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.