I heard someone say last week that January has been the longest year and I’m sure many of you feel the same—the last month feels like an age. So much has happened with the presidential transition and I suspect that whirlwind of change will be with us for a while. Last week the deans had a chance to get together to talk about how to work better together to share information and make decisions, and I look forward to working with all of you to talk about how to adjust our practices in the Library, so that we can connect well to the emerging conversations on campus. I know you are eager for information on a number of things impacting our lives, from immigration to research funding and beyond.

Going back a little bit further in time, I had an opportunity on January 22 to join my fellow U of I Library deans, Rhea Ballard-Thrower (UIC) and Pattie Piotrowski (UIS) in a presentation to the University of Illinois Board of Trustees about the future of libraries. After we presented, as we moved into Q&A, the student trustee from Urbana, Ariana Mizan, was the first to speak, reading from her “Love letter to librarians and libraries.” Her words were moving and uplifting and I will sign off this brief LON note with a quote from her:

“Librarians are our keepers of knowledge. They are our guardians of third spaces. They are our defenders of fact of truth … They are our champions of community. They are our promoters of student success and absolutely essential to preserving accurate records of history and collective cultural memory. … I hold profound respect for your work and the spaces you safeguard and advocate for.”

Have a good February and I hope our paths cross soon. Thank you, as always, for all you do, and for looking out for each other and for our students.

Claire Stewart
The Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Dean of Libraries and University Librarian