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GSLIS News: 2004

Press Releases

• December 1, 2004: 2004 Downs Intellectual Freedom Award Acknowledges Whatcom County Library System
• October 25, 2004: Mellon grant to fund project to develop data-mining software for libraries (links to UI News Bureau)
• October 1, 2004: U. of I. to Play Lead Role in Project to Preserve Digital Information (links to UI News Bureau)
• September 27, 2004: Information System to Help Scientists Analyze Mechanisms of Social Behavior
• September 3, 2004: November 1, 2004 is the Deadline for the 2004 Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award Nominations
• June 21, 2004: University of Illinois Library School Alumni Association Honors Five
• June 8, 2004: Jane Wilson Downs, Distinguished Children's Librarian and Author, Dies at Age 90
• April 2, 2004: University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science Appoints Seven Research Fellows
• March 1, 2004: The Center for Children's Books Announces Winner of the First Annual Gryphon Award

Other News

GSLIS Made Strong Showing at 2004 ASIST Conference
GSLIS faculty, students, and alumni were out in full force at the ASIST Conference in Providence, RI:

• Professor Boyd Rayward received the 2004 Research Award.
• Poster presenters included:
  • The HUMIRS Project: Phase I
    J. Stephen Downie
  • Evaluation of Thesauri for Automatic Query Expansion and Searching within Document Structure
    P. Bryan Heidorn, Jing Zhang, Hongyan Sun
  • Bringing Order to Corpora Using Automatically Generated Concept Hierarchies
    Chulin Meng
  • Measuring and Assuring Metadata Quality in Federated Digital Collections
    Besiki Stvilia, Les Gasser, Michael Twidale
  • Comparative Literary Style Mining Between Native and Non-Native English Writers
    Bei Yu
  • Understanding Organizational Information Quality
    Les Gasser, Besiki Stvilia
  • Web Page Re-visiting Behavior of Graduate Students: A Pilot Study with Implications for System Design
    Hong Zhang
• Paper/panel presentations included:
  • Caroline Haythornthwaite as part of a panel on Studying Scientific Collaboration
  • Carole Palmer as part of a panel on Diffusion of Knowledge in the Field of Digital Library Development: How is the Field Shaped by Visionaries, Engineers and Pragmatists?
  • Carole Palmer and Ellen Knutson presented a paper on Metadata Practices and Implications for Federated Collections
  • Carole Palmer, Melissa Cragin, and Tim Hogan presented a paper on Information at the Intersections of Discovery: Case Studies in Neuroscience
  • Caroline Haythornthwaite as part of panel on Social Network Analysis as a Means of Exploring "Users"
• Attendees at the alumni reception included: Will Wheeler (MS '98), Lisa Kamm (MS '04), Roman Koshykar (MS '01), Hsiao-Tieh Pu, (MS '90), Michelynn McKnight, (MS '81), Christopher Hamb (MS '04), Yin Zhang (PhD '99), Gail Thornburg (PhD '87), Jian Qin (PhD '96), Tonyia Tidline (PhD '03), Carol Tenopir (PhD '84), Michele Cloonan (MS '84, PhD '88)
• Other GSLIS grads attending the conference include: Nancy Blase (MS '65), Steve Hardin (MS '89), Deborah Helman (MS '93), Anita Johnson (MS '02), Jane Loeshcer (MS '94), Margery Tibbetts (MS '84)

Paseo Boricua Recognized for Excellence in Youth Advocacy
The Paseo Boricua Community Librarianship Street Academy, a collaborative endeavor of the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science and Chicago's Puerto Rican Cultural Center, won the annual award for "most valuable program" from VOYA (www.voya.com), the Voice of Youth Advocates. VOYA is a journal addressing librarians, educators, and other professionals who work with young adults. It emphasizes intellectual freedom and youth participation.

