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September 16, 2008

Pat McGuckin
Henry Haupt

Jesse White Awards Library Training Grants

SPRINGFIELD – Fifteen future librarians have been selected to receive a $7,500 scholarship grant from Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White to help pay for the cost of obtaining their Masters of Library and Information Science degree.

The Illinois Library and Information Science Training Grant Program, administered by the Illinois State Library, provides grants each year to college graduates who possess exceptional academic achievement and an interest in becoming librarians. More than 500 students have received the grant since the program was implemented. The fifteen scholarships may be used for either full or part-time studies at an American Library Association-accredited graduate library school.

"The state of Illinois is a national leader in developing libraries and librarians, and this grant program provides outstanding graduate students with some of the financial resources they need to obtain their Masters degree," said White. "I am proud to congratulate these talented future librarians."

Grant recipients are required to work the equivalent of two full years in service to the Illinois library community within the first three years following graduation. As a result, these grants benefit both the student recipients and the state's library community.

Nine of the students will pursue their degree at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign. They are:

• Magdalena Anne Casper-Shipp of Chicago
• April Marie Hosto of Edwardsville
• Micah Lawrence Jefferson of DeKalb
• Hakim A. Murphy of Oak Park
• Susan Lea Pasini of Libertyville
• Natalie Joan Richardson of Mendota
• Caitlin Savage of Evanston
• Laura Ann Smith of Chicago
• Jennifer AnnLouise Ward of Chicago

Three students will pursue their degree at Dominican University in Oak Forest. They are:

• Mary Beth Fuller of Hanover Park
• Abigail Marie Nafziger of Evanston
• Reina Michelle Williams of Chicago

Three students will pursue their degree at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. They are:

• Sarah Kareem Flanagan of Rochelle
• Karly Johanna Steele of Sherrard
• Shawn Christian Tanner of Chicago