In Associate Professor Yoo-Seong Song's Applied Business Research class (IS 540), students learn advanced techniques of business research through hands-on experience with real-world clients. This semester, a team of students has been working with entrepreneur Douglass Lee, founder of the startup OneSoftDigm (OSD) and a senior in business at the University of Illinois.

Our School is grateful for talented and dedicated staff, who contribute greatly to our teaching and research excellence. This "Get to Know" series highlights our staff, sharing their friendly faces and stories of professional success. In this story, we are featuring Office Manager Dianne Tellschow.di 

MS/LIS student Vera Vasileva has been awarded an Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Student Scholarship to participate in the ACRL 2019 conference, which will be held April 10-13 in Cleveland, Ohio. At the conference, Vasileva will attend the presentation of "We Don't Need that Anymore, Exploring the Myths and Realities of the Impact of Digitization on Print Usage," a paper she coauthored with her graduate assistantship supervisor Thomas Teper, associate professor and associate dean of libraries for the University Library.

Eighteen iSchool instructors were named in the University's List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent for Fall 2018. 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.

The iSchool at Illinois is pleased to announce plans to launch a Bachelor of Science degree in information sciences (BS/IS). The first degree of its type on campus—and among public universities in the state of Illinois—it will equip graduates to compete successfully in today’s technology-centered job market.

Pamela Wisniewski, iSchool research fellow and assistant professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Central Florida, will deliver the 2019 Gryphon Lecture on Friday, March 8, at the iSchool. Sponsored annually by The Center for Children's Books (CCB), the lecture features a leading scholar in the field of youth and literature, media, and culture. It is free and open to the campus and public.

The Center for Children's Books (CCB) will host the 2019 Storytelling Festival, "Stories Like Yours," on Saturday, March 2, from 7:00-8:30 p.m. at the iSchool, Room 126. In collaboration with Associate Professor and Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Kate McDowell, the Festival will bring together the iSchool community for a celebration of student stories. 

Our School is grateful for talented and dedicated staff, who contribute greatly to our teaching and research excellence. This "Get to Know" series highlights our staff, sharing their friendly faces and stories of professional success. 

The Committee on Accreditation (COA) of the American Library Association (ALA) has granted continued accreditation status through 2025 to the iSchool's Master of Science in Library and Information Science (MS/LIS) program. The decision was based on the "totality of the accomplishment and the environment for learning" of the program.

School and youth services librarians will not have to wait until the next Summer Getaway for professional development and networking opportunities. Next month the iSchool is offering its first annual Midwinter Getaway. The event, which will be held February 16-17 on the Urbana campus, is open to all information professionals serving youth and builds on the success of the annual Summer Getaway. 

Studies consistently show that students achieve higher test scores and greater academic success when they have access to fully staffed, effective school libraries. The School Librarian Licensure program at the iSchool welcomes those who want to make a difference in the lives of youth by becoming a school librarian. Applications to the program are due February 15 for summer/fall admission.

Kati Richardson (MS '18) is the district librarian for the Highland (IL) school district. She has always been passionate about libraries, so school librarianship was a natural choice.

Katelyn Talbott joined the iSchool on January 14 as an academic advisor. In this role, she primarily advises MS/LIS students, but she also works with MS/IM students during peak advising times.tal

Students enrolled in Postdoctoral Research Associate Rhiannon Bettivia's Digital Preservation (IS 586) class can expect to work on real-life projects. 

A $1-million dollar gift from Lionelle (BA, LAS '66; MS, LIS '67) and James (BS, Business '66; MS, Business '67) Elsesser will both expand the iSchool's academic programs and support the recruitment of promising students. The gift will be invested in the School's new programs, and that investment will generate $50,000 annually for the Katharine L. Sharp Scholarships, which will be available to students in all iSchool programs.

Sonya Chambers will join the iSchool on January 22 as associate dean for administration, bringing 28 years of experience in finance, management, and operations to her new role. She will provide executive leadership, oversight, and coordination for the School's administrative units and work closely with the dean and the other associate deans to advance iSchool strategic initiatives.

Liliana Giusti Serra is a visiting scholar at the iSchool, on sabbatical from her doctoral studies at São Paulo State University (UNESP) and job at Prima Informática in Brazil. Her research interests at UNESP include the semantic web and e-books, and at the iSchool, she is working with Assistant Professor Jodi Schneider to learn how linked data can help manage e-books.

The Iowa Library Association (ILA) has received the 2018 Downs Intellectual Freedom Award for taking a leadership role in several highly visible challenges to intellectual freedom. The award is given annually by the faculty of the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and cosponsored by Libraries Unlimited.

The iSchool launched a new apprenticeship program this fall with The Urbana Free Library. The program, which is modeled after an internship partnership between the Dominican University School of Information Studies and Skokie Public Library, will provide students with practical experience and additional exposure to all facets of library operations.

Professor Leslie "Les" Gasser passed away at his home on Tuesday, October 16, surrounded by family and close friends. He is survived by his wife of 21 years, Terry von Thaden; his daughter Lisette and son Liam; and extended family and many beloved friends and colleagues.

Assistant Professor Masooda Bashir has been named the iSchool's Centennial Scholar for 2018-2019. Endowed by alumni and friends of the School, the Centennial Scholar award recognizes outstanding accomplishments and/or professional promise in the field of library and information science.