"Go Global" through enrollment in an international summer course offered by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Information and Library Science (SILS). Openings are still available in both the Oxford Bodleian Library Program and the Prague Program. While the Oxford program is structured, the Prague program is unstructured and dependent upon student initiative. Both programs have the potential to open up a new world of ideas, contacts, experiences, and librarianship. You may enroll in one of these summer courses and transfer graduate credit to GSLIS. For more information, contact Isabel Dale Silver, Assistant Dean, Academic Affairs at (217) 265-6416 or -isilver, at uiuc.edu-.

Mary Munroe, adjunct GSLIS faculty member and associate dean of collections and technical services in the Northern Illinois University Libraries, received the 2004 Illinois Association of College and Research Libraries Librarian of the Year Award. Munroe, who teaches Collection Development, received her award Sept. 31 during a formal presentation during the IACRL Annual Meeting at the Illinois Library Association Conference. More information is available in NIU's press release.

Twenty members of GSLIS were named in the University's "Incomplete List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students" for their teaching during the Spring 2004 semester: Visiting Lecturer Linda Bial; Professor Chip Bruce; Visiting Lecturer John Dunkelberger; Instructor Janet Eke; Professor Betsy Hearne; Professor Emerita Kathryn Luther Henderson; Associate Professor Emeritus William T Henderson; Instructor Tim Hogan; Visiting Lecturer Pat Lawton; Teaching Assistant Gina Lee; Instructor Kate McDowell; Instructor Bharat Mehra; Instructor Brynnen Owen; Instructor Jeanne Holba Puacz; Teaching Assistant Claudia Rebaza; Librarian Sue Searing; Professor Linda Smith; Visiting Lecturer Mary Wilkes Towner; Associate Professor Terry Weech; Instructor Martin Wolske.

W. Boyd Rayward was the winner of the 2004 ASIS&T Research Award for Research in Information Science in recognition of his outstanding contributions to research in the history of information science and technology. Rayward is noted for his pioneering work investigating the development of the International Institute of Bibliography/International Federation of Information and Documentation and the role of Paul Otlet, which has proved critical to illuminating the foundations of information science. His work has significantly improved our understanding of the many connections between these early years and current issues and research problems, revealing important developments and ideas that would otherwise remain unknown to contemporary researchers and practitioners. He has provided a much richer intellectual history for present-day theory and practice in information science and technology. He has fostered the work of other researchers in the history of information science and technology through such activities as taking a lead in organizing two conferences on History and Heritage of Science Information Systems, editing two issues of IEEE Annals of the History of Computing in the history of library automation, and mentoring students in their pursuit of historical research in information science and technology. The award was presented at the ASIS&T Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, November 16 in Providence, Rhode Island.

Terry Weech lectured in Parma, Italy on Distance Education in LIS in March, 2004 at the University of Parma. In April, 2004, Terry was invited to give a series of lectures at the French National School of Library and Information Science (enssib) in Lyon, France. This was his fourth visit to enssib. May 16-31, 2004 found Terry in Croatia on a short term Fulbright Senior Specialist award, spending a week in Osijek lecturing at the Library school and a week in Dubrovnik and Mljek attending the "Libraries in a Digital Age" Conference.

John Unsworth gave the keynote address, "The Value of Digitization for Libraries and Humanities Scholarship," at The Economics of Digitization, an Innodata Isogen Symposium in cooperation with The Newberry Library. The symposium took place at The Newberry Library, Chicago, May 17-18, 2004.

Linda C. Smith was named the recipient of the 2004 Beta Phi Mu award. Details are available from ALA's press release.

Fourteen members of GSLIS were named in the University's "Incomplete List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students" for their teaching during the Fall 2003 semester: Instructor Janet Eke; Instructor Linda Bial; Professor Chip Bruce; Professor Betsy Hearne; Associate Professor Bryan Heidorn; Professor Linda Smith; Visiting Lecturer Melissa Wong; Instructor Alfred Kagan; Teaching Assistant Kate McDowell; Visiting Lecturer Pat Lawton; Instructor Lynn Hanson Professor Emerita Kathryn Luther Henderson; Associate Professor Emeritus William T Henderson; Instructor Martin Wolske.

