CARLI News May 28, 2025

2025 CARLI Governance Board Election

The election and appointment process for the new members of the CARLI Governance Board is now complete.

Directors who will serve 3-year terms: 

• Michelle Boule Smith – North Central College
• Marlee Graser – Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
• Terra Jacobson – Moraine Valley Community College

Director who will serve a 2-year term:  

• Brian Keith – Eastern Illinois University 

Directors who will serve 1-year terms are:  

• Jan Figa – Governors State University
• Dennis Krieb – Lewis and Clark Community College
• Amanda Pippitt – Millikin University

All newly elected and appointed terms will begin on July 1, 2025. Please join us in welcoming these new members of the CARLI Board.

Save the Date: CARLI Annual Meeting and Annual Directors Meeting 

Mark your calendars for the CARLI Annual Meeting, to be held at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, at the I Hotel and Conference Center in Champaign. There will be a meeting of the CARLI Governing Directors preceding the annual meeting.

Registration information will be shared as soon as it becomes available.

Give to the CARLI Scholarship Fund

We would like to thank our donors for their generous contributions to the scholarship fund. You can give to the scholarship fund online. The minimum donation is $5.00. We hope you will consider supporting future librarians and help CARLI grow the profession with a contribution.

Behind the Scenes: An Introduction to Archival Processing

The CARLI Archives Task Force is pleased to announce an in-person, hands-on archives processing workshop, "Behind the Scenes: An Introduction to Archival Processing" for CARLI members at National Louis University in Chicago on June 6. 

This workshop will offer hands-on experience with archival arrangement and description. Participants will have the opportunity to work through a processing activity using an actual archival collection, tour the National Louis University Archives, and network with others doing archival work.

As this program has limited space, all who register will be placed on a waitlist. You will receive a confirmation email if your registration changes from waitlist to confirmed. Registration is available through May 30 or until the program is full.

More details and registration can be found on the program's webpage.

Burn Simulation and Recovery Workshop 

The CARLI Preservation Committee welcomes all CARLI members to attend an in-person Burn Simulation and Recovery Workshop on Monday, June 9, 2025, from 8:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m.at the Illinois Fire Service Institute in Champaign.
 
This free workshop will include presentations by a fire professional, hands-on fire extinguisher training, burn simulation, and practice recovery of library materials. Jennifer Teper, Bud Velde Preservation Librarian and Head of Preservation Services at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will lead the salvage and recovery discussion and exercise.
  
Program information and registration are available on the CARLI calendar. Space is limited. Registration is open until June 4 or until the program is full.

A Second Look at Primo VE Research Assistant 

June 10, 11:00 a.m.–noon

In May 2025, Ex Libris removed the "beta" label from its Primo VE Research Assistant! Join the CARLI Discovery Primo VE Committee to explore how the tool has evolved since its initial September 2024 release, revisit takeaways from the committee's "Primo VE Research Assistant: First Impressions" webinar discussion in October 2024 and discuss how I-Share libraries are approaching the tool. 

To encourage open discussion, this webinar will not be recorded.

Connection details will be sent to registrants prior to the event. Registration is required.

FY26 CARLI Ebook Program

CARLI is thrilled to announce the Access Collections for the FY26 CARLI Ebook Program. This program continues due to CARLI Members' commitment to this program. Thank you! 

All Governing Members will have unlimited access to our Access Collections from July 1, 2025–June 30, 2026. At the end of this Access Period, all funds that were committed to the program will be used to select titles for perpetual access for all members. 

Oxford University Press

Ebooks added to the Oxford Scholarship Online/Oxford Academic platform from January 2021–March 2026 in nine subject collections published by Oxford University Press. Those nine subject collections are Biology, History, Law, Literature, Music, Political Science, Psychology, Religion, and Sociology. 

Difference from FY25 Access Collection: Added the Literature subject collection, added new titles for the upcoming year, and January 2020–December 2020 titles are removed from the content pool.

