Graduate School of Library and Information Science - University of Illinois

Bales featured in UMW Magazine

cashwill — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:43:39 +0000

“I tell myself that no matter how I’m feeling, I have to be the Mick Jagger of the library world,” said GSLIS alumnus James E. “Jack” Bales (MS ’74) in a recent interview for the University of Mary Washington (UMW) Magazine. He approaches his library-research classes with enthusiasm and energy, much like musicians approach rock concerts.

Bales has worked as a reference and humanities librarian at the UMW Simpson Library since 1980. In this role, and as a teacher of library research classes, he engages students in the classroom and strives to help them become skilled at using library resources. Read more about Bales in the UMW Magazine.

Allen named Illinois Library Luminary

cashwill — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:57:19 +0000

adapted from the Illinois Library Association e-newsletter

GSLIS alumna Rose Allen (MS ’01) has been named an Illinois Library Luminary by the Illinois Library Association (ILA).

Friends and colleagues came together to nominate her and raise funds in her honor for the Illinois Library Association Endowment. Luminaries are selected for their significant contributions to Illinois libraries.

Allen began her career as a library assistant at the Mount Prospect Public Library (MPPL) in 1969. After earning her bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University and her master’s degree from GSLIS, she continued to contribute to the Mount Prospect community through her work at MPPL.

Allen worked as the teen services librarian at MPPL and was instrumental in forming a support staff group there. She contributed to the greater library community by serving on the ILA Reaching Forward Committee and the ALA Support Staff Round Table. She was elected to the ILA Executive Board and served on numerous ILA committees, including awards, membership, and cultural and racial diversity committees, and she received the ILA Jane O'Brien Award recognizing her work. Allen also was honored by the Village of Mount Prospect when she received the “Toast of the Town” award. She is now retired.

Past Illinois Library Luminaries include GSLIS alumni Judith Fingeret Krug (honorary degree ’05, inducted 2009), Beverly Lynch (MS ’59, inducted 2013), Nancy L. Smith (MS ’68, inducted 2012), and Robert Wedgeworth (MS ’61, inducted 2010).

Join GSLIS at ALA Annual 2013

cashwill — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 21:35:23 +0000

Join GSLIS for the following activities during the 2013 ALA Annual Conference, including our alumni and friends reception on Sunday, June 30, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Petterino’s Restaurant, 150 North Dearborn Street, Chicago. Please stop by the exhibit hall and visit us at Booth 141!

A Wild Ride: 75 Years of the Caldecott Medal
Friday, June 28, 7:45 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. (sold out)
Deborah Stevenson, director of the Center for Children’s Books and editor of The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, is serving on the task force for this year’s Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) preconference (now sold out), “A Wild Ride: 75 Years of the Caldecott Medal,” to be held at and in conjunction with the Art Institute. The preconference features a multitude of award winners and art experts who will discuss the artistic process and effects, offers breakout sessions for discussions about Caldecott winners and special topics, and provides an opportunity to view the relevant gallery exhibit.

ALAplay
Friday, June 28, 7:30 - 10:00 p.m.
Sheraton Chicago, Sheraton Ballroom 1 & 2
GSLIS doctoral student Jeff Ginger will present Fab Lab equipment and methods at the ALAplay event, a free open evening of gaming, graphic novels, and cosplay organized by the Games and Gaming Round Table and the Graphic Novels Members Interest Group.

How a Book is Saved: Challenges and How to Fight Them
Saturday, June 29, 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.
McCormick Place Convention Center, S405
GSLIS Assistant Professor Emily Knox will participate in a presentation that examines the anatomy of a book challenge, discussing the motivations behind challenges, while several practicing librarians will discuss their libraries’ experiences with challenges and how to prepare for a challenge before it happens. Coffee and pastries will be served.

Washington Office Breakout Session I - Gigabit Libraries
Saturday, June 29, 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
McCormick Place Convention Center, N427bc
GSLIS Research Associate Professor Jon Gant will lead a discussion on a new Gigabit Library Initiative funded by IMLS. The purpose of the project is to help libraries leverage ultra-high-speed Internet service to develop applications and services that will meet the needs of the public. In particular, the project focuses on socially-inclusive library experiences that meet critical human development needs, particularly for underserved populations.

Leaders Wanted / LIS Doctoral Program Options Fair: Cultivating Diversity in LIS Education
Saturday, June 29, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
McCormick Place Convention Center, Hall A, Meeting Room D
GSLIS Assistant Professor Nicole Cooke will moderate a panel addressing diversity in LIS education and research. GSLIS doctoral student Karla Lucht will serve as a member of the panel and discuss choosing a PhD program as well as issues of diversity and support for students of color.

