School of Information Sciences

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Book Challenges and School Libraries

Leah Gregory (Illinois Heartland Library System) and Vicki Pietrus (Niles West High School) join the CCB in a discussion about the how Illinois school libraries have been impacted by the rise of book challenges and bans. The panel will be introduced by Emily Knox, Interim iSchool Dean.

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Nominations invited for Downs Award

The School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign seeks nominations for the 2025 Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award. The deadline for nominations is April 14, 2026. The award is cosponsored by Sage.

Spectrum Scholar Spotlight: Mariana Guerrero

Eight iSchool master's students have been named 2025–2026 Spectrum Scholars by the American Library Association. This "Spectrum Scholar Spotlight" series highlights the School's scholars. MSLIS student Mariana Guerrero earned a bachelor's degree in Spanish language and literature from Rockford University.

Mariana Guerrero

PhD student Fobazi Ettarh passes away

PhD student Fobazi Ettarh passed away on January 28, 2026. Ettarh entered the doctoral program at the University of Illinois in 2022. She held an MLIS from Rutgers University and bachelor's degree in English and sociology from the University of Delaware. Prior to joining the iSchool, Ettarh served as an academic librarian at Temple University Libraries; California State University, Dominguez Hills; and Rutgers University. She was also a school library media specialist at Hawthorne (NJ) Public Schools.

Fobazi Ettarh

Gregory B. Newby passes away

Gregory B. Newby passed away October 21, 2025. Newby was an assistant professor at the iSchool at Illinois from 1991 to 1997 and taught graduate-level courses in information technology; networking tools and use; information organization and system design; and user-based design and analysis. He was the founder of Prairienet and instrumental in the design of the iSchool's Leep program in 1996.

Gregory B. Newby
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School of Information Sciences

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