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2015

Cyndi Robinson

Event management is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it suits Cyndi Robinson. As the conference and continuing education manager for the Illinois Library Association (ILA) since 2000, she has orchestrated literally hundreds of events for librarians, support staff, library vendors, legislators, and trustees. She has won the respect and admiration of her peers and colleagues, solving problems with grace under pressure. Prior to joining ILA, Robinson served as program manager and then associate director for the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom from 1992-1998. She continues her involvement in intellectual freedom issues by serving as the current chair-elect of ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Round Table. Active in her community, she has served on the board of the Riverside Art Center since 2012, becoming president in 2015. A graduate of Loyola University with a bachelor’s degree in history, Robinson received her MLIS from Dominican University in 1997.

Inducted October 2, 2015

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Ronald Winner, 1952-2015

Thanks to Ron Winner’s tireless efforts in education and training, a whole generation of Illinois library staff is knowledgeable about resource sharing, delivery, and standards for service.  Without his devotion to his work, Illinois' model resource sharing network would not be as vibrant and robust as it is today. His administrative, consulting, and teaching career spanned more than thirty-seven years, working at the Illinois State Library in Springfield, Western Illinois Library System in Galesburg, Alliance Library System in Galesburg and East Peoria, Illinois State University, and Western Illinois University. He served as state data coordinator for Illinois' Public Library Statistics from 2005-2011, as a library consultant from 1982-2005, and chaired the Illinois State Library Delivery Advisory Committee from 2013-2014. Winner was a member of the Illinois Library Association's Task Force to revise public library standards, Illinois School Library Media Association Board (Ex-officio), and ILLINET Interlibrary Loan Code Revision Committee. A native of Jacksonville, Illinois, he graduated from Illinois State University in 1974 and received a master’s in library science from Rosary College, now Dominican University. Honors and awards included Milner Library's Honored Alumni from Illinois State University in 2012, and the Francis Keppel Award from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. 

Inducted October 2, 2015

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Donald C. Adcock

It is no wonder that many of us who have worked in and been associated with school libraries hold Don Adcock in high regard. He is still the person we go to with questions about how school libraries operated, have changed, and been influenced by educational forces around them. He is historian and mentor, and his grasp of school library issues and influence has it made it possible for many individuals to join the profession. A tireless advocate for school libraries and librarians for over fifty years, he spent twenty-five years as director of Library Services in Glen Ellyn District #41. After joining the staff of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association, he coordinated the $40 million National Library Power Project, an initiative of the DeWitt Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund. He also served as AASL interim executive director and later as interim director of the School Library Program at Dominican University. Active in many library associations including the Illinois Library Association (ILA), Adcock has been generous with his time and dedication to the profession, serving three terms on the ILA Executive Board and as president of IASL and IAME, ILA’s school library affiliates, as well as holding leadership positions in both national and international organizations. He served as an advisor to many committees of the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) pertaining to school libraries and librarians.

Inducted September 2, 2015

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Gail Bush

Gail Bush’s passionate career in Illinois libraries spans five decades of service in academic, corporate, school librarianship, and public library trusteeship.  After earning a doctorate in educational psychology, Bush’s tenure as a library practitioner was followed by moving into academia as a professor and director of the School Library Media Program at Dominican University's Graduate School of Library and Information Science.  She later founded the School Library Program in the Department of Reading and Literacy at National Louis University.

Highlights in peer recognition include the 1998 North Suburban Library System School Librarian of the Year; the Illinois School Library Media Association Polestar Award recipient of 2007; and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Graduate School of Library and Information Science Distinguished Alumnae of 2008. She served as president of the Illinois Library Association in 2010-2011 and has been involved in state, regional, national, and international associations.  A prolific grant writer, author, and frequent conference presenter and workshop facilitator, Bush publishes in both the education and library fields and serves on numerous editorial boards.

While she relishes her diverse career in service to Illinois library users, it is the bounty of her many library graduate students who continue to illuminate the field with their dedication and leadership that is the most rewarding.

