For libraries and librarians, 2021 was an especially challenging year in terms of the increase in attempts at censorship. According to the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom, the number of challenges to library materials more than tripled from 2020 to 2021. In addition, current estimates show that 82 to 97 percent of challenges go unreported, suggesting that the total number of challenges are significantly greater.

There are approximately 600,000 individuals in the U.S. who are undergoing hemodialysis (HD) therapy for kidney failure. In hemodialysis, a machine filters wastes, salts, and fluid from the blood when an individual's kidneys are no longer healthy enough to do this work adequately. While lifestyle changes such as getting more exercise and making better nutritional choices would benefit HD patients, they are not popular with patients—leading to poor health outcomes. A new project, led by Assistant Professor Jessie Chin, aims to boost HD patients' commitment to exercise through a long-term motivational interviewing conversational agent (LotMintBot).

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.

Eight iSchool master's students were named 2021-2022 Spectrum Scholars by the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services. This "Spectrum Scholar Spotlight" series highlights the School's scholars. MS/LIS student Brandi Hart earned her BA degree in history and classical studies from Denison University.

Anita Nikolich, director of research and technology innovation and research scientist, has been selected to serve a three-year term on the National Science Foundation (NSF) Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure (ACCI). Comprised of distinguished members representing diverse science, engineering and computational science communities, the ACI helps ensure that NSF-supported cyberinfrastructure is "responsive to changing technology and science landscapes and enables significant advances across all fields of science and engineering supported by the agency."

BS/IS student Luke Emano has been selected as a recipient of a Research Support Grant for his project, "Time is Value: Exploring the Barriers of Scalability for Timebanks." The award, worth $1,000, is sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Research.

The Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI) is pleased to announce that Sarah Rebecca Velazquez Gaglio and Wardah Mohammed are the recipients of the Building Diversity Graduate Assistantships for the 2022-2023 academic year. The assistantships will ultimately provide experience, mentoring, and networking to participants with the goal of increasing the number of staff members from underrepresented groups at Illinois’ two and four-year public and private college and university libraries.

The Library Awards and Recognition Committee is pleased to announce that MS/LIS students Leah DiCiesare and Jason Larsen have been selected as recipients of the 2021-2022 Outstanding Graduate Student Award. This award recognizes graduate student workers for exceptional accomplishments and service to the University Library.

Chieh-Li (Julian) Chin, research program manager at the iSchool, has received the Employee Excellence Team Player award from Technology Services, where she serves as a data analyst at the Data and Technology Innovation Team. She received the award for exemplifying "the essence of teamwork and collaboration" internally, across Technology Services teams and in the campus community.

Eight iSchool master's students were named 2021-2022 Spectrum Scholars by the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services. This "Spectrum Scholar Spotlight" series highlights the School's scholars. MS/LIS student Kaila Rain Thomas earned her BA degree in American history from the University of San Francisco, with a focus on African American history, culture, and politics.

Assistant Professor Elizabeth Hoiem has received the Humanities Research Institute (HRI) Prize for Best Faculty Research for her paper, "The Progress of Sugar: Consumption as Complicity in Children’s Books about Slavery and Manufacturing, 1790-2015." The award recognizes outstanding humanities research by a faculty member at the University of Illinois.

According to MS/IM student Zheng Zhang, being the recipient of a scholarship from the iSchool gave him confidence that he was in the right field. Zhang holds a BS in electrical and computer engineering from New York Institute of Technology and a BS in communication engineering from Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications. It was during his undergraduate study that he was advised by a tutor to pursue a degree in information management because of his interests.

Associate Professor Emily Knox will deliver the Masha Dexter Lecture on Gender, Sexuality, and Public Policy at Brown University on April 7. The purpose of the annual lecture is to "memorialize and promote in other students Masha Dexter's extraordinary energy and engagement with the overlapping issues of gender, sexuality, and public policy, as reflected in the broad range of her own activities."

The recruitment and admissions team at the iSchool has been awarded the Promotion of Excellence Award from the Association for Graduate Enrollment Management (NAGAP). The award is presented to an individual or team that has "developed or implemented methodology demonstrating best practices, creativity, and/or innovation in graduate enrollment management that could serve as a model across the GEM [graduate enrollment management] profession." The iSchool team received this recognition for the Information Schools and Colleagues Collaborative (ISCC) Network, which was created during the pandemic when travel was restricted, limiting traditional recruitment efforts.

Forty-one iSchool instructors were named in the University's List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent for Fall 2021. The rankings are released every semester, and results are based on the Instructor and Course Evaluation System (ICES) questionnaire forms maintained by Measurement and Evaluation in the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning. Only those instructors who gave out ICES forms during the semester and who released their data for publication are included in the list.

Adjunct Lecturer Melissa A. Wong (MS/LIS '94) has been selected as the 2022 winner of the Isadore Gilbert Mudge Award, the Reference and User Services Association's highest honor.

The Community Data Clinic has announced its first cohort of Community Media, Data, and Technology (CMDT) Fellows. The new program is part of the "Reparative Data and Media Initiative: Extending Racial and Research Justice in Champaign County" project, which is funded through the University's Call to Action initiative and led by Anita Say Chan, associate professor and director of the Community Data Clinic, and Katie Shumway, director of the Community Learning Lab in the School of Social Work. The fellowships provide annual funding and technical support to community organizations in Champaign County "looking to advance promising ideas to change local communities and systems."

BS/IS student Sam Hwang is grateful to be the recipient of an iSchool scholarship. Hwang, a junior from Glenview, Illinois, decided to major in information sciences because of his interest in data science and data analytics. He is happy with his decision.

Mandi Goodsett's interest in professional development was sparked when she was an iSchool student volunteering with the Special Libraries Association (SLA). She has since become an active member of the American Library Association, serving as president of the ALA New Members Round Table and as a member of the ALA Steering Committee on Organizational Effectiveness. Goodsett was recently selected by the ALA as the 2022 Lois Ann Gregory-Wood Fellow. She will receive a stipend of $2,500 to offset the cost of attending the ALA 2022 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. and the 2023 LibLearnX experience in New Orleans.

BS/IS student Alistair Nunn has been honored by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) as a 2021 Fiddler Innovation Undergraduate Fellow. Nunn was among seventeen undergraduates from various fields who were selected from NCSA’s SPIN, REU-INCLUSION, and Design for America programs. The fellowship, which includes a $1,500 award, recognizes contributions to research for real-world impact and solutions.