Meet the Western Illinois University (WIU) Librarian Faculty: 2025 Illinois Academic Librarians of the Year
September 25, 2025
-
Interviewed by Sue Franzen, Illinois State University
The former Western Illinois University (WIU) Librarian Faculty–Jeff Hancks, Michael Lorenzen, Krista Bowers Sharpe, Julia Thompson, Sean Cordes, Michelle Holschuh Simmons, Brian Clark, and Hunter Dunlap–are collectively the 2025 recipients of the Illinois Library Association (ILA) Illinois Academic Librarian of the Year Award. A ninth WIU librarian, who also lost their job when the university eliminated all faculty librarians, has successfully found a position outside Illinois and chooses to be an anonymous award recipient. The WIU librarians received the award due to their advocacy on behalf of all librarians in the state and across the nation. Their collaboration and efforts engendered a great deal of respect and attention from librarians everywhere.
Krista Bowers Sharpe, Hunter Dunlap, and Julia Thompson answer questions about the award, their advocacy, and their careers as librarians.
Q. How do you feel about being named Illinois Academic Librarians of the Year?
A. Krista Bowers Sharpe (former Coordinator of Reference Services): Winning an award for getting fired seems pretty absurd, but on the other hand, it certainly tracks with our whole last year! It’s still hard to believe that the institution where my colleagues and I performed important work–work that is crucial to student retention and success and that supports all faculty members–would suddenly decide we are not necessary. WIU had not only been my workplace for 27 years but is also my alma mater (twice), so I have no desire to see it fail. Because of that, receiving the award is bittersweet. So I accept it in the manner in which it was given, as an acknowledgement of past dedication and of our advocacy efforts.
A. Hunter Dunlap (former Coordinator of Resource Management Services/Systems Librarian): I would have to echo Krista’s melancholic assessment. In addition to firing all 9 WIU librarians in May [2025], this semester the Dean of Libraries affirmatively announced that the library no longer offers professional reference or bibliographic instruction services. I know I’m not alone in finding this state of affairs unconscionable for a comprehensive, master’s level, public university. I appreciate IACRL shining a spotlight on the constructive campaign we waged to elevate public discourse about the importance of academic librarianship, and to galvanize public opinion and support which countered the disastrous decision-making of WIU’s Administration. In the short term, we were not able to turn the tide for our student body, faculty, and the citizens of the region. Still, we proudly planted a flag for the ideals of our profession, and hope western Illinois will once again enjoy the outstanding services and expertise our library faculty delivered for over a century.
A. Julia Thompson (former Digital Scholarship Librarian): It's such an oddly wonderful honor. Becoming a librarian at my undergraduate alma mater has been one of my life's greatest joys, so being recognized with my colleagues there for our work as we fought for our jobs is, as Krista said, bittersweet. The month before I was laid off, I was recognized for 15 years in career dedication to WIU. I tend to sway toward an optimistic mindset, and it took quite some time for me to realize that I was truly done there. This award is a testament to perseverance and a belief in the greater good. We had so much more to give the students, staff, faculty, and community. Each time we met post-layoff, one of our major concerns was how these patrons would receive the assistance they need without a team of professional librarians. It is still our top concern.
Q. What made you decide to be a librarian?
A. Krista: I did not plan to be a librarian, although I’ve always loved libraries. I thought I was going to be a veterinarian. Then two things happened: 1) On the first day of zoology lab during my first year as a declared biology major, I was too squeamish to complete a dissection. My advisor, the biology professor, naturally asked me if I was really cut out for it. Nope, guess not. Subsequently switching to a history major was not only more realistic but also a great fit for me. I’m interested in everything. 2) My undergraduate institution assigned me to a library work study job my sophomore year. ILL was my library gateway drug, and I soon moved on to copy cataloging (I knew how to use the OCLC dumb terminal–remember those?), and then I was hired to work all summer after my sophomore and junior years. What a great introduction to academic libraries. It’s where I belong. I’m interested in everything!
A. Hunter: Like many future librarians, it was a winding journey. It involved a generalist’s intellectual curiosity, interests in research/scholarship, problem solving and technology, and effective communication, along with a desire to help others.
A. Julia: I think I was born holding a novel and an encyclopedia. It never occurred to me that I should be a librarian, however, until my 20s. My undergraduate degree was in English--I had plans to be a teacher--and when I was hired back at my university's library to work in Digitization, I was just happy to be surrounded by information. What a terrific place to work! As time went on, watching how the library worked, I couldn't see myself doing anything else in life. Using my natural desire to look up every single piece of information in existence for a purpose, to help others, seemed like a "life hack." I returned to school at UIUC for my MLIS, and it was astonishing to me how much I loved every single class. When I graduated, I was disappointed that I had to stop taking classes! Joining the faculty at WIU was such a proud moment for me. This, finally, was what I was always meant to do. No matter how it ended, I will forever cherish my time at Western.
Q. What would you like academic colleagues to know about your advocacy work over the last year?
A. Krista: Our year of advocacy pushed us far beyond our comfort zones. We put our shoulders to the wheel and learned many new skills–media relations, social media promotion, video and audio editing, even parliamentary procedure (as parliamentarian for Faculty Senate). We are proud of our efforts. Unfortunately, we also learned that despite years of marketing, outreach, and liaison efforts on behalf of the library and despite working directly with departmental faculty, many people on campus didn’t really know what we did. It was (and is) frustrating, but it was yet another reason to follow my therapist’s advice: “There is only one person in the world over which you have control: you.” We could lead the horses to water, but we could not make them understand the importance of professional library faculty. The past year was a very trying experience, but I know that my former colleagues and I have learned and grown because of it, and that part gives me satisfaction.