Professor Betsy Hearne was selected as one of the recipients for the Graduate College Outstanding Mentor Award for 2003-2004. The award, which recognizes exemplary efforts by the graduate faculty in advising and serving graduate students, confers a cash award to the recipient, as well as monies to the School for a fellowship and travel.

The GK-12 Team earned a "SITE 2004 Best Paper Award" for Science Education at the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) AACE International Conference held in Atlanta, GA. (March 1-6). The paper, "What Science and Technology Mean to the High School Learner," positioned the high school teacher as a research-practioner, and drew upon thick data reflecting students' perceptions of bioinformatics and technology in their science classrooms. Authors are members of the NSF GK-12 Research Project administered under Dr. Richard Braatz and the NCSA: Kathleen Gabric, Hinsdale Central High School; Sharon Comstock, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Steven A. Moore Jr., Eli Lilly; Delwyn Harnisch, Univ. of Nebraska Lincoln; Ron Shope, Grace Univ.; Bertram Bruce, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Jim Buell, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Team members gratefully acknowledge support of the NSF (No. 0086455).

The January 30, 2004 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education featured an article by John Unsworth. The article, entitled "The Next Wave: Liberation Technology" and featured in their "Chronicle Review" section, is available online at http://www.iath.virginia.edu/~jmu2m/liberation.html.

Don Krummel was honored with the 2004 Individual Award of the American Printing History Association (APHA) for his lasting contribution of great importance to the study of early music printing and rare book bibliography. The award will be presented during the APHA's annual meeting on January 24, 2004.

Ann Bishop's book, Digital Library Use: Social Practice in Design and Evaluation, has been published by The MIT Press. Edited by Bishop, Nancy A. Van House, and Barbara P. Buttenfield, the book also contains a foreword by GSLIS faculty member Bruce Schatz.

Master's student Patrice Monique Johnson was selected as this year's recipient of ILA's Sylvia Murphy Williams Scholarship Fund. More information about this award is available in the October 2004 issue of the ILA Reporter, which is downloadable from the ILA Report Issue Index.

Doctoral student Chris Hagar presented a paper entitled "Online Lifeline: The Farming Community in Crisis" at the XI World Congress of Rural Sociology, Trondheim, Norway, July 25-30, 2004. Working Group title: Using a Global Medium to Strengthen Place-Based Networking--Appropriation of the Internet in Rural Areas.

Doctoral student Sharon Comstock presented a paper entitled "Searching for Gold: Digital Discourse and the Dream of a Child-Centered Digital Library" at the Children's Literature Association (ChLA) 31st Annual Conference, June 10-12, 2004, in Fresno, CA. She also presented a poster by Sharon L. Comstock, Kathleen Gabric, Delwyn Harnisch, Bertram C. Bruce, and James Buell, entitled "Revitalizing the High School Curriculum: Visualization/Modeling Technologies and Inquiry" at a symposium hosted by The National Center for Information Technology in Education (NCITE) at the University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL).

Doctoral student Joyce M. Latham was the 2004 winner of the Justin Winsor Prize presented by the American Library Association (ALA) Library History Round Table (LHRT). The award, $500 and a certificate, is presented annually to the author of an outstanding essay embodying original historical research on a significant subject of library history. The author also is invited to publish the essay in Libraries & Culture, a journal of library history published by University of Texas Press. Latham won the prize for her essay, Clergy of the Mind: William S. Learned, the Carnegie Corporation and the American Library Association.

Master's student Laura Leavitt received a 2004 Special Libraries Association Business & Finance Division Student Stipend Award, which helped Leavitt cover expenses to attend the 2004 SLA Annual Conference in Nashville, TN, June 5-10, 2004. Master's student Susie Sutherland received the 2004 SLA Illinois Student Conference Scholarship, which provided Sutherland with a $1000 award to attend the same conference.

Master's student Sandra Wiles received 2004 NASIG Fritz Schwartz Scholarship. The North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG) awards a $2500 scholarship to a library science graduate student who demonstrates excellence in scholarship and the potential for accomplishment in a serials career. The purpose of the scholarship is to advance the serials profession by providing an aspiring library student who has prior serials experience with enhanced educational opportunities. In addition to the scholarship, Wiles received a Student Grant Award to attend the 2004 NASIG conference and a one-year NASIG membership. The nineteenth Annual Conference was held at the Historic Hilton Milwaukee City Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 17-20, 2004.