University of Illinois Press

University of Illinois Press Ebooks in all subject areas added to the JSTOR platform from 2014–June 2026. 

Difference from FY25 Access Collection: Added the upcoming year of content and an historical year (2014) of content.

Wiley

All Wiley online books in all subject areas added to the Wiley Online Library platform. 

Difference from FY25 Access Collection: Expanded from the most recent five years of ebooks to all ebooks.

MARC Records 

For I-Share Members CARLI will add bibliographic records via the Network Zone for access in Primo VE. The records for the Access Collections will be updated monthly.

For CARLI Governing Members that are not I-Share members CARLI will share the OCLC KB Collections with only the titles that are available from CARLI.

More information on the CARLI Ebook Program can be found on the program web page.

Education Justice Project Guides

CARLI is working with the Education Justice Project (EJP) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, to assist with the inclusion of their Reentry Guides in Illinois library collections to ensure ready and equitable access to the guides across the state and beyond.

All three guides, Mapping Your Future: A Guide to Successful Reentry, Illinois, Mapping Your Future: A Guide to Successful Reentry, National Edition, and A New Path: A Guide to the Challenges and Opportunities After Deportation are available in English and Spanish editions. Print editions are available for a nominal fee (or can be provided at no cost) as free downloadable PDF files. We are also working with EJP to make these guides available as open educational resources.

EJP is a comprehensive college-in-prison program based at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Their mission is to build a model college-in-prison program that demonstrates the positive effects of higher education on incarcerated students, their families, the communities to which they return, the host institution, and society. The Reentry Resource Program produces these important resources and distributes them to incarcerated individuals, family members, and service agencies.

• Mapping Your Future: A Guide to Successful Reentry, Illinois 2025 Edition, has a wealth of information on preparing for reentry while incarcerated, steps to take following release, and includes directories of resources in the state. Topics include housing, employment, healthcare, finances, substance use, and more.
• Mapping Your Future: A Guide to Successful Reentry, National Edition, this edition provides national resources following the model of the Illinois guide.
• A New Path: A Guide to the Challenges and Opportunities After Deportation is for people who live with the threat of detention and deportation. Know your rights, learn where to get legal help, and plan in case of deportation. Includes a directory of resources in Mexico and Central America.

The Cataloging Maintenance Center has created MARC records for the print and PDF versions of these guides. These MARC records will be available soon. 

Please complete the request form to order hard copies of reentry guide for your library. Financial support may be available for libraries who are interested in adding the Guides to their collections but who are unable to pay. EJP waives the fee for anyone who is incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, family and friends of incarcerated people, and for anyone unable to pay for the resource. The resources will be distributed to Illinois libraries via ILDS.

The creation of the MARC records and OER for these guides is in progress. We will make an announcement when these are available.

CARLI AI Symposium: Recordings and Slides Available

The presentation recordings and slides are now available for the April CARLI AI Symposium hosted by the Public Services Committee.

The AI Symposium sessions included:

• Are AI detection Tools the Answer? How Librarians can Alleviate Concerns of AI Usage in the Classroom, Sponsored by the CARLI Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee
• AI in Action: Transforming Instruction in Academic Libraries, Sponsored by the CARLI Instruction Committee
• Patron Data, Privacy Concerns, & Vendor Tools in Libraries, Sponsored by the CARLI Commercial Products Committee
• Critically Evaluating AI-Powered Discovery Tools, Sponsored by the CARLI Discovery Primo VE Committee
• The Preservation of Trustworthy Digital Records: 25 Years of InterPARES Research, Sponsored by the CARLI Preservation Committee

Professional Development Alliance Events

The following programs from the Professional Development Alliance are currently on the calendar. Programs are offered on a wide variety of subjects. Check out everything the alliance is making available to our libraries!

