iSchool at Illinois

After 30+ years in law and foreign service, David Buzard (MSLIS '25) returned to school through #iSchoolUI's Leep program. Upon graduating, he continued into the Certificate of Advanced Study program, with a goal of becoming a youth and teen librarian. ▶️ bit.ly/3TYGbhO

What does it mean to care for museum collections? In a recent News Gazette column, #iSchoolUI PhD student David Eby discusses the Spurlock Museum's approach to cultural heritage care, community partnerships, and the return of cultural materials. ▶️ bit.ly/4zSsKip

Would you like to help companies manage, clean, and interpret data to make decisions and improve their systems? Discover the MS in Information Management program at the #iSchoolUI! Check out our upcoming info sessions here ▶️ bit.ly/4yV9QH6

#iSchoolUI Associate Professor Yun Huang developed MapInsights, an interactive mapping platform that helps officers learn campus geography. Now used in officer training, the platform could also support campus navigation and preparedness. Read more ▶️ bit.ly/4Bs0apF

Join Library Trends and the #iSchoolUI on Oct. 29 for an online symposium on compelling tensions in LIS, featuring a keynote by Africa Hands of the University at Buffalo titled “Name it. Claim it. Change it,” and three panel discussions. Register here ▶️ bit.ly/3W28Ti7

#iSchoolUI BSIS student Zainab Salau spent her summer as a backend developer intern at Articulate Labs, building a database for a wearable knee rehabilitation device. Her advice for students is to build connections early and don't be afraid to reach out. Read more about Zainab ▶️ bit.ly/4z1dVdn

Join Library Trends on 11/12 for a discussion on how politics and war affect cultural heritage, as well as the library and information science field's role in safeguarding these histories.   Access 75 (1), "Cultural Heritage in Crisis," and register here ▶️ bit.ly/4ie04cD

#iSchoolUI Professor and Executive Associate Dean @profdownie.bsky.social gave a talk on “How digital spaces and information advance the sustainable development goals” at the International Conference on Multidisciplinary Research for Sustainable Development Goals this week in Manila, Philippines.

TopCited AI, founded by #iSchoolUI students and alumni with Assistant Professor @haohanwang.bsky.social, placed fourth in the 2026 Grainger Engineering Tech Startup Challenge! The startup was 1 of 7 finalists selected from 100+ applications across 35 universities. ▶️ bit.ly/4if1kMw

#iSchoolUI Interim Dean @ejmknox.bsky.social recently joined a panel discussion on "Ideas Unbound" at the Obama Center in Chicago. The conversation covered censorship & its impact on literacy and public institutions, public trust, & the role libraries & schools play in keeping ideas within reach.

Next week's panels include "Trauma in Archives: The Compelling Tensions Exposed." Based on Bradley Wiles’ “Remembering Now to Forget Later: Trauma, Archives, and the Tension of Commemoration,” four archivists discuss how we document and commemorate traumatic events. October 29, 2-3 pm CT. Join us!

#iSchoolUI Assistant Professor @meicensun.bsky.social convened and presented at the inaugural AI in Geopolitics Network event, bringing together scholars, practitioners, and technologists to explore AI's geopolitical implications and its impact on society.   See more ▶️ bit.ly/47CDxkS

Join us for the #iSchoolUI Research Showcase on Oct. 30, from 11:30 a.m.–4:45 p.m. at the Illini Union! Explore human-centered, interdisciplinary research through keynote talks, short presentations, and posters. All are welcome!   Full schedule ▶️ bit.ly/47zLdnV

Join our next discussion, Neutrality and Professional Ethics, with Emily Knox, @ischoolui.bsky.social. Can info professionals be neutral? Are there other guiding principles for professional ethics? We’re excited to discuss pedagogy and LIS ethics! Fri, Oct 30, 2 pm ET. Registration link below.