Conversation Starters: The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival
Saturday, June 29, 2:45 - 3:30 p.m.
McCormick Place Convention Center, S102d
GSLIS master’s student Eti Berland helped create some of the multimedia pieces that will be used in this annual video contest, in which young filmmakers create movies that tell the entire story of a Newbery award-winning book in 90 seconds or less.

Creating Game-Based Makerspaces (GameRT Forum)
Saturday, June 29, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
McCormick Place Convention Center, S106a
GSLIS doctoral student Jeff Ginger will discuss program ideas for libraries to use to help game-loving patrons tap into their creative side to develop games. Host Scott Nicholson, from the Because Play Matters game lab at the Syracuse University School of Information Studies, will lead a panel of experts focused on different ways of blending games and play with the power of creation and makerspaces.

ALA Diversity and Outreach Fair
Saturday, June 29, 3:00 - 5:30 p.m.
McCormick Place Convention Center, Hall A1, Special Events Area
GSLIS Assistant Professor and Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Rae-Anne Montague, along with GSLIS CAS student Joe Coyle and master’s students Karen Barton and Sasha Kinney, will present a poster on the Mix IT Up! project, a collaborative effort by GSLIS to help train librarians as youth advocates. GSLIS master’s student Lucas McKeever will present his poster, “Speaking Up: Forming Alliances to Preserve Local History,” which focuses on a collaboration between The UP Center, an LGBT resource center serving Champaign County, and the Champaign County Historical Archives to begin an oral history project.

Electronic Resources Management (LITA)
Saturday, June 29, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.
McCormick Place Convention Center, N128
GSLIS adjunct lecturer Steve Oberg will present “E-Resources Maintenance in a Multi-Access Environment: Challenges, Opportunities, and Practical Ideas,” sharing his experiences in a small academic institution, outlining key aspects of the challenge of e-resource maintenance, and discussing innovative approaches to successfully navigate this environment so that library users get ready access to the content they want.

Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (APALA)
Sunday, June 30, 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.
Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Jackson Park 10A
GSLIS doctoral student Karla Lucht will present the awards for the Asian/Pacific American Library Association (APALA) Young Adult category for the APALA Literature Awards. These awards honor and recognize individual works related to Asian/Pacific American experiences (either historical or contemporary) or Asian/Pacific American cultures. This is a morning event with refreshments and light breakfast.

ALA Annual Conference, Poster Session V
Sunday, June 30, 12:30 - 2:00 p.m.
McCormick Place Convention Center, Hall A, Exhibit Floor
GSLIS master’s student Adam Paradis will present his poster, “The Self-Preservation Series: Outreach Programming for Community Collections.”

Busting the Comics Code: Comics, Censorship, and Librarians
Sunday, June 30, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.
McCormick Place Convention Center, N231
GSLIS Assistant Professor Carol Tilley will report on the checkered history of comics, libraries, censorship, and the teens who spoke out eloquently in defense of their favorite medium. From there, creators, librarians, and a representative from the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund will discuss recent issues concerning comics, library collections, and challenges, and how we all can work together to keep comics for all ages on our library shelves.

Out of the Library and into the Community: Academic Librarians and Community Engagement (ACRL WGSS)
Monday, July 1, 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.
McCormick Place Convention Center, S502
Martin Wolske, GSLIS senior research scientist at the Center for Digital Inclusion (CDI) and adjunct lecturer, will serve on this panel presented by the Women & Gender Studies Section of the Association of College & Research Libraries. Panelists will discuss the issues of democracy, information access, and information distribution within communities and the role of academic librarians and LIS faculty in addressing these important social justice issues.

Graphic Novel Stage—We Want YOU for Reading With Pictures!
Monday, July 1, 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
McCormick Place Convention Center, Exhibit Hall - Graphic Novel Stage
GSLIS Assistant Professor Carol Tilley, along with several other experts in the field, will be on hand to discuss the role comics play in the new Common Core Standards and how Reading With Pictures, a non-profit organization devoted to comics and visual literacy, can be used in libraries and classrooms.

Gant, Cheetham to speak about communities and broadband at upcoming talk

cashwill — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 18:56:19 +0000

Jon Gant, GSLIS associate professor and director of the Center for Digital Inclusion, and Warren Cheetham, coordinator of information and digital services at CityLibraries in Townsville, Australia, will give a presentation about community broadband adoption at the Champaign Public Library on June 17, 2013.