• June 5: When Fear Gets in the Way: Liberating your Leadership Approach, Part I
• June 9: When Fear Gets in the Way: Liberating your Leadership Approach Part II
• June 10: Leadership Series Part 2: Developing Leadership Skillsets
• June 11: NISO Webinar: AI & the Research Cycle (Phase II: Data Collection & Analysis)
• June 11: Summer Digitization Series: Integrating AI into Digital Collections: Strategy and Practice at Yale Library
• June 12: AI in the Archives
• June 16: Driving E-Resource Engagement in Academic Libraries: Discovery Enhancements, Web Development, and Strategic Faculty Outreach in Action
• June 17: Build Your Brary Bootcamp: A Virtual Student Engagement Bootcamp for Every Library Setting
• June 17: Identifying, Addressing, and Mitigating Workplace Bullying in Academic Libraries

• July 2: Summer Digitization Series: From Analog to Digital: The Journey of Digitization
• July 9: Summer Digitization Series: Digitization Insights from NARA
• July 16: Summer Digitization Series: Digitization Projects Showcase 1
• July 22: Leadership Series Part 3: Cultural Competence in Leadership
• July 23: Summer Digitization Series: Digitization Projects Showcase 2
• July 24: Summer Book Bash: Dazzling Debuts with J.B. Hwang, Lucas Schaefer, & Penny Zang
• July 31: Summer Book Bash: Book Buzz with Chronicle, Levine Querido & W.W. Norton

To register, visit the CARLI Event Calendar. Recordings of past CARLI-sponsored PDA events are available on the Professional Development Alliance website when permitted by the presenter. 
 
Are you interested in presenting a topic for CARLI members and the Professional Development Alliance? Or would you like to moderate a follow up discussion for an upcoming program? Email us to become more involved in CARLI's continuing education efforts!

Summer Digitization Series: Dive into Digital

Join CARLI and FLVC for a series of digitization webinars on Wednesdays in June and July! 

Integrating AI into Digital Collections: Strategy and Practice at Yale Library

 June 11, 1:00–2:00 p.m. 

Mike Appleby, Director of Software Engineering, and Jonathan Manton, Director of Digital Special Collections and Access at Yale Library, will explore the thoughtful integration of artificial intelligence into Yale Library′s digital collections ecosystem. 

Mike will introduce a prototype application, Digital Collections AI, which leverages large language models (LLMs) to analyze OCR-transcribed texts from Yale′s digitized collections. This tool can rapidly summarize content, extract entities such as people, places, and subjects, and even perform stylistic analyses, thereby enhancing researchers' ability to explore and interpret vast amounts of digitized material.

Jonathan will provide strategic context, outlining how this tool aligns with Yale Library′s broader goals for responsible innovation and sustainable stewardship of the library′s digital collections. Together, they will reflect on the opportunities and challenges of embedding AI in cultural heritage workflows, offering insights for institutions navigating similar paths. 
  
From Analog to Digital: The Journey of Digitization 

 July 2, 1:00–2:00 p.m. 

This presentation explores the transformative journey from physical to digital formats, using the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida as a case study. We will walk through the step-by-step digitization process, from selection and preparation to capture, metadata creation, and long-term digital access. Attendees will gain insight into the key tools and technologies that power modern digitization workflows. The session will also highlight critical questions institutions should ask before launching a digitization project—such as identifying priorities, planning for scalability, and ensuring accessibility. Whether you′re just beginning or refining your digitization strategy, this session offers practical guidance rooted in real-world experience.

Digitization Insights from NARA

July 9, 1:00–2:00 p.m. 

Join us to hear from Denise Henderson, Chief of Digitization for Research Services from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
 
Digitization Projects Showcase 1
 
July 16, 1:00–2:00 p.m. 

The CARLI Preservation Committee is delighted to showcase digitization projects at Illinois libraries as part of the Summer Digitization Webinar Series in partnership with the Florida Virtual Campus. 

Project 1: "Using Multispectral Imaging to Augment Digitized West African Manuscripts" presented by Stephanie Gowler and Nicole Finzer, Northwestern University Libraries

Project 2: "Collaborative Preservation at the Crossroads of Science and History: Digitizing the Barnard Atlas" presented by Christina Miranda, University of Chicago Library. 