Family and community are at the heart of #iSchoolUI alum Janelle Ketcher's (MSLIS '25) work.   She's the founder of Postal Service for the Dead, a project with over 800 letters to loved ones who have died, and works at ITHAKA.   Read how her iSchool education helped shape both ▶️ bit.ly/4ekmRSS

Rep the #iSchoolUI! 🧡 Our merch store is now open year-round, featuring T-shirts, hoodies, hats & more! Order by Oct. 26 for FREE delivery to 501 E. Daniel St., with pickup after Nov. 11, or have your order shipped for an additional charge. Shop now 🛍️ bit.ly/4BdLbQl

Wondering if the PhD in Information Sciences at the #iSchoolUI is the right fit for you? Join us on 10/20 from 3-3:30 PM for a virtual info session to learn more about the program, explore the student experience, & the application process! Register here ▶️ bit.ly/4ySCGbE

Planning your spring semester schedule? Consider IS 491 International Youth Literature, a new #iSchoolUI course taught by Associate Prof. @readingspark.bsky.social! Students will study children's literature from around the world, with an optional trip to South Korea, May 22–30 🇰🇷 ▶️ bit.ly/4s53XVX

In this faculty research video, #iSchoolUI Assistant Professor @drtlwagner.bsky.social explores how LGBTQ+ histories are preserved and represented in archives and digital spaces, and why access to this information matters. Watch here ▶️ youtu.be/iH-QMou2Sbk

The #iSchoolUI is accepting applications for adjunct faculty to teach graduate and undergraduate courses in a range of areas. Link to the full announcement ▶️ bit.ly/4k1VqRk

#iSchoolUI students and faculty are well represented at the ACM/IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries, held this week in Dallas, Texas.   Check out our participation here ▶️ bit.ly/4yRaTbI

Join us Thursday, Oct. 15, for "Mapping AI Use at Work, at Home, and in Science: Insights from Google," a talk by Google senior research economist Mihai Codreanu. More details here ▶️ bit.ly/4yMq8mf

What if we could share smells like we share photos and videos? 👃 #iSchoolUI PhD student Evan Guerra is working to turn smells into code, helping computers understand and predict odors. His research earned him the 2026 Lucille M. Wert Scholar Award. Read more about his research ▶️ bit.ly/4B2ZjM6

Congratulations to #iSchoolUI MSLIS student Wendy Rein on receiving the 2026 @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social Century Scholarship!   Rein's research focuses on improving access to library services, and they hope to continue that work through research, advocacy, and policy.   ▶️ bit.ly/3VZ8U6x

#iSchoolUI Assistant Professor Ismini Lourentzou will give a talk on “Generative Models for Interactive Worlds” today from 4-5 PM, as part of the IMMERSE Seminar Series. This event is hybrid. More details here ▶️ bit.ly/4hPFoHC

#iSchoolUI Interim Dean and Professor @ejmknox.bsky.social joined the Liberating Lit podcast to talk about censorship, intellectual freedom, the power of reading, and the role libraries play in our communities.   Listen to the conversation during #BannedBooksWeek 🎧 ▶️ bit.ly/4rRP1tT

#iSchoolUI researchers will present their work this week at the Engagement Scholarship Consortium’s 2026 annual conference in Knoxville, TN. This year’s theme is “Changing Lives and Improving Society: Data-Driven Engagement and Innovation.” Learn more ▶️ bit.ly/4drhGA9

#iSchoolUI Assistant Professor @jiaqima.bsky.social has received a $90k grant from the Amazon-Illinois Center on AI for Interactive Conversational Experiences (AICE) to improve data and compute efficiency in large language model training. Congratulations, Jiaqi! Learn more ▶️ bit.ly/4dohZvE

For #BannedBooksWeek, we’re highlighting #iSchoolUI adjunct lecturer @jarrettdapier.bsky.social’s "Wake Now in the Fire," a graphic novel about Chicago students that was honored by @bookriot.bsky.social.   Read more ▶️ bit.ly/4y1C6qM

Attending the Illinois Library Association (ILA) annual conference in Peoria? Drop by the iSchool booth (#523) on Wednesday, Oct. 7, from 12-5 p.m. and Thursday, Oct. 8, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. See you there!

