The Library School Alumni Association (LSAA) at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has announced the recipients of its annual awards.

Arlene G. Taylor (MS ’66) has been awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Each year this award is given to an alum who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of library and information science. Taylor has greatly influenced the teaching of organization of information and cataloging and classification in many LIS programs through her textbooks: Introduction to Cataloging and Classification (10th ed., 2006) and Organization of Information (3rd ed., 2009). She remains active in helping both students and working librarians understand new developments and has been recognized with a number of honors including the Margaret Mann Citation in 1996, given by the ALCTS Cataloging and Classification Section of ALA for outstanding professional achievement.

Sarah L. Shreeves (MS ’02) has been awarded the Leadership Award, given to an alum who has graduated in the past ten years and who has shown leadership in the field of library and information science. Shreeves is coordinator for the Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship (IDEALS) [http://www.ideals.illinois.edu/], a set of services and collections supporting scholarly communication (including the institutional repository) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She maintains an active professional presence through presentations, service on editorial boards, grants received, review panels, publications, standards work, and national service in a number of professional organizations.

William T (Bill) Henderson has been awarded the Distinguished Service Award, given to a friend of GSLIS (including faculty, staff, alumni, and non-alumni) who has served LSAA or GSLIS in an exceptional way. Henderson has skillfully served both the University Library as Head of the Binding and Preservation Division and later Preservation Librarian, as well as GSLIS where he team-teaches with his wife, Kathryn Luther Henderson. He has introduced hundreds of students to the important topics of technical services in libraries and the preservation of books and other library materials and has made a lasting impact on the profession by preparing students to contribute to these two critical, rapidly evolving areas of library practice.

David A. Kates (MS '10) is the recipient of the LSAA Student Award given to recognize a student who "caught the spirit" of the library and information science profession while employed in a library setting and so chose to enter the master's program. This student must have a strong commitment to return to a professional position in a library setting and help others "catch the spirit." Kates came to GSLIS from a position in a school library to earn a degree that would enable him to dive back into school library work as an LIS professional. He brought his extensive experience with secondary school students with him and shaped a course of study at GSLIS that would enable him to meet the intellectual and developmental needs of adolescents as readers, learners, and future adults.

Taylor, Henderson, and Kates were recognized at the GSLIS convocation ceremony in May. Shreeves received her award on June 26, 2011 at a reception held at the annual meeting of the ALA.