Digitization Projects Showcase 2

 July 23, 1:00–2:00 p.m. 

Join the CARLI Preservation Committee for a second showcase of impressive digitization projects happening at Illinois libraries. 

Project 1: "Picturing Lincoln: Digitizing a Physical Collection at the ALPLM" presented by Kelsey Wise and Matthew Deihl, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

Project 2: "Building a 3D Archival Collection: Experiential Student Learning with the Curtis Trout Collection," presented by Liz Bloodworth, Abigail Mann, and Dagan Turcotte-Cutkomp, Illinois Wesleyan University

Preservation Tip

Preservation Considerations for Exhibits and Loans
Stephanie Gowler, Northwestern University 

Exhibits and loans introduce your collections to a wider audience and encourage people to interact with objects in new ways. However, putting collections materials on display even for short periods of time introduces preservation risks. Because light exposure is the biggest risk to objects on display, you can mitigate that risk by following some general tips for exhibits including never displaying original paper-based objects permanently; swapping objects mid-exhibit where possible; using facsimiles; avoiding overlap; and monitoring the environment.

Learn more about these preservation considerations and check out a list of resources that will point you to other great ideas for protecting your collections while on exhibit or loan. 

Other Library News

CMC Cataloging Training

Looking to improve your or your staff's cataloging skills? The Illinois Heartland Library System's Cataloging Maintenance Center (CMC) offers a large calendar of one-day and multi-day training opportunities for Illinois library staff.

All Online with the CMC webinars and asynchronous cataloging course are free to all system-member library workers in Illinois thanks to a grant awarded by the Illinois State Library, a Department of the Office of the Secretary of State, using funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). You can view the CMC webinars on the L2 Calendar.

OER Campus Kickstart: Award for Growing Illinois OER Programs

The Illinois Association of College & Research Libraries (IACRL) Awards Committee is accepting applications for OER Campus Kickstart: Award for Growing Illinois OER Programs. This award provides funding for financial incentives to smaller college campuses and campuses with little or no support for OER programming to take some of their first steps. 

This program offers a way of getting financial incentives to faculty to take on OER projects, which is an opportunity for librarians to partner with classroom faculty. The intended outcome is collaboration between academic faculty and librarians to implement Open Educational Resources in their courses and help establish OER programs on their campus. 

Five awarded applications will receive $500 toward implementing OER in a course during the Winter 2025 and Spring 2026 semesters. Faculty and librarian collaborators are free to decide how the $500 award is used. For example, the funds may be used entirely as financial incentives for faculty, collaborators may split the funds how they see fit as a financial incentive or use the funds to purchase necessary supplies. 

The application deadline is Friday, August 1, 2025. More information about this award is available on the ILA website. 

Questions? Please contact Sarah McHone-Chase, IACRL Past President and Awards Committee Chair, at smchone-chase@aurora.edu.

HSLI Jira Scholarships for Library Science Students

The application for the HSLI (Health Science Librarians of Illinois) Helen Knoll Jira Scholarships for library science students closes Sunday, June 15. Winning applicants can receive up to $5,000 in prizes. Any student who lives, works, or studies in Illinois and is enrolled in an accredited Library Sciences Program is eligible to apply. Winners will be notified in late August. 

This poster can be printed to post in student areas. If you have any questions or concerns about the Scholarship, please contact the Scholarship Chair, Holly Hudson.

Mary Ton Named to Library Journal's Movers & Shakers List

Congratulations to UIUC Librarian, Mary Ton, named to the 2025 Library Journal's Movers & Shaker List. Ton teaches researchers and students about the benefits and limitations of AI in research and the arts, drawing on her background in machine learning, and has presented on the topic across the state. 

Upcoming CARLI Events and Meetings

Consult the CARLI calendar to view the current list of meeting times and locations.

Contact Us

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If you need disability-related accommodations to participate in any of the events mentioned below, please email the CARLI Office. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs.