Category: featured

Two University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign librarians have been awarded IMLS grants to support research projects concerning academic librarianship career support and developing open-source tools for email archiving. 

This news comes over a year and a half after the White House issued an Executive Order calling for the elimination of the non-statutory components and functions of seven agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS); later actions put all staff at the agency on administrative leave. Many grants were immediately canceled, including projects at the University of Illinois Library. In December 2025, IMLS announced that grants had been reinstated, following federal court cases brought by the American Library Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, as well as the attorneys general of 21 states.  

“The restoration of IMLS funding has made it possible for important work like this to move forward. The projects led by Megan Sapp-Nelson and Chris Prom support the essential role our libraries play in creating, preserving, and sharing knowledge,” said Claire Stewart, Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Dean of Libraries and University Librarian. 

Megan Sapp-Nelson, Professor and Head of Grainger Engineering Library Information Center, has been awarded a Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program grant. Together with her collaborator, Abigail Goben of the University of Illinois Chicago, the two will use the $187,554 grant to conduct a research project, Missing the Middle: Identifying Structural Issues Facing Mid-Career Librarians. Over the next two years, Sapp-Nelson and Goben will investigate the systemic challenges facing mid-career academic librarians. Their project will culminate in an interdisciplinary forum to identify recommendations and next steps for academic libraries and professional organizations. 

“We are so excited for this opportunity to dive into highlighting the Missing Middle colleagues and peers. Our previous research has indicated extensive interest and support among our mid-career colleagues and we look forward to finding solutions that improve their professional lives,” said Sapp-Nelson.  

Chris Prom, Coordinator of Sponsored Research Development, has been awarded a $299,845 National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Prom will seek the full development of open-source tools and libraries for the creation, analysis, and verification of Email Archiving in Portable Document Format (PDF) files.  

“This grant will give archives and libraries—as well as businesses and everyday people—a much-needed tool to preserve email correspondence.” said Prom. “Support from IMLS brings this deeply needed format standard one step closer to fruition.” 

Read more about Sapp-Nelson’s and Prom’s projects on the Library’s Recognizing Excellence blog. 

The University Library is pleased to announce that the Illinois Data Bank has been officially certified as a Core Trust Seal repository. This certification recognizes Illinois Data Bank’s ability to meet detailed criteria that demonstrate excellence in data stewardship, reinforcing its commitment to provide a secure and reliable platform for data sharing to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign research community.

The Core Trust Seal is an international certification framework that evaluates repositories on key criteria including organizational infrastructure, digital object management, and the preservation of data. By achieving this certification, the Illinois Data Bank demonstrates its adherence to best practices in data management and ensures that researchers can trust the repository for long-term data preservation and access.

Illinois Data Bank’s mission is to centralize, preserve, and provide persistent and reliable access to the research data created by affiliates of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. With this certification, the Illinois Data Bank not only enhances the credibility of the data housed within its platform but also provides users with the assurance that their data is managed according to standards defined by an international community of experts.

This achievement reflects the hard work and dedication of the Illinois Data Bank team and partners who have collaborated to enhance its services and infrastructure. The Illinois Data Bank, developed and maintained within the Library as part of the campus’s commitment to the Research Data Service, is committed to supporting Illinois researchers by providing a robust platform for data management and sharing, ensuring that valuable research outputs are preserved and accessible for future use.

For more information about the Illinois Data Bank and to explore its certified repository, please visit the Illinois Data Bank. To learn more about the Core Trust Seal certification and its significance, please visit Core Trust Seal.