Gant will discuss his work surrounding libraries and community broadband adoption, specifically his work with US Ignite, an initiative to promote US leadership in developing applications and services for ultra-fast broadband and software-defined networks. US Ignite fosters the creation of novel applications and digital experiences that will transform healthcare, education and job skills training, public safety, energy, and advanced manufacturing. By serving as a coordinator and incubator of this ecosystem, US Ignite will accelerate the adoption of next-generation networks.

Through US Ignite, Gant is bringing together scholars from across the Illinois campus to brainstorm ideas, find areas for research collaboration, and create a plan to bring new applications to fruition.

Over the next decade, the building of the Australian National Broadband Network (NBN) will connect 93% of Australian homes, schools, and businesses with optical fiber to the premises, capable of providing broadband speeds of up to one gigabit per second. The other 7% of premises will be connected via satellite or fixed-wireless.

Townsville is leading Australia in the NBN rollout. Some suburbs were among the first locations in Australia to be connected to the NBN over 18 months ago. CityLibraries Townsville was the first public library in the country to become NBN-enabled.

To help Australian libraries understand the opportunities the NBN will provide, Warren Cheetham has been awarded a VALA travel scholarship to visit the United States to interview and discuss broadband internet and library services with various stakeholders in local and federal government; telecommunications companies; public, school and university libraries; and academic researchers. Warren’s travel will encompass Champaign-Urbana, Illinois; Washington, DC; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Chicago, Illinois.

The talk will be held at the Champaign Public Library in Robeson Pavilion Room C from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Lunch will be provided. Seating is limited to the first 40 attendees, so please RSVP to LaEisha Meaderds, -meaderds, at illinois.edu-

Speaker Biographies

Warren Cheetham is the coordinator of information and digital services at CityLibraries Townsville, Australia. He has worked in public libraries for over twenty years, and his professional interests include the impact of broadband internet on library services, the application of technology to public libraries, and how to best deliver information services, reader engagement, and corporate research services and training to library staff and customers in an online environment. Cheetham has presented at library conferences in Australia and New Zealand, and from 2009-2012 was a practitioner-researcher assisting Dr. Michael Stephens with the CAVAL Visiting Scholar research program, assessing the impact and effect of Learning 2.0 programs on Australian libraries.

Jon Gant is a professor at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he serves as the director of the Center for Digital Inclusion (CDI). Gant is a national leader in the areas of digital inclusion and broadband adoption. In addition, he is an expert in e-government, geo-spatial information systems, strategic planning, and information systems. His research has been funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Organization for Economic Coordination and Development, the International Telecommunication Union, and the National Science Foundation, among others. Gant received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the Heinz School at Carnegie Mellon University, where he studied public policy and information management.

GSLIS, University Library welcome 2013 LAMP Summer Institute attendees

kimsch — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:59:39 +0000

Current and prospective LIS students from across the Midwest traveled to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to participate in the 2013 LIS Access Midwest Program (LAMP) Summer Institute, which was hosted by the University Library from May 30 through June 2. LAMP is a network of information schools and academic libraries in the Midwest that collaborate to encourage students from historically and statistically underrepresented groups to join the library and information science field. The network selects a handful of college juniors and seniors each year to be LAMP Scholars and provides guidance and support for them as they navigate the path to a career in LIS. LAMP is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The annual summer institute offers LAMP scholars the opportunity to interact with their peers as well as LIS professionals and to tour the participating campuses and libraries. The opportunity to host rotates so that a unique experience can be provided to the participants each year. “Each and every institute has been special in its own way,” said Program Coordinator Amani Ayad. “There’s always something different and new for scholars to learn as we go to different partners.”

This is the first year the institute has been hosted at the Urbana campus, and the Library was eager take its turn in the rotation. A planning committee composed of representatives from GSLIS and the Library organized a full itinerary for the attendees, beginning with an opening dinner and reception hosted by GSLIS. Interim Dean Allen Renear welcomed the scholars and encouraged them to continue their research and academic pursuits, while not forgetting to live in the moment and have fun during this exciting time of change in the world of library and information science.

Renear’s remarks were reiterated by others who interacted with institute attendees during their visit. Attendees had opportunities to meet with faculty and staff, talk with other scholars, visit with international librarians from the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs, participate in a speed networking session, and tour some of the Library’s facilities and archives. Ayad reported that the institute was very successful. “The comments we received were all positive. We’re very excited about the outcome.”

The Summer Institute is just one piece of the LAMP program. LAMP scholars are matched with a mentor who provides one-on-one guidance, are provided with a scholarship to pursue a degree in library and/or information science at a partner school, and are offered the opportunity to intern at partner libraries. The variety of experiences offered to the scholars is made possible because of the diversity of the partner institutions. Each library or university that participates offers its own unique set of resources, and each mentor brings a different set of perspectives to share with the scholars.