Inducted July 23, 2015

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Janice Sherman

During her thirty-six-year career, Janice Sherman’s mission was to raise people’s expectations of what libraries can do and be; and then, to exceed those expectations.  Starting from a small storefront library, through two building programs, the Morton Public Library is now the busiest library in Tazewell County.  As an early adopter of technology, the library made computers available to the public beginning in 1980, including the first Macintosh in 1984.  Sherman was a founding member of the Resource Sharing Alliance, received the Alliance Library System’s (ALS) Technology Award in 1998, and Librarian of the Year Award in 2004.  She represented ALS in system merger negotiations in 2011 and encouraged cooperation among local libraries and other partners.  When a tornado struck in 2013, destroying hundreds of homes in nearby communities, Sherman offered the Morton Public Library as a collection and retrieval point for the many personal photographs and documents that were scattered by the storm.  For this unique service, the library received a special commendation from the 98^th Illinois General Assembly.  Sherman earned her master’s degree from Dominican University and inspired multiple staff members to obtain library science degrees.  Whether mentoring in the Synergy program, participating in a librarians’ delegation to China, or working with staff and board members, her vision and enthusiasm are unmistakable.

Inducted June 12, 2015

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Joyce Saricks

In her twenty-seven years as a readers’ advisory librarian at Downers Grove Public Library, Joyce Saricks spent her days connecting readers with books. She literally wrote the book, Readers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library, talked the talk and walked the walk.

 As a founding member of Illinois’ Adult Reading Round Table and an adjunct professor at Dominican University, she shared her passion and skill for readers’ advisory with generations of librarians. Her national reputation, coupled with her collaborative spirit and infectious enthusiasm, has made Illinois one of the most respected centers of readers’ advisory work in the country. Saricks has been a columnist and reviewer for Booklist since 2001 and currently serves as audio editor, as well as a contributor to EBSCO’s NoveList.

Among her many honors and awards, she received the Allie Beth Martin Award (1989) from the Public Library Association, Margaret E. Monroe Award (2011) from ALA’s Reference and User Services Association, and the Librarian of the Year Award (2000) from the Romance Writers of America. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and German from the University of Kansas, as well master’s degrees in comparative literature from the University of Wisconsin and teaching and library science from the University of Chicago.

Inducted June 12, 2015

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Hugh C. Atkinson, 1933-1986

Hugh C. Atkinson served as director of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) libraries for ten years, from 1976 until his death at age 53 in 1986. During that time, he led efforts in automation and statewide resource sharing and championed library cooperation, becoming a role model for generations to come. His willingness to take risks resulted in major changes in library service.

Prior to coming to Illinois, Atkinson served as director of libraries at Ohio State University and the State University of New York at Buffalo. He received his M.A. in library science from the University of Chicago. His entry in the Dictionary of American Library Biography reads in part: “…Atkinson brought an enthusiasm for library automation, a far-seeing appreciation of computer technology’s impact on library service, and a desire to create a system that would bring the benefits of the UIUC library to all the taxpayers of Illinois and bring all the library resources of Illinois to the UIUC community.”

At the time of his untimely death in 1986, the chancellor of the University of Illinois called him “the best university librarian in the country.” Both the American Library Association and the Illinois Library Association have established Hugh C. Atkinson awards in his honor.

Inducted April 24, 2015

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Mary Dempsey

Inducted April 24, 2015

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Lee A. Logan

Lee A. Logan has served the Illinois library community since 1974. As director of consulting and continuing education for the Alliance Library System starting in 2002, he worked closely with its 252 member libraries until the system closed in 2010. He was a champion to all libraries regardless of size or type.

Logan began his career as a media specialist with the DePue Unit Schools #103, then joined the Alpha Park Public Library District as a public services librarian and later as a trustee. He worked with the Illinois Valley Library System, which joined three other library systems in 1994-1995 to become the Alliance Library System. He was president of the Illinois Library Association and co-chaired the ILA Annual Conference four times, as well as chairing ILA’s Legislative Day in Springfield and co-chairing the Illinois delegation to National Library Legislative Day in Washington, D.C.

He received the ALA/ASCLA Leadership Achievement Award (2007), Ray Howser Staff Recognition Award (1992), Robert R. McClarren Legislative Development Award (2004), and the Alliance Library System Staff Award (2009). Logan has been a mentor for librarians for over twenty-six years, consulting on library law, legislation, governance, personnel and finance. If the libraries in the Alliance Library System needed help, he was the person to call.

Inducted February 6, 2015

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