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September 25, 2007

Pat McGuckin
Henry Haupt

White Awards Annual Library Training Grants

SPRINGFIELD – Fifteen future librarians have been selected to receive a $7,500 scholarship grant from Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White to help pay for the cost of obtaining their Masters of Library and Information Science degree.

The Illinois Library and Information Science Training Grant Program, administered by the Illinois State Library, provides grants each year to college graduates who possess exceptional academic achievement and an interest in becoming librarians. The fifteen scholarships may be used for either full or part-time studies at an American Library Association-accredited graduate library school.

"The state of Illinois has always been a national leader in developing libraries and librarians, and this grant program provides outstanding graduate students with some of the financial resources they need to obtain their Masters degree," said White. "I am proud to congratulate these talented future librarians."

Grant recipients are required to work the equivalent of two full years in service to the Illinois library community within the first three years following graduation. As a result, these grants benefit both the student recipients and the state's library community.

Ten of the students will pursue their MLS degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign:

• Emily Margaret Conradt of Geneva
• Lindsay Michelle King of Chicago
• Kindree Jeanne Knoepfle of Arlington Heights
• Erica Jayne Laughlin of Washington
• Marielle Martinique McNeal of Chicago
• Megan Elizabeth Ower of Zion
• Heidi J. Rhea of Abingdon
• Lora Lee Smallman of Granite City
• Richard Carlon Stokes of Decatur
• Mary Eileen Yockey of Naperville

Three students will pursue their MLS at Dominican University in River Forest:

• Blanca Estela Bahena of Chicago
• Ekaterina Elgayeva of Chicago
• Katharine Ella Johnson of Channahon

Two students will pursue their degrees at the University of Wisconsin at Madison:

• June Jacob of Rockford
• Elizabeth Ann Ryan of Crystal Lake