Connections have also formed between university and library staff who work together and share information to increase diversity at their institutions and in the field as whole. “There is a genuine interest from people in the field who are very passionate about it, very excited about what they see,” said Ayad. Participating libraries are happy to offer internship opportunities to LAMP scholars, sometimes with an eye to recruiting those students after graduation.

Graduation, however, is not the end of the LAMP experience. “Once a LAMP Scholar, always a LAMP Scholar,” said Ayad. “One of the cornerstones of the program is building a community and a network of students and library and information professionals who stay connected as they move up in their careers and take leadership positions. Because this is the seventh year, we can see that happening more than when we were a much smaller group. We’ve had graduates already, and some of them are taking leadership positions. It’s a very exciting time for us.”

Alyne Connie, now a LEEP student at GSLIS, became a LAMP scholar in 2012 and has experienced the benefits of the supportive network that LAMP provides. She had initially been unsure about pursuing a career in LIS, but an informational session about the program changed her mind. “I jumped at the possibility of being part of the program. It’s been really welcoming and very encouraging in this economy . . . to realize all of the opportunities that are out there—through LAMP, through LEEP, and through the U of I. It’s given me an instant community to be a part of.” Connie had not realized how important having a diverse support group would be until she joined LAMP. Having mentors and peers from diverse backgrounds has helped her feel at home in her degree program, she said, and more comfortable with the idea of the joining the LIS field as a professional.

All of the scholars who have been selected over the years have gone on to enroll in LIS programs, and with the exception of current students and the recently announced 2013 scholars, all have completed their programs in two years or less.

LAMP partners include the LIS graduate programs at GSLIS, Dominican University, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Wayne State University. Library partners include Marquette University Libraries, Michigan State University Libraries, Ohio University Alden Library, University of Chicago Library, University of Illinois at Chicago Library, University of Michigan Libraries, and the University Library at Illinois.

GSLIS alumni selected in CALA election

cashwill — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 22:52:27 +0000

The Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA) has announced the results of its 2013 election. Among those selected for new assignments beginning July 1, 2013, are the following GSLIS alumni:

Lian Ruan (MS ’90, PhD ’11), vice president/president-elect (2013-2014)
Sai Deng (MS ’05), member, Board of Directors (2013-2016)
Win Shih (MS ’87), member, Board of Directors (2013-2016)

CALA is a leading librarians’ organization committed to advancing the diversity and equality of library services to library communities worldwide. Its mission includes enhancing communications and discussions of the shared professional concerns, promoting Sino-American librarianship and library services, and providing its members collaborative opportunities with other library organizations of similar or allied interests. For more information, visit http://cala-web.org/.

Successful pilot course sponsored by Global Informatics Initiative

kimsch — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 19:38:41 +0000

story courtesy of the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

What do Occupy Wall Street, Free Burma, the Zapatista Movement, and Uzbek dissidents have in common? All have mobilized social media for their causes, and all were topics in the new course Social Media and Global Change in the Spring 2013 semester at the University of Illinois. The course was developed and sponsored by the Global Informatics Initiative as the first phase in its efforts to further internationalize informatics curricula at the university.

The Global Informatics Initiative is a collaborative venture involving the Illinois Informatics Institute (I3), the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) and five federally funded Title VI National Resource Centers: the Russian, East European & Eurasian Center (REEEC), Center for East Asia and Pacific Studies (CEAPS), the European Union Center (EUC), Center for Global Studies (CGS), and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS). It is aimed at bringing together Illinois’ strength in informatics and computer science with its rich area studies resources.

The "Social Media and Global Change" course was developed and taught by Dr. Bertram “Chip” Bruce, professor emeritus of library and information science. An expert on community informatics and technology-enhanced learning, Bruce shared his ideas on the course topic with other colleagues at the Midwest Scholars Conference on March 14, 2013. The course itself was offered through the GSLIS online LEEP format, which involves synchronous and asynchronous online instruction as well as a day of in-person classroom instruction on campus.

