Alumna, MLIS Student Awarded by Illinois Library Association

The Illinois Library Association is recognizing a School of Information Studies alumna and a current student pursuing a Master in Library Information Science Degree.

Heidi Knuth MLIS ’12  is the recipient of the 2023 Youth Services Librarian of the Year Award recognizing outstanding contributions, resourcefulness, professionalism and caring in youth library services.

Knuth is the youth services assistant department head at the Bloomingdale Public Library, where she has worked for more than 10 years. The ILA  noted Knuth’s efforts to make the library a welcoming experience, including her creation of a makerspace for grades K-6 programming, and her creation of an inclusive, “calming space” for parents and children away from library activity.

She has also been involved in storytimes at local businesses, and her book bins at banks and post offices give children a source of reading entertainment while their parents run errands, the ILA said.

“Knuth has an eye for utilizing spaces to best reflect the needs of the community and advocate for those patrons,” the ILA wrote in a news release.

Annette Bahringer, who is pursuing her Ph.D in Information Studies from Dominican University, is a recipient of the ILA’s 2023 Valerie J. Wilford Scholarship Grant for Library Education.

Named in recognition of a teacher and mentor to hundreds of librarians, the scholarship helps support a student’s education in librarianship, including classes, conferences and seminars.

Bahringer’s scholarship will allow her to attend the 2023 Illinois Library Association Conference, the ILA said.

“A strong advocate for the freedom to read, Bahringer is looking to attend the conference to gain more knowledge on policies libraries have in place and what type of assistance libraries are looking for in this area,” the ILA noted.

Knuth and Bahringer will be among this year’s award and scholarship winners recognized during the 2023 Illinois Library Association Annual Conference, taking place Oct 24-26 in Springfield.