IHLS Annual Meeting & Celebration + AMHS Tour

Tuesday, Oct 28, 2025 | 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
  • Registration Closed
IHLS Annual Fall Membership Celebration and Meeting

About This Event

You're Invited: IHLS Annual Fall Membership Celebration and AMHS Tour 

Join IHLS for a ribbon cutting and tour of the newly installed Automatic Materials Handling System (AMHS) at the IHLS Carbondale building. IHLS staff will announce the winners of the "Name the Machine" contest.

After the tour, we will join together at the SIUC Dunn-Richmond Building (across the parking lot) for more festivities, followed by the IHLS Board meeting for those who would like to attend.

  • 3:00 p.m. - Carbondale AMHS Ribbon Cutting at the IHLS Carbondale hub (1840 Innovation Drive, Suite 105, Carbondale, IL 62903)
  • 3:40 p.m. - Networking, light refreshments and speakers at the SIUC Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center (150 E Pleasant Hill Rd, Carbondale, IL 62901)
  • 5:00 p.m. - IHLS Board meeting (also in the Dunn-Richmond Building - please register for board meeting on separate event page) 

Speakers & Presentations:

  • Welcome - William H. Walters, Dean of Library Affairs at Southern Illinois University Carbondale
  • You Can't Shelve This Podcast - IHLS Membership Coordinator School Liaison, Leah Gregory
  • Data Dashboard - IHLS Data Analyst, Stephanie Hunt, IHLS Membership Coordinator School Liaison, Leah Gregory, and IHLS Continuing Education Coordinator Liaison, Kate Kite 
  • IHLS Marketing Microgrant - Dr. Carol Hogan-Downey, IHLS Communications and Advocacy Administrator
Presenter
William H. Walters
Dean of Library Affairs at SIU Carbondale

William has more than 17 years of experience as a library dean and director. Formerly with Manhattan University in Riverdale, New York, since July 2014. Prior to that, he was dean of library services, associate professor of social sciences, and professor of library and information science at Menlo College in Atherton, California.

He has also served as librarian, data manager, research consultant, accreditation liaison officer, and interim director of information technