On Wednesday, September 25, GSLIS will participate in Inclusive Illinois Day, a campus-wide day of activities celebrating diversity and inclusion on our campus. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is committed to the idea of "one campus, many voices" and to cultivating a campus community where differences are embraced, and everyone is welcomed, celebrated, and respected. GSLIS shares…

Carole Palmer, director of CIRSS and professor at GSLIS, delivered a keynote address at the second biannual plenary meeting of the Research Data Alliance (RDA). The three-day meeting was held September 16-18 at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., and involved conversations between top leaders from the White House and US science agencies, and their international…

GSLIS welcomes Ian Brooks, who has joined the staff as a research scientist. He will represent both GSLIS and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) as a liaison to the health sciences community. In this role, Brooks will help maintain and develop research relationships between GSLIS and NCSA in the area of health science information and work with GSLIS faculty on externally…

GSLIS faculty, staff, and students will participate in several conferences focusing on a variety of topics this fall:Information Technology and Africa: Practices, Potentials and Challenges September 11-13, 2013University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignSharon Irish, project coordinator for GSLIS Center for Digital Inclusion, will serve on a panel moderated by GSLIS alumna and Assistant…

GSLIS welcomes Xiaoguang Wang as a scholar-in-residence for the 2013-2014 academic year. Wang is a professor in the School of Information Management at Wuhan University (WU) in the Hubei Province of China. He looks forward to continuing his research at GSLIS, particularly in the area of semantic publishing, and he plans to collaborate with GSLIS faculty who share his research interests.…

This fall, Maria Bonn joins the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a senior lecturer. Bonn will teach courses on the role of libraries in scholarly communication and publishing. Most recently, Bonn served as the associate university librarian for publishing at the University of Michigan Library, with responsibility…

GSLIS Professor Michael Twidale recently discussed the importance of inclusion in his teaching and research with Associate Professor Kathryn La Barre. Twidale’s remarks are part of the interview series Reflections on Inclusion, which explores the School’s efforts to respect varied perspectives and diversity of experiences. Twidale teaches courses in museum informatics, interaction…

F. W. “Wilf” Lancaster, GSLIS professor emeritus, passed away on Sunday, August 25, at his home in Urbana, Illinois. He was 79 years old. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Cesaria; his children, Miriam, Owen, Jude, Aaron, Lakshmi, and Raji; and his 13 grandchildren. A visitation will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, August 30, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Urbana with a funeral…

The GSLIS News Digest highlights recent news, events, and accomplishments of GSLIS faculty, staff, and students. For more news, visit the GSLIS home page and follow us on Facebook and Twitter! News from GSLIS at Illinois Faculty news Alkalimat hosts forum at Archives 2013 Professor Abdul Alkalimat led a forum at Archives 2013, the joint annual meeting of the Society of American…

Five GSLIS master's students participated in the University of Illinois’s 2013 Summer Pre-doctoral Institute (SPI). SPI is a campus-wide orientation program that accepts incoming graduate students from U.S. populations that are underrepresented in campus graduate programs. During the eight-week program, students enroll in an independent study, participate in a series of research-based seminars,…

GSLIS is pleased to announce that Masooda Bashir will join the GSLIS faculty as an assistant professor on August 16, 2013. Bashir holds degrees in mathematics, computer science, and psychology and received her PhD in psychology from Purdue University. She worked for several years as a systems analyst, technical trainer, manager, and global manager for a number of corporations in Silicon Valley, including Lotus and IBM.

GSLIS Professor Alistair Black recently discussed the importance of inclusion in his teaching and research with Associate Professor Kathryn La Barre. Black’s remarks are part of the interview series Reflections on Inclusion, which explores the School’s efforts to respect varied perspectives and diversity of experiences. Black’s research focuses on the history of libraries, librarianship,…

GSLIS is pleased to announce that Tonyia Tidline (PhD ’03) will join the School as the new director of professional development on August 16. In this role, Tidline will coordinate the robust continuing professional development program at GSLIS, which provides a variety of advanced learning opportunities in many areas of library and information science, services, and operations. In addition to…

The GSLIS eUpdate, published every other month, summarizes current news, events, alumni and advancement highlights, and continuing professional development opportunities. Other publications that may be of interest to alumni and friends are listed on the GSLIS Publications web page. ________________________________________ IN THIS ISSUE 1. GSLIS Spotlight 2. News Summary 3.…

Assistant Professor Bonnie Mak has been named the GSLIS Centennial Scholar for 2013-2014. The Centennial Scholar award is endowed by alumni and friends of GSLIS and is given in recognition of outstanding accomplishments and/or professional promise in the field of library and information science. Mak holds a PhD in medieval studies from the University of Notre Dame. Her research areas…

GSLIS Professor Dan Schiller recently discussed the importance of inclusion in his teaching and research with Associate Professor Kathryn La Barre. Schiller’s remarks are part of the interview series Reflections on Inclusion, which explores the School’s efforts to respect varied perspectives and diversity of experiences. Schiller teaches courses in information in society, information…

GSLIS Associate Professor Terry L. Weech recently discussed the importance of inclusion in his teaching and research with Associate Professor Kathryn La Barre. Weech’s remarks are part of the interview series Reflections on Inclusion, which explores the School’s efforts to respect varied perspectives and diversity of experiences. Weech teaches courses and conducts research related to…

GSLIS doctoral candidates Claudia Serbanuta and Miriam E. Sweeney have been honored with 2013 Eugene Garfield Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships from Beta Phi Mu, the International Library and Information Studies Honor Society. Up to six recipients are selected each year for this prestigious award, a national competition among doctoral students who are working on their dissertations…

GSLIS will make a strong showing at the upcoming ACM/IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries (JCDL), an event that brings together international scholars focusing on digital libraries and associated technical, practical, organizational, and social issues. The conference will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana, on July 22-26, 2013. J. Stephen Downie, GSLIS professor and associate dean for…

Five GSLIS master's degree students and one doctoral student have been named 2013 Spectrum Scholars by the American Library Association (ALA). Established in 1997, the Spectrum Scholarship Program was created to promote diversity among graduate-level library school students. Each master's-level scholar receives $5,000 from the ALA as well as over $1,500 toward professional development…