Bruce observed that “a lot of the research on social media, even when conducted overseas, tends to focus on the situation in the US.” One of the goals of the course, then, was to bring together experts from the Illinois campus and overseas who are researching the use and impact of social media in other places, to widen the horizon of the discussion of social media. Guest speakers in the course from among local University of Illinois faculty included Ann Abbot (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese) on “Social Media Marketing for Social Enterprises” in the Spanish-speaking world; Markus S. Schulz (Sociology) on “Transnational Mobilization and the Internet” and the Zapatista Movement in particular; and Jon Gant (Library and Information Science) on Geographic Information Systems and e-government. Students also interacted with faculty from overseas, including Yan Li (Zhejiang University) on the topic of the digital divide in China; and Olena Zhylinkova (Kharkiv National University, Ukraine) on social media legal regulation in different countries. Class discussion moved very quickly from simple questions of whether or not social media facilitate social change to more complex questions of the many factors that inhibit or facilitate effectiveness, with critical issues including censorship, identity, privacy, and access, according to Bruce. In the course, students relied on their diverse fields of specialty (geography, informatics, cultural and area studies, and library and information science) and produced excellent final projects, including webtoons and maps. Thus, they learned through and about social media and became trained in how to more effectively use this medium.

The Global Informatics Initiative would like to build on the connections created among faculty and students in the course to develop additional courses and foster further collaborative research in this interdisciplinary field. While federal funding through the Title VI area studies centers was instrumental in fielding the pilot course and in creating the Global Studies Initiative, major financial commitments from GSLIS and the Illinois Informatics Institute will allow the Initiative to continue into the next academic year and pursue additional courses, including a possible MOOC course, and collaborative research efforts.

Mary Wilkes Towner interviewed in Wall Street Journal

kimsch — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 14:22:57 +0000

Do you finish every book you start? Or do you abandon books partway through? The Wall Street Journal recently explored the topic in an article, "Guilt Complex: Why Leaving a Book Half-Read is So Hard." Mary Wilkes Towner, adjunct lecturer at GSLIS and librarian at the Urbana Free Library, was interviewed for the article and cast her vote for letting go of the guilt:

Librarians like Mary Wilkes Towner, an adjunct lecturer at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, always gives readers permission to stop whenever they want, to disentangle the act from childhood associations of reading as a task. "I have found that people in their 30s, they feel guilted into finishing—just the same way that they were told to eat everything on their plate," she says. "If you want to be culturally literate, skim. But we all have to give ourselves permission to quit."
Choosing the right books lets people dramatically increase the number of books they can read in a lifetime, she says.

Towner teaches the Adult Popular Literature class at GSLIS and her research concerns different formats and delivery methods for leisure reading and viewing.

CIRSS Seminar Series: Joseph Tennis

mclaugh — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 20:51:56 +0000

Please join us as we welcome special guest Joseph Tennis, Assistant Professor, The Information School, University of Washington.

More information to follow.

Location:

126 LIS Building

Event Date:

Fri, 07/26/2013 - 4:00pm - 5:00pm

Digital Humanities Data Curation Institute

mclaugh — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 20:48:24 +0000

The three-day workshop will provide a strong introductory grounding in data curation concepts and practices, focusing on the special issues and challenges of data curation in the digital humanities. Learning will be largely case-based, supplemented by short lectures, guest presentations, and practical exercises. For more information, visit the Digital Humanities Data Curation Institute website.

Event Date:

Mon, 06/24/2013 - Wed, 06/26/2013

Meet Blackboard Collaborate

mclaugh — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 20:46:21 +0000

Are you getting ready to take your very first LEEP class? Please attend one of our introductory workshops on Blackboard Collaborate, the web-conferencing software used for LEEP live sessions. You can test out your headset mic (required for LEEP courses) and ask ITD staff any questions you may have!

More information about how to log in to the workshops can be found here (GSLIS login required).

Location:

VIRTUAL

Event Date:

Sat, 06/15/2013 - 12:00pm - 1:00pm

Meet Blackboard Collaborate

mclaugh — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 20:45:41 +0000

More information about how to log in to the workshops can be found here (GSLIS login required).

Location:

VIRTUAL

Event Date:

Thu, 06/13/2013 - 6:00pm - 7:00pm

Meet Blackboard Collaborate

mclaugh — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 20:45:00 +0000

More information about how to log in to the workshops can be found here (GSLIS login required).

Location:

VIRTUAL

Event Date:

Thu, 06/13/2013 - 12:00pm - 1:00pm

Meet Blackboard Collaborate

mclaugh — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 20:44:06 +0000

More information about how to log in to the workshops can be found here (GSLIS login required).

Location:

VIRTUAL

Event Date:

Wed, 06/12/2013 - 6:00pm - 7:00pm

Meet Blackboard Collaborate

mclaugh — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 20:43:29 +0000

More information about how to log in to the workshops can be found here (GSLIS login required).

Location:

VIRTUAL

Event Date:

Wed, 06/12/2013 - 10:30am - 11:30am