Master's student Alec Sonsteby presented a paper "Technology and Worship Theology" at the Joint Conference of the National Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association (PCA/ACA) and SW/Texas PCA/ACA, San Antonio, TX, April 7-10, 2004.

Doctoral student Chris Hagar presented a paper "Community in Crisis: The 2001 UK Foot-and-Mouth Outbreak--The Response of the Pentalk Network" at the Building & Bridging Community Networks: Knowledge, Innovation & Diversity through Communication Conference, Brighton, UK, March 31-April 2, 2004.

Master's student Rachelle Ramsey' s webliography "Biological and Chemical Terrorism Information for Healthcare Professionals" was featured in the Winter 2004 edition of Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship. The refereed article was originally completed by Ramsey for Linda Smith's class Scientific and Technical Literature and Reference Work.

Master's student Karen Woodworth-Roman 's website (librarians.info) was selected by School Library Journal as a "Site of the Week." Recognized for its collection of annotated children's and young adult booklists, the website also points to master's student Janet Pye 's bibliography of children's fictional books featuring children with parents in the U.S. military.

Master's student Amanda Biggins was awarded the 2004 MLA Scholarship. The scholarship grants $5,000 annually to a student who shows "excellent scholarship and potential for accomplishment" in the field of medical librarianship. Biggins' special area of interest is clinical librarianship for rural areas.

Doctoral student Hong Cui 's poster entitled "Knowledge-Based Semantic Markup of Plant Descriptions" took first place and was awarded The Jean Tague-Sutcliffe Award in the Doctoral Students SIG Research Poster Session at ALISE 2004, Jan 6-9, San Deigo, CA.

Jo Powers (MS '03), Curriculum Coordinator for the Department of Medical Humanities at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, compiled, edited and published the Five Year Index for the Journal of Legal Medicine. JLM is published by Taylor & Francis, Inc., Philadelphia, and is published in cooperation with the Southern Illinois University School of Law (2004). The Five Year Index is published concurrently with volume 25, number 4, December 2004 of JLM.

Dr. Carol Tenopir (PhD '84) was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2nd annual International Information Industry Awards ceremony in London. Recently awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, Tenopir has published over 200 journal articles on the information industry, online reference services, and information access and retrieval, and since 1983 has written the "Online Databases'" monthly column for Library Journal. Her latest book is Communications Patterns of Engineers. Frequently cited as one of the most productive faculty members among international library and information science educators, Dr. Tenopir's research bridges the fields of information science, communication, and librarianship.

Dana Wright (MS '02), University of Illinois Diversity Services Librarian, appeared in a television commercial produced by the university and shown during halftime of televised football and basketball games. Read more and watch the spots at http://www.uiuc.edu/features/alums/.

An article,co-authored by Michelle M. Kazmer (PhD '02), assistant professor in the School of Information Studies at the Florida State University, and Umesh Thakkar, appeared in the Journal of Education for Library and Information Science. The title of the article is "Developing Technological Fluency in Undergraduate IT Education: Teaching Amid Evolving Change in LIS" (volume 45, number 3). The article discusses two courses (Disciplines and the Internet and Emerging Technologies) in the Information Technology Studies Minor Program.

Myron Schirer-Suter (MS '94) completed an EdD in Educational Technology from Pepperdine University. He accepted the position of Director of Library Services at Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts.

Elizabeth Figa (PhD '02), assistant professor in the School of of Library and Information Sciences at the University of North Texas, was appointed Associate Editor of Storytelling, Self, Society: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Storytelling Studies published by Florida Atlantic University.

Laura L. Barnes (MS '93) was elected to a three year term on the Illinois Library Association Executive Board. She is the librarian at the Illinois Waste Management and Research Center, a non-regulatory state environmental agency located on the UIUC campus.