A. Hunter: I spent a lot of time answering questions from tv, radio, and print reporters about our situation, what it meant, why it mattered, and “what exactly is it that academic librarians do?” I was forced to quickly develop solid talking points. I encourage academic librarians to develop their own talking points—quick anecdotes/facts/vignettes that can be drawn upon at a moment’s notice. Sure, casually sprinkle these into general conversations as appropriate, but more importantly, be always prepared with a few key points about the value and import of your library and your librarians when the time demands it. These moments may arise at faculty meetings, town halls, trustee meetings and elsewhere on campus. It doesn’t require a crisis to make a good case for librarians. It’s not fair, but academic librarians are frequently overlooked and undervalued on campus. Be ready to respond—you need not be abrasive—but be assertive, have your points at the ready, and be quick to seamlessly pivot back to them when pulled off course.
A. Julia: It's not easy. Staying on top of everything that needed done was difficult, and I wasn't always able to help. As the only Unit B librarian, I was the first to be fully laid off, with only a day's notice of contract non-renewal, and no severance. My fight to come back to work began immediately, and once it became clear that no contract restoration was in sight for me, I had to split focus between supporting the team and finding another job to financially support myself and my son. I leaned on my colleagues a lot. Hunter and Krista specifically did an incredible job of advocacy through unfamiliar technologies and meetings with news media, but everyone rallied together when we could, and I am proud to be part of this crew.
Q. What advice do you have for academic librarians in Illinois?
A. Krista: Thoroughly examine what people know about your work on campus and about the difference that your presence as a professional librarian makes every day. We had been understaffed at WIU in recent years, and simply getting the day-to-day work done seemed impossible, let alone making time for “extra work.” Well, now we can’t get any of it done because the institution has eliminated our positions. Lesson learned. No matter how run off your feet you feel, prioritize some time each day for connecting with other folks. You cannot be involved enough in activities on your campus nor speak too loudly in your efforts to promote the library. Find a sustainable way to be both a professional and a squeaky wheel, even if it is uncomfortable.
Here’s a specific aspect of being visible as librarians: Think carefully about how to provide library resources and services. For many years I have been frustrated by the trend toward making libraries “frictionless” or “seamless.” In my experience, patrons are better served if we show them what happens behind the curtain: if they know how databases work, how to optimize searching, and even how information ends up in databases (the ACRL Framework, folks), as opposed to being given one giant discovery search hit list with no understanding of why or how the list is populated. Librarians likewise need to make our professional knowledge less “frictionless” so that patrons realize how much work and thought goes into curating an academic library to meet the ever-changing needs of scholars.
A. Hunter: It was astonishing at the time—and even in hindsight it is difficult to fathom—how even a “perfect storm” of budgetary difficulty, academic administrative incompetence, and leadership failure could conspire to eradicate unionized professional faculty librarianship at WIU. We had been very engaged, but events unfolded rapidly over the summer of 2024, ending in the surprising disaster. What to do? Be active, stand up, speak out, use your talking points. Go to Springfield, but first get to know your own trustees and the legislators within your district. Once (even extremely poor) decisions are made, it’s difficult to claw them back. Build partnerships (at multiple levels), so that certain proposals are either immediately dismissed, or face certain scrutiny.
Important work lies ahead in support of academic librarianship in Illinois. In May, the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation that will form a statewide Task Force made up of students, academic librarians, university library directors, Higher Ed leaders (Illinois Board of Higher Education, Illinois State Library, Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois, etc) and legislators charged with building support for Illinois academic libraries and faculty librarians. Get informed, spread the word, and get involved however you can: https://www.ila.org/news/5848/the-coalition-for-higher-education-libraries
A. Julia: My advice to other librarians in academia would be to constantly advocate. Explain to others what you do and the impact that it has. I think we tend to get focused on our daily tasks and helping people, and it doesn't always occur to us that the very act of helping everything run smoothly can make our work invisible. One of the loudest criticisms I've heard in the last few years is, "Who needs libraries or librarians? Everything's online!" But WE put those databases online and get you access. We are the people behind the chat who consult each other on which database to suggest to a student doing research on some obscure (yet fascinating!) topic. When professors tell students to go to the Reference Desk for help and the Reference Desk has been eliminated, will the students naturally gravitate toward finding their own information, or will they give up? Loudly proclaim your skills and successes. Encourage your students, staff, and faculty to advocate for you as well. Don't wait until the end to advertise your worth, and don't assume everyone already knows it. You are valuable--let them hear it!
Q. What was the last book you read or listened to?
A. Krista: I am currently reading Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism and What Comes Next by Bradley Onishi. It is simultaneously very interesting, very timely, and hugely disturbing. For fun, I’m listening to the latest Cormoran Strike novel, The Hallmarked Man. I’m also a podcast nut. My current top listens are Films to Be Buried With, A Good Read (BBC4), Straight White American Jesus, and my constant friend since about 2018, My Favorite Murder.
A. Hunter: I tend to split my time between mysteries/spy novels (Le Carre, Baldacci, Reich, Eco—Gabriel’s Moon by William Boyd was excellent and my latest thriller); and keeping up with historical critical scholarship in ancient religious studies (Ehrman, Fredriksen, D. McClellan, et al).
A. Julia: As a historical (and otherwise) romance junkie, I've always got Jane Austen nearby, but the paranormal novel The Things We Water by Mariana Zapata took me by surprise recently. I also just laughed (and sobbed) through The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie last week, courtesy of my thirteen year old son's personal library shelves. When I'm not reading novels though, it's cookbooks. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat changed how I think about every dish's creation!
iREAD Summer Reading Programs
Latest Library JobLine Listings
