For Lisa O'Keefe (MS/LIS ’09), getting a job at Reddit was like "the mothership has truly called me home." She enjoys the variety of her job responsibilities as well as her company's mission to create community and belonging for everyone in the world.

According to Honore Bray (MS/LIS ’05), being director of the Missoula Public Library is "the best job ever." While this, of course, is debatable, Bray certainly has one of the best locations to do her job—a beautiful new library building in Missoula, Montana. The project took six years from start to finish, with Bray serving as part of the planning process, co-project manager, and liaison between the library’s trustees and the architects and construction team.

The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) is very pleased to announce that Colin Rhinesmith (PhD '14), associate professor at Simmons University School of Library and Information Science is the 2021 recipient of the ASIS&T Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award. The award's purpose is to recognize the unique teaching contribution of an individual as a teacher of information science.

Two iSchool alumni are included in Library Journal's 2021 class of Movers & Shakers, an annual list that recognizes 46 professionals who are moving the library field forward as a profession. Carmi Parker (MS/LIS '15) was honored in the Advocates category, and Claudia Șerbănuță (MS/LIS '09, PhD '17) was honored in the Change Agents category.

Librarian Rachel Wightman (MS/LIS '09) has spent her career teaching students to find information. Outside of her work as associate director for instruction and outreach at Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota, she is teaching church congregations how to spot and stop the spread of misinformation. For the past year, Wightman has been holding online training sessions for congregations across the country.

Projects by Assistant Professor Nigel Bosch and Jeff Ginger (PhD '15) are featured in the 2021 STEM for All Video Showcase. The showcase, which brings together videos from hundreds of projects funded by the National Science Foundation and a diverse group of other federal agencies, is an interactive event. From May 11-18, viewers will watch, share, and interact with projects that are transforming science, technology, engineering, math, and computer science learning.

Jhani Miller (MS '15), assistant branch manager for the Brooklyn Public Library, is an aerial artist who has competed nationally, performed off-Broadway, and taught the first-ever public library pole dance class in the U.S.

The iSchool's Library Resources for Spanish Speakers (IS 563) course was featured in a session at Seguimos Creando Enlaces (Creating Connections), a virtual conference held on March 25. Adjunct Lecturers Pamela Espinosa de los Monteros and Anne Barnhart teach the course, in which students explore differences in U.S. Spanish-speaking populations and examine information resources for meeting their needs. At the session, moderated by Barnhart and Espinosa de los Monteros, MS students Kristin Greer Love, Lea Weatherall, and Sylvia Figueroa-Ortiz as well as recent graduates Eddie Kristan (MS '20) and Aldo Vasquez (MS '18) shared their experiences taking the course.

In recognition of the 20th anniversary of the School Librarian Licensure program, the iSchool is highlighting 20 school librarians who have made a difference in the field. Kim Anderson (MS '07, CAS '09), librarian at Jefferson Middle School in Champaign, loves being a school librarian and mentoring future librarians. Through the years, she has mentored 25 practicum and student teachers in her role as a cooperating librarian. She also contributes her time and expertise as a member of the iSchool's School Librarian Licensure program advisory board. 

The trivia talents of six iSchool alumni—and a faculty member—catapulted them to one of America's most popular game shows, Jeopardy! Nanette Donohue (MS '03), Erin Hart (MS '19), Charlie Jorgenson (MS '12), Ana Palmer (MS '07), Becky Reisig (MS '07), Associate Professor Carol Tilley, and Clare Gaynor Willis (MS '10) recall their appearance on the show.