Catharine Bommhold (MS '93) completed her Ph.D. in Communication and Information Science at the University of Alabama. Her dissertation "The Information Behaviors of Early Childhood Caregivers" received the Best Dissertation Award for 2003 by the College. She is an assistant professor of Library and Information Science at the University of Southern Mississippi and was named the Director of the Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival.

Cyril Oberlander (MS '00) presented two programs at NW ILL & Resource Sharing Conference on September 17, 2004: "Scanning for Accessibility, Mobility and Beyond" and "Direct Delivery: Workshop & Presentation on D.E. Resource Sharing Services."

Cassi Pretlow (MS '03) published an article entitled "Study of Consumer Health Links on Medical School Library Home Pages" in v. 8, n. 2 of the Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet.

Chris Desai (MS '00) gave a presentation entitled "Current Trends in American Libraries: A Focus on Chat Reference" at the Biennial Meeting of the Librarians Association of Malaysia, Sarawak Chapter at the Sarawak State Library on April 16, 2004. Desai was invited to present by the US Embassy, Malaysia and the Sarawak State Library. Desai also published an article entitled "Weaving Words and Pictures: Allen Say and the Art of Illustration" in The Lion and the Unicorn, v. 28 n. 3.

Ria Newhouse (MS '02) and April Spisak (MS '01) presented the results of their survey on first-year librarians to the ALA anual meeting in Orlando in June 2004. They also published the results as an article in Library Journal entitled "Fixing the First Job."

Raizel Liebler (MS '03) and Elizabeth Pierre-Louis (MS '03) both had articles published in the August issue of American Libraries magazine. Liebler wrote about state mini-CIPA legislation and Pierre-Louis wrote an article called "Roots of Hope."

Anita Sundaram Coleman (PhD '96) and former GSLIS faculty member Cheryl Knott Malone, both of the University of Arizona, were appointed co-editors of the Journal of Education for Library and Information Science for a four-year term beginning in January 2005 with issue number 1 of Volume 46.

Catherine Ritchie (CAS '00) had her article entitled "All Kids Should Feel Free to Dance: An Interview with Julie Anne Peters" published in the September/October 2004 issue of Public Libraries.

Marion T. Reid (MS '68), Dean of Library Services at California State University San Marcos, was named Interim Vice President for External Affairs at Cal State San Marcos until a permanent replacement is selected. Reid lead the campus fundraising, communications, and civic and legislative affairs efforts.

Ria Newhouse (MS '02) and April Spisak (MS '01) were profiled in the Movers & Shakers section of the June 2004 issue of Library Journal. Newhouse and Spisak spoke to the 2004 Public Library Association conference about librarians who are new to the profession.

Michelynn McKnight (MS '81) completed an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Information Science from the University of North Texas. Her dissertation was entitled "An Observational Investigation of On-duty Critical Care Nurses' Information Behavior." She accepted a tenure-track faculty position at the Louisiana State University School of Library and Information Science. McKnight is also a Visiting Assistant Professor for the LEEP program, and is serves on the Medical Library Association Board of Directors and the National Library of Medicine Biomedical Library and Informatics Review Committee.

Louise Svehla (MS '03) was awarded an EBSCO ALA Conference Sponsorship award to attend the 2004 ALA Annual Conference in Orlando. The award covered up to $1,000 in expenses and was donated by EBSCO Subscription Services. The winners were selected based on a 250-word essay, "How Attending the Annual Conference would Contribute to My Professional Development."

Jana Bradley (PhD '91) was selected as director of the School of Information Resources and Library Science (SIRLS) at the University of Arizona, Tucson. Bradley had been associate professor and director of the Library and Information Science Program at the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University since 1999. She has also been an Applied Informatics Fellow at the National Library of Medicine, an Assistant Professor at GSLIS, University of Illinois, and Director of Libraries at DePauw University. She was president of the Medical Library Association in 1995-96, and was elected Fellow of the MLA in 2003.

Mary Oberlander (MS '01) and Cyril Oberlander (MS '00) co-authored an article "Mining for Selection & Meaning in Collection Development" published in Against the Grain, vol. 16 (2) April 2004, p. 77-80.

