (SAA), effective January 2, 2018. She will be responsible for the design, development, marketing, implementation, and evaluation of SAA’s continuing education offerings and resources for archivists and other related professionals.

Four iSchool alumni have received the Up and Comer Award from ATG Media. Sarah E. Crissinger (MS '15), Hailley Fargo (MS '16), Maoria Kirker (MS '11), and Katrina Spencer (MS '16) are among the twenty individuals who were selected for the award, which is intended for early-career librarians and information professionals.

Six iSchool alumni have been selected by the American Library Association (ALA) to participate in its 2018 class of Emerging Leaders. Jessica Colbert (MS '17), Aisha Conner-Gaten (MS '13), Tracy Drake (MS '15), Hailley Fargo (MS '16), Brittany Fiedler (MS '17), and Yan Liu (MS '14) are included in this year's class of fifty individuals from across the country.

Julie Edwards (MS '05) fell in love with Botswana in 2015 when she helped plan a conference there for the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Reference and Information Section. As soon as her conference ended, she vowed that one day she would return. She is now back in Botswana as a Fulbright Scholar for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Three recipients of the 2017 Digital Library Federation (DLF) Forum Fellowships have ties to the iSchool. Jane Kelly, an MS/LIS student in the Leep program, and Nushrat Khan (MS '16) were awarded DLF Forum Fellowships for Students and New Professionals. Richard J. Urban (PhD '12) was named a KRESS+DLF Forum Fellow.

An interest in global education took Tracy Hubbard (MS '05) to India this summer. Hubbard, a library media specialist at the Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies in Evanston Skokie (IL) District 65, spent July in India as a fellow with Teachers for a Global Classroom. 

A travel fund has been established at the iSchool in honor of an alumna who loved to travel and lived in many places, making friends with people around the world. Although she lived in ten states and three foreign countries, Molly Dolan (MS '04) considered Champaign-Urbana "the true home of her heart."

Bradley Kuykendall (MS '15) was a "library junkie" as an undergraduate at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. Now serving as the reference and instruction librarian at Lincoln University, he is in a position to give back to his alma mater and recruit more students into the field of library and information science.

Exactly twenty years after starting work as a graduate assistant in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Lynne M. Thomas (MS '99) is returning as the new head of the library. She'll begin her appointment at the library and assume the Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Rare Book and Manuscript Library Professorship on September 1.

The Institute of Contemporary Art's "artful book club," ICA Reads, has selected Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, as its 2017 pick for a book of critical and societal importance. This reinterpretation of Octavia E. Butler's science-fiction masterpiece, Kindred, was adapted by iSchool alumnus and adjunct lecturer Damian Duffy (MS '08, PhD '16) and illustrated by John Jennings.

An interest in organization led Dale Josephs to the field of library and information science and his current job at eBay. Josephs uses the skills he learned at the iSchool—cataloging, metadata, Python programming, and data mining—to develop new analytics tools.

Lian Ruan (MS '90, PhD '11) is the 2017 recipient of the Illinois Library Association (ILA) Illinois Academic Librarian of the Year Award. The award, presented by the ILA Illinois Association of College and Research Libraries (IACRL) Forum, recognizes an Illinois librarian who is making an outstanding statewide contribution to academic or research librarianship and to library development.

The iSchool Alumni Association (ISAA), formerly the Library School Alumni Association, has announced the 2017 recipients of its annual awards. The recipients were recognized on June 25 at the ISAA Annual Meeting and reception held at the annual meeting of the American Library Association in Chicago.

Julie Cwik uses the skills she learned at the iSchool in her job at the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI). She enjoys working in the continuing medical education (CME) field and supporting physicians. Her interest in instructional design has led her to pursue an advanced degree in learning design and technology.

Kristin Petersheim (MS '15) was awarded the IEEE Continuing Education Stipend from the Engineering Division of the SLA. Petersheim has worked as associate technical information specialist in the Caterpillar Technical Information Center since 2015, where she also serves as document delivery and acquisitions librarian and outreach and instruction librarian.

Adjunct Professor Fred Schlipf and iSchool alumnus John Moorman (PhD '03) drew upon their wealth of experience working in libraries when writing The Practical Handbook of Library Architecture, which will be available this fall from ALA Editions. The authors are both retired directors of public libraries.

Elizabeth Vallen (MS '16) is the 2017 recipient of the Donald Peterson Student Travel Award given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA). The award supports attendance at the conference by a student and/or recent graduate from a graduate archival program in North America.

As the neighborhood services librarian for the Oak Park (IL) Public Library, Sarah Yale facilitates community-focused programming and fosters engagement both inside and outside of the library with residents of all ages. From April through October, this engagement occurs through the Book Bike, a program she coordinates for the library.

Doug Litts always knew he wanted to be an art historian. Though born in New Jersey, his family moved to Florida when he was nine, so when it was time for college, the University of Florida (in Gainesville) was the logical place to study it. But what can you do with a BA in art history?