SLIS The University of Iowa

06/15/2026

Congratulations Josée (SLIS '25)! Best wishes for your new position!

🎉Announcing our Next Director: Josée Varboncoeur! 👏🏻

Josée (she/her/hers) starts as Library Director on June 8. She obtained her Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree with a certificate in Collections and Rare Book Rooms from the University of Iowa. She has experience in public libraries, academic libraries, and the State Medical Library of Iowa in Iowa City. Josée holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Monmouth College in Illinois. In her free time, she enjoys reading, weight lifting daily, and watching the Waterloo Black Hawks!

Drop into the library the week of June 8th to meet Josée. You'll see her around town and at Festival of Trails! 🎉

06/12/2026

This week we are so excited to spotlight our final spotlight of the 2025-2026 academic year, Rachel Rackham! Rachel is a 2019 graduate and is currently pursuing her PhD in English Literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill while working as a Graduate Teaching Fellow. She teaches first-year writing courses, stating: “It’s rewarding to see my students learn concepts and be able to apply them in their writing, thereby expanding their skill set and gaining more confidence in their work and abilities.”

She appreciated SLIS for the way it gave her the freedom to explore her interests in culture and heritage: “Several of my current research interests stemmed from my study abroad to London and my time in SLIS, and it’s rewarding to see how my dissertation project, which considers the role of artifacts in Victorian novels, is taking shape in incorporating these interests and different components of my studies.”

She had two pieces of advice for current SLIS students when asked, but they carried similar messages: trust yourself enough to grow: “Your path in education or in your field may look a little different than you expected or even feel a little roundabout, but you’ll get to where you need to go… All education is useful; as my academic interests and goals have evolved, it’s been gratifying to see my research interests—both from my literature background and my SLIS background—coalesce as I prepare to write my dissertation and tie together my English literature background and library sciences background.”

Thank you, Rachel, for taking the time to talk to us!

06/11/2026

SLIS professor, Dr. Iulian Vamanu was recently published alongside Professor Emerita Kara Logsden, by Public Library Quarterly. Their article, titled, "Public Libraries’ Contributions to Local Economic Development: Evidence from the Midwest," was published on May 10th, 2026.

The abstract:
"Public libraries are important economic development actors that generate high returns on investments. Building on a survey of 415 library directors in 13 Midwestern states, we identify the specific programs libraries offer to support local workforce and business entrepreneurship, and the factors that impact their ability to deliver these programs. We find that libraries engage in a wide range of personalized and innovative programming for patrons seeking training and jobs, and support business startup and development with spaces, technical assistance, and market analyses. Thus, economic development-focused local, state, and philanthropic organizations would benefit from greater engagement with local libraries."

For more information: https://www-tandfonline-com.proxy.lib.uiowa.edu/doi/full/10.1080/01616846.2026.2668981

06/08/2026

Hemlock Stanier, a current SLIS student, received an internship this summer at the "Historic Poor Farm History and Event Internship" through the Johnson County Historical Society. In this position, they will be leading tours and assisting with events at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm site in Iowa City and will also be editing the Historic Poor Farm's docent training manual to help guide future volunteers in interpreting the site.

06/05/2026

Nicolai McVey is one of our U2G students graduating with their bachelor's this year! Nicolai is graduating with a degree in fine arts in drawing, after which he wants to finish his master's and then apply to more professional art exhibitions.

06/03/2026

A huge congratulations to SLIS and English PhD student, Darryl Moton, for being awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Award for the 2026–27 academic year! Moton will be teaching in Bahrain, "a country home to a fascinating culture at the crossroads of many others,” where he plans "to learn as much as possible about the ancient Dilmun civilization, which was based in what is now Bahrain.”

When asked what University of Iowa experiences inspired him to apply for the Fulbright, Moton explained: "I began graduate school on my 41st birthday. Even then, I thought something like a Fulbright was out of reach for someone like me. My work in the MA in library and information science program put Fulbright on my radar.” Read Ben Partridge's (International Programs) full interview with Darryl Morton at https://international.uiowa.edu/news/2026/05/ui-doctoral-student-darryl-moton-awarded-fulbright-teach-english-bahrain

University of Iowa
University of Iowa - Department of English
University of Iowa International Programs
The Fulbright Program

06/02/2026

The American Literature Association’s 37th Annual Conference was held in Chicago from May 20–23. The American Literature Association is a coalition of societies devoted to the study of American authors, and the conference provided a space for researchers, professors, and students to share their studies. SLIS was well represented with Dr. Stephanie Blalock discussing "Walt Whitman in the Classroom: Teaching America’s Poet;” Dr. Micah Bateman joining a panel on "AI in the Literature Classroom: Challenges, Frustrations, Solutions;” and SLIS and English PhD student, Darryl Moton presenting "Philip Roth and the Passage to Assimilation.”

Sera-Ann Hargrove (’26) presented “Small Press Distribution Bestseller Lists, 2006-2023.” She described her scholarship and experience in detail: "I attended as part of the Digital Americanists Society’s panel titled “Unique Archives: Digital Projects and Preservation Outside the Canon.” In my presentation, I spoke about the process of using the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine to compile information for a dataset of small press bestseller lists, the use of library catalogs and authority files to compile metadata, and the importance of creating these datasets. While there, I attended a reading by Iowa Writer’s Workshop alum, ZZ Packer. Thank you to the School of Library and Information Science for funding this wonderful experience."

University of Iowa - Department of English
The American Literature Association
University of Iowa

06/01/2026

Allison Honz is one of our U2G students graduating with their bachelor's this year! Allison is graduating with a degree in education studies and human relations, after which she wants to finish her master's and go on to work in youth services in a public library in the future.

05/29/2026

Justine Raney is one of our U2G students graduating with their bachelor's this year! Justine is graduating with a degree in Anthropology and a Certificate in Museum Studies. Her plans moving forward are to continue with graduate education and eventually pursue a PhD in Collections Care and Management.

05/27/2026

Cate Burke, University of Iowa SLIS graduate and first year teacher librarian, was recently awarded a $101,473 grant from Washington County Riverboat Foundation to renovate 3 of Mid-Prairie Community School District's school libraries.

"Thanks to the SLIS program I was prepared to speak to the value of school libraries and present research-based improvements that would enhance student access. The Management, Teams, and Leadership course, taught by the amazing Prof. Kara Logsden, also provided me with valuable knowledge and experience that I was able to apply during the grant application process.”

Congratulations, Cate!