#iSchoolUI Professor @katemcdowell23.bsky.social will give two invited talks on library data storytelling next week:   🔸 Oct. 7 — Illinois Library Association's annual conference ▶️ bit.ly/4zg2Y7M   🔹 Oct. 9 — Midwest Collaborative for Library Services annual conference ▶️ bit.ly/4e5jYoL

#iSchoolUI Assistant Professor Jill Naiman’s research explores how AI can help scientists work more efficiently, while also ensuring accuracy, trust, and understanding in the research process. Learn more in this video ▶️ youtu.be/VPtHLjOewvk

Library Trends and the #iSchoolUI are pleased to present an online symposium expanding upon themes from 74 (4) “Compelling Tensions in LIS,” guest edited by Katherine M. Wisser. The symposium takes place on October 29, 12–4 PM (CT). Register here ▶️ bit.ly/3W28Ti7

#iSchoolUI faculty and PhD students will present their research at the 29th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (#CSCW26), held from Oct. 10-14 in Salt Lake City, Utah, with the online portion taking place today. Learn more ▶️ bit.ly/4hUPet0

Join us on Oct. 7 for the 2026 Otlet Lecture with Diane Kelly, Louis Round Wilson Distinguished Professor at UNC-Chapel Hill.   Her talk will explore the history of interfaces for online information search systems.   2:00 p.m. | 501 E. Daniel St. & Zoom   More information here ▶️ bit.ly/4rFQxiS

#iSchoolUI Professor Dong Wang and students from his Social Sensing and Intelligence Lab are presenting their research at the 2026 ACM Conference on Human-AI Complementarity and Alignment, held this week in Alexandria, Virginia. Read more about their work ▶️ bit.ly/3VjMgpm

After graduating with his MSLIS in May, Nicky Martin spent the summer as a junior fellow at the @librarycongress.bsky.social before starting a new position as an open publishing applications specialist at the Claremont Colleges, working with digital libraries and preservation. ▶️ bit.ly/4xTe7Kr

NISO’s Draft Accessibility Remediation Metadata (ARM) Standard is open for public comment through Nov. 9 on the project webpage ▶️ bit.ly/4xEIMuP Additional feedback will help ensure that ARM meets a broad range of needs, which in turn will support wider adoption once the new standard is finalized.

#iSchoolUI Professor Catherine Blake has been selected for the 2026 cohort of the University of Illinois Faculty Entrepreneurial Leadership Program, which supports faculty innovators in realizing the commercial and/or social impact of their research and scholarship.   Learn more ▶️ bit.ly/4z0MWOZ

Several #iSchoolUI faculty, staff, and students will participate in the Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy (TPRC54), taking place Sept. 25–26 in Washington, DC.   See the list of featured presenters here ▶️ bit.ly/3TLEdB2

Kyle Chong, Yvette Iribe Ramirez, Leigh Levinson, and Soumita Mukherjee joined the 2026–27 cohort of #iSchoolUI Postdoctoral Research Associates, bringing research interests ranging from Asian American studies to digital equity, AI governance, and more. ▶️ bit.ly/4yVgDAU

It was great to see students, faculty, and staff come together to learn about the research being done within the Informatics community at the Informatics Programs Fall 2026 Reception last week. Thanks to everyone who attended!

#iSchoolUI Professor Jingrui He was featured by @nitmb.bsky.social in a conversation about leveraging AI and machine learning for multidisciplinary discovery. Read the interview here ▶️ bit.ly/3VjbaVS

Join the #iSchoolUI! Applications are open for our Director of Recruitment and Admissions. Link to the full announcement, including salary and benefits, can be found here ▶️ bit.ly/4riYeev

How can AI help patients better understand their health? #iSchoolUI Assistant Professor Yue Guo explores how she’s making medical AI more accessible and understandable, helping patients navigate complex health information and get answers when they need them. Learn more here ▶️ youtu.be/W7ZR0l7gP1U

Today, Urbana Mayor DeShawn Williams visited IS 100: Exploring the iSchool with a Human-Centered Lens to talk to #iSchoolUI students about career readiness and preparing for life after college. Thank you for stopping by to share your insights, Mayor Williams!

#iSchoolUI Assistant Professor @haohanwang.bsky.social is part of a team receiving a Beckman Institute research seed grant to create a Center for Orchestrated Agentic Biology, aimed at developing an AI framework to model molecular pathways involved in brain aging ▶️ bit.ly/4xTyUyd