Teri R. Switzer (MS '73), assistant director for Human Resources and Budget at Auraria Library in Denver, who was elected as ALA Treasurer in 2003 to fill the one-year vacancy created by the resignation of Liz Bishoff, was re-elected to serve as treasurer for the 2004-07 term.

Raizel Liebler (MS '03) had two articles accepted for publication. The first, a revision of her master's thesis, Institutions of Learning or Havens for Illegal Activities: The Supreme Court's Views of Libraries, was published in Northern Illinois University Law Review. A working draft of the article is found here. The second, an essay concerning state legislative responses to CIPA was published in On My Mind in American Libraries.

Nanette Wargo (MS '03), Technical Services Manager with the Champaign Public Library, was selected as one of three 2004 recipients of the 3M/NMRT Professional Development Grant.

Mel DeSart (MS '87), Head of the Engineering Library at the University of Washington, was awarded the 2004 Homer I. Bernhardt Distinguished Service Award, presented by the American Society for Engineering Education Engineering Libraries Division (ELD). DeSart received his award at the June ELD Annual Business Meeting in Salt Lake City.

Valerie Wilford (MS '68), retired director at Alliance (IL) Library System, was the 2004 recipient of the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) Leadership Achievement Award, a citation presented to recognize leadership and achievement in consulting, multi-type library cooperation and state library development. The award recognizes sustained activity that has been characterized by professional growth and effectiveness, and has enhanced the status of these areas of activity. "ASCLA is pleased to present the Leadership Achievement Award to Valerie Wilford in recognition of her success at setting new standards in cooperation between all types of libraries and for developing a new model of system operations," stated Tom Sloan, ASCLA president. "ASCLA congratulates Ms. Wilford for her exceptional work, creativity, and enterprise." The award was presented June 27, 2004, at the ASCLA President's Program and Award Ceremony during the ALA Annual Conference in Orlando, FL.

Jessica Moyer (MS '03) who is currently working on her Certificate of Advanced Study at GSLIS, had two papers accepted for publication. "Adult Fiction Reading: A Literature of Readers' Advisory Services, Adult Fiction Librarianship and Fiction Readers" was published in the Spring 2005 issue of Reference and User Services Quarterly, vol. 44, no. 3. Written with Lynne Rudasill (MS '91) "Cyber-Security, Cyber-Attack, and the Development of Governmental Response" was published in New Library World Summer 2004.

One of Raymond Bial 's (MS '79) children's books, Tenement: Immigrant Life on the Lower East Side, published by Houghton Mifflin, was named an Honor Book for the Orbis Pictus Award. Presented by the National Council of Teachers of English, this award recognizes three of the very best nonfiction books for children published in the preceding year.

Mark Scharff (MS '89) became chair of the Music OCLC Users Group following its annual meeting in Washington, D.C. in February. The organization has about 500 personal and institutional members, and has made significant contributions to the development of OCLC cataloging and reference products to improve access to music materials. Scharff had been the Music Cataloger at the Gaylord Music Library, Washington University in St. Louis since 1992.

Meris Mandernach (MS '03) was awarded the Marion E. Sparks award for professional development by the chemistry division of SLA to attend the national conference in Nashville.

Lori Bell (MS '82), was featured in Library Journal 's "2004 Movers & Shakers" supplement, which appears in their March 15, 2004 issue.

Anne Heimann (MS '02) was awarded the 2004 Ebsco/MLA Conference Grant to attend the Medical Library Association Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. in May.

Jessica E. Moyer (MS '03), who is currently working on her Certificate of Advanced Study at GSLIS, co-presented a paper with GSLIS faculty member Terry Weech at the Bobcatsss Conference in Riga, Latvia at the end of January 2004. The paper was titled: "Teaching Popular Fiction and Reader's Advisory in Library Science Education." Bobcatsss is an annual symposium organized by students in library and information science in Europe. This is the second year that Jessica Jones Moyer has presented a paper at this annual conference. For photos of the 2004 conference, see: http://leep.lis.uiuc.edu/seworkspace/weech/bobcats4/Recpt/sym.htm.

