ANNOUNCEMENTS: Cheers for Peers

Library Human Resources is happy to announce this month’s Cheers for Peers submissions. The following Library employees have been cheered by their peers:

• Paul Gouwens
• Kestrel Ikar
• Gabi Fisher
• Joanne Miller
• Grace Flavin

To view the detailed Cheers for Peers submissions please view the Growing People blog.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Recognizing Excellence

• Bethany Anderson Receives Campus Distinguished Promotion Award

Please share your award, recognition, or grant! To initiate a request for publicity, employees (or their supervisors) should submit the Recognizing Excellence Submission Form.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Meeting Minutes (SAT, CDC, CAPT)

Please see the following URLs for the most recent meeting minutes of these groups:

• Senior Administration Team (SAT): library.illinois.edu/committees/committees/senior-administration-team
• Collection Development Committee (CDC): library.illinois.edu/staff/committee/collection-development-committee/
• Content Access Policy & Technology (CAPT) (including workgroup reports): library.illinois.edu/staff/committee/content-access-policy-technology-capt/

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FACILITIES NEWS: Facilities Update

Tim Newman, Assistant Dean of Libraries for Facilities

For a complete list of projects in planning and construction, please visit wordpress.library.illinois.edu/staff/facilities.

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BUSINESS NEWS: Is it a Contract or Honorarium?

Kim Johnson, Associate Director of Fiscal Operations

A contract is an agreement between the system and one or more other parties, creating obligations that are legally recognizable or enforceable. An honorarium is a one-time payment of $5,000 or less, made to an individual who is not an employee of the University of Illinois System for a special and non-recurring activity or event for which no remuneration is collectible by law. Contracts are always negotiated prior to the service, while honoraria are issued after the service with no prior commitment.

Honoraria cannot be paid to a University employee or to an organization. If an organization requires payment, then the payment will need to be processed as a contract. Notably, speaker fees are considered a payment for professional services, not an honorarium, and will need to be processed as a contract.

Contract Process:

• Contracts need to be completed through the University Purchasing department and requested through the Purchasing App.
• A purchase order (PO) must be issued prior to services beginning. The guest must have an active profile in the system for a PO to be issued
• If the PO is not issued before services begin, the transaction is then considered non-conforming
• Non-conforming transactions require approval from the Assistant Dean of Business and HR and additional paperwork from the vendor prior to payment being issued.

Honorarium Process:

• Honoraria are requested through the Library Non-Employee Honorarium/Award Request.

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BUSINESS NEWS: Grants

Kim Johnson, Associate Director of Fiscal Operations

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HR NEWS: Filled Positions

• Mandi Arlain – Humanities Librarian (African American Studies and English Literature) – HPNL – Started June 16, 2026

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HR NEWS: Departures

• Gregg Homerding – CS – TLAS – Retiring, last day July 31, 2026
• Jennifer Gavel – CS – BHRSC – Resigning, last day August 31, 2026
• Susanne Belovari – Faculty – University Archives – Retiring, last day September 25, 2026

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HR NEWS: Civil Service Vacancies

• Library Specialist, Overnights – GELIC – Interviewing
• Senior Library Specialist – Funk ACES Library – Closed June 30, 2026

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HR NEWS:  Academic Professional and Faculty Open Postings

• Bioengineering and Engineering Medical Innovation Librarian – Grainger Library –Finalizing Search
• Engineering Instruction and Outreach Librarian – Grainger Library – Finalizing Search

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Staff Events Calendar

To see the most up-to-date staff events calendar, please visit libcal.library.illinois.edu/calendar/staff.

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Archives and Special Collections Building Tour

• July 6 at 3:00–4:00 p.m.
• July 22 at 10:00–11:00 a.m.
• August 3 at 2:30–3:30 p.m.

Tom Teper and Tim Newman are leading a series of tours for Library employees to view the new Archives and Special Collections Building. Attendees will meet in the Library Gallery to begin.

Register via links above.

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Virtual Library Professional Development Series – Preparing to Give Feedback

July 8 at 10:00–11:30 a.m.
Registration

Do you struggle with how to approach a feedback conversation? Or do you find yourself having the same conversation over and over? In this session, we will use Crucial Conversations to discuss how to decide which feedback conversation to have and what your goals are for that discussion.

