This honor roll for Illinois libraries serves the dual purpose of recognizing outstanding voices in the library community, while creating a legacy through the ILA Endowment to continue their important work.
2023
Dr. Emily Joyce Magdelyn Knox
Dr. Emily Joyce Magdelyn Knox is an associate professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Knox’s commitment to intellectual freedom and to shaping the next generation of librarians has touched every library in Illinois.
Her research interests include information access, intellectual freedom and censorship, information ethics and policy, and the intersection of print culture and reading practices. She is a member of many organizations including the American Library Association, the Black Caucus of ALA, the Freedom to Read Foundation, and the Illinois Library Association. She is member of the advisory board for the African Centre of Excellence for Information Ethics and is the chair of the board of the National Coalition Against Censorship.
Her book, Book Banning in 21st Century America (Rowman & Littlefield) is the first monograph in the Beta Phi Mu Scholars’ Series. Her most recent book Foundations of Intellectual Freedom (ALA Neal-Schuman) won the 2023 Eli M. Oboler Prize for best published work in the area of intellectual freedom. Knox’s articles have been published in the Library Quarterly, Library and Information Science Research, and Open Information Science.
Knox has received many awards and recognitions, including the 2023 American Library Association/Beta Phi Mu Award of achievement for distinguished service to education for librarianship, 2023 Beta Phi Mu Distinguished Member Award, 2022 iSchool Alumni Association (ISAA) Distinguished Alumnus Award, 2022 Chicagoan of the Year for Books named along with library workers by the Chicago Tribune, and 2015 Illinois Library Association Intellectual Freedom Award.
Knox received her PhD from the doctoral program at the Rutgers University School of Communication & Information. Her master’s in library and information science is from the iSchool at Illinois. She also holds a BA in Religious Studies from Smith College and an AM in the same field from The University of Chicago Divinity School.
Inducted November 16, 2023
Jill Donovan
Jill Donovan has lent her creative mind to ILA since the mid-90s but was officially hired to start working with iREAD in 2002. Since then, Jill has served as the Creative Director for iREAD and will be greatly missed with her retirement in October 2023. The program as we know it would not exist without Jill’s contributions over the past 20 years.
Whether you loved Christian Robinson's fun Gaston art, from iREAD’s 2018 theme of "Reading Takes You Everywhere!" or were drawn to the simple yet beautiful illustrations from Hervé Tullet in 2021's "Reading Colors Your World", you have Jill to thank for recruiting and negotiating with ALL of the artists since 2002.
Regardless of if you are actively involved with planning summer reading at your library, take part each summer as a participant, or simply enjoy watching your library be decorated for each year’s theme, you have Jill to thank. She has created every flier, catalog, branded incentive, and piece of print (both physical and digital) for the past twenty years. Not only that, she has made it a priority and personal mission that the art reflects age, gender, disability, body, and racial/ethnic diversity so that everyone using iREAD has an opportunity to see themselves reflected in the art available and in the artists themselves.
As if that wasn't enough, she is the reason we have the amazing Resource Guide to send to libraries across the globe! Due in large part to Jill's hard work and dedication, we have partners like the Department of Defense using iREAD for their base libraries and statewide adoptions but it doesn't stop there. Libraries across the continental US, Alaska, Bermuda, and even as far away as New Zealand, use the program to create summer reading for their communities.
Inducted September 14, 2023
iREAD Summer Reading Programs
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