Bridget Lamont (MS '72), Chairman of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board and former Director of the Illinois State Library, was1 appointed by President Bush to the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS). NCLIS helps to effect policy concerning libraries and the dissemination and use of information in the United States. NCLIS is a permanent, independent agency of the Federal government whose commissioners provide advice to the President, Congress, and other policy makers. Lamont's appointment began on January 28, 2004, after the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed the NCLIS nominations, and will end on July 19th, 2008.

Cyril Oberlander (MS '00) presented "Direct Delivery: A Solution to the Double Delivery Dilemma" at the ALA RUSA MOUSS ILL Discussion Group Meeting in San Diego, January 10, 2004. Details about the project can be found at http://www.lib.pdx.edu/services/ill/DE/DirectDelivery.html.

The following alumni were selected to participate in Synergy 2004 sponsored by the State Library Association and the Illinois Library Association: Elaine Bearden (MS '95), The Urbana Free Library, Urbana; Michelle L. Budt-Caulk (MS '98), St. Charles Public Library, St. Charles; Marci A. Cohen (MS '00), Northbrook Public Library, Northbrook; Jeremy Dunn (MS '99), Argo Community High School, Summit; Beth Duttlinger (MS '93), Black Hawk College-East Campus, Kewanee; Jane Ehrenhart (MS '94), Illinois State Historical Library, Springfield; Keisha Garnett (MS '01), West Englewood Branch, Chicago; Katharine S. Kalweit (MS '98), Grande Prairie Public Library District, Hazel Crest; Kara J. Malenfant (MS '99), DePaul University Libraries, Chicago; Mary Pergander (MS '02), Lake Bluff Public Library, Lake Bluff; Lian Ruan (MS '90), Illinois Fire Service Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, Champaign; Tracy Ruppman (MS '01), National-Louis University, Wheaton; Yanira Vegerano (MS '02), Douglass Branch Library, Champaign; Lucia R. Webb (MS '95), Provena United Samaritans Medical Center, Danville; Don Widmer (MS '95), Ruppel Library, Vander Cook College of Music, Chicago.

Chris Desai (MS '00) had her article, co-authored with J. C. Fagan and entitled "Communication Strategies for Instant Messaging and Chat Reference Services," published in The Reference Librarian 79/80: 121-155.

Mark A. Spasser (PhD '98), Chief of Library and Information Services and Associate Professor at Jewish Hospital College of Nursing & Allied Health Library, published a chapter in GSLIS faculty member Ann Bishop's book, Digital Library Use: Social Practice in Design and Evaluation. The book, edited by Bishop, Nancy A. Van House, and Barbara P. Buttenfield, was published by The MIT Press.

Ann Campion Riley (MS '77), Library Director at St. Louis Community College at Meramec, was elected vice president/president-elect of the Missouri Library Association for 2004-05. Her term began January 1, 2004.

Lizabeth (Betsy) A. Wilson (MS '78), Director of University Libraries, University of Washington, was elected Chair of the OCLC Board of Trustees. Read details from OCLC's press release.

Tracy Englert (MS '01), Catalog Librarian at The University of Southern Mississippi, was selected as part of the LAMA Leaders of the Pack mentor project. Details can be read from ALA's press release.

Kelly Czarnecki (MS '02) was featured in the October 2003 ILA Reporter article, Using Personal Passion to Push the Profession. The article discusses Czarnecki's membership to the McLean County STD/HIV prevention forum and how it has influenced her work at the library.

Lian Ruan (MS '90), Director/Head Librarian, Illinois Fire Service Institute accepted the invitation from Jesse White, Secretary of State and State Librarian to serve on ILLINET Network Advisory Council (INAC) as a representative of special libraries. INAC works to promote resource sharing and multi-type library cooperation, serves as a means of communication among the formal and informal library and education constituencies in the state, provides a forum for the exchange of information and advises the Director of the Illinois State Library regarding resource sharing issues. Her appointment will continue through June 30, 2005.