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Digital Possibilities Series: Digital Realities and Possibilities for a Sousa Archives Researcher

July 8 at 1:00–2:00 p.m.
Registration

The University of Illinois’ Sousa Archives and Center for American Music is both a special collections music archives and museum whose historical collections document diverse music cultures, legacies, and technologies in North, Central, and South America as well as portions of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Our collections are meant to be actively engaged by people of all ages and music backgrounds and abilities. Our philosophy is grounded in providing access to our music collections using all available resources and technologies to enable our visitors to engage with our collections physically, intellectually, and actively. In this presentation, Scott Schwartz will highlight how the Sousa Archives approaches on-site and online public engagement to its music collections using some of today’s digital technologies.

Hosted by CARLI

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Digital Possibilities Series: Meet the Chicago Collections Consortium and Revs Institute

July 15 at 10:00–11:00 a.m.
Registration

The Chicago Collections Consortium (CCC) is a membership organization of 60+ institutions composed of public and private universities, public libraries, special libraries, museums, and other repositories with collections that chronicle the rich history of Chicago. Its portal, EXPLORE Chicago Collections, is its flagship initiative, providing “one stop shopping”: a site for researchers, teachers, students, and the public to find digital images and locate archival holdings on Chicago topics without searching individual institutions’ online catalogs one at a time. Founded in 2012 with twelve governing members, CCC has since grown to 60+ members. Ellen Keith, Executive Director, will discuss the portal, the organization’s other outreach activities, and the organization’s next steps in its second decade.

Revs Institute will share how they are embracing emerging technologies and digital dissemination to expand access, enhance discovery, and preserve specialized knowledge.  Arthur Carlson, Director of Archives and Research Center – Revs Institute, will highlight current projects at Revs Institute including a machine learning metadata generation project, the development of a specialized large language learning model to support research, and efforts to document and share specialized at-risk knowledge and share that with the world.

Hosted by CARLI

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: RACI Matrix Overview

July 16 at 1:30–3:30 p.m.
Registration

An in-person overview of the RACI matrix, a simple but powerful tool for creating clarity around roles and responsibilities to support effective collaboration. 

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Purchasing App Training

July 21 at 2:30–3:30 p.m.
Registration

Please join us to learn how to better use the purchasing app. A representative from the Business Office will walk you through the process for using the purchasing app. If you have questions, please reach out to Melanie Kuehn at mkuehn@illinois.edu.

Upcoming Trainings

• August 11, 2026 at 2:30–3:30 p.m. – Main Library 314
• September 10, 2026 at 2:30–3:30 p.m. – Virtual
• Wednesday, October 14, 2026 at 2:30–3:30 p.m. – Main Library 314

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Virtual Library Professional Development Series – Giving Feedback

July 22 at 10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Registration

Explore key lessons and practices from Douglas Stone & Sheila Heen (authors of Thanks for the Feedback) on how to effectively give feedback—fostering stronger relationships, trust, and collaboration.

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: An Open Conversation: Building Accessibility into Vendor Relationships Under ADA Title II

July 22 at 1:00–2:00 p.m.
Registration

In this virtual, open conversation on building accessibility into vendor relationships under ADA Title II, discuss with library and consortial colleagues what the recent deadline extension means for you, share your experience setting content priorities, compliance workflows, and adding accessibility clauses into contracts, and consider how we can work together in these efforts. Discussion facilitators include Amy Coughenour, Orbis Cascade Alliance; Rebel Cummings-Sauls and Rachel Erb, Florida Virtual Campus Library Services (FLVC); and Jenny Taylor, Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI)

Hosted by CARLI

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Digital Possibilities Series: Strategic Approaches to Transcription

July 29 at 1:00–2:00 p.m.
Registration

Liz Bloodworth, Illinois Wesleyan University, will discuss the use of AI tools for transcription of both oral history interviews and handwritten text documents. With increasing demands on staff time, especially in small shop archives, AI offers an opportunity to enhance the discoverability of archival materials through efficient transcription. Liz will share tips for using AI tools ethically and responsibly, stressing the importance of human review throughout the process. 

Then, Chris Levesque will discuss digital engagement in the University of West Florida’s Citizen Archivist Projects. During Library Week 2025 and 2026, the UWF University Libraries hosted participatory transcription events of letters and ship logs from their Digital Archives. This effort built on the well-known National Archives’ Citizen Archivist model to engage students, faculty, and the larger UWF community. This talk will discuss selection of materials, implementation of the project, and lessons learned.

Hosted by FLVC

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