Seven University Library Instructors were named in the University of Illinois List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students for Spring 2025. This list is released each semester, and results are based on the ratings from the Instructor and Course Evaluation System (ICES) maintained by Measurement and Evaluation in the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning. Only those instructors who gave out ICES forms during the semester and who released their data for publication are included in the list.
The Library is central to the University of Illinois’ mission of teaching, research, and public service. It is one campus unit that serves all academic disciplines. Therefore, Library faculty and staff serve as instructors across a wide variety of departments.
Faculty and instructors ranked on this list include:
The Library is central to the intellectual life of the university. By stewarding knowledge and offering expert services, the Library supports discovery, learning, and innovation while ensuring broad, reliable access to information. Our faculty are an integral part of our success. The University Library is proud to recognize two faculty members who have been promoted to associate professor with indefinite tenure.
Kate Lambaria is a Music & Performing Arts Librarian and Associate Professor at the University Library. She coordinates the Music & Performing Arts Library’s (MPAL) instruction, reference, and outreach efforts; participates in collection development for dance, music, and theatre; and supervises MPAL’s graduate assistants. She holds an M.S. in Library & Information Sciences and a B.A. in Music, both from Illinois. Her research centers on library services designed to facilitate access to collections, from reference to repositories, and how the creative output from music and the performing arts requires us to adapt our practices.
Jennifer A. Maddox Abbott is the Head of Collection Management Services (CMS) and the Oak Street Library and is an Associate Professor at the University Library. She holds an M.S. in Library & Information Sciences from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, as well as an M.A. in English from Iowa State University and a B.A. in English from Western Illinois University. As the high-density storage facility for the University Library, the Oak Street Library has the unique role of maximizing preservation of the over four million items it houses, while simultaneously shelving them efficiently. Additionally, CMS is central to the Library’s participation in two major endeavors with the Big Ten Academic Alliance, the Shared Print Repository and the Google Book Search Project. Maddox Abbott is an expert in high-density storage and organizing complex workflows.
Chu, a member of the IRRT since 2015 and of ALA for 37 years, was recognized for being a “leading voice in international and multicultural library and information education, research and practice.” In addition to her role at Illinois, she is active in several ALA committees and international library and information science (LIS) organizations. Chu has served on the editorial board of several journals, including the International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion, and was co-editor-in-chief of Library Trends and the co-founding editor of the “International Insights” column of College & Research Libraries News. She publishes, presents, and consults worldwide in English and Spanish on diversity, equity, and inclusion in LIS, strategic planning, research methods, and emerging technologies, among other topics.
“I’m deeply grateful for this honor, which recognizes professional work that I find fulfilling and meaningful. Moreover, as the director of the Mortenson Center, the purpose of the ALA IRRT aligns with our mission to strengthen international ties among libraries and librarians worldwide, promoting international education, understanding, and peace. Through ALA IRRT membership and service, I engage with a community of colleagues to collectively advance ALA’s core values and librarianship at the international level,” said Chu.
Congratulations to Chu for this recognition from the ALA!
Lynne M. Thomas, Head of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library at the University Library, has received a 2025 Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine for her work as co-editor-in-chief and co-publisher of Uncanny Magazine with her husband, Michael Damian Thomas. The award includes managing editor Monte Lin; poetry editor Betsy Aoki; and podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky. Additionally, a story published in Uncanny Magazine,“Stitched to Skin like Family Is” by Nghi Vo won the 2025 Hugo Award for Best Short Story.
This is Thomas’s twelfth Hugo Award; she now holds the most Hugo Award wins among women and ties Mike Glyer for the fifth-most wins among all Hugo Award winners. The Hugo Award is “the leading award for excellence in the field of science fiction and fantasy.” The awards were announced on August 16, 2025, at a formal ceremony at Seattle Worldcon 2025, the 83rd World Science Fiction Convention. Since 1955, the Hugo Awards have been awarded annually by the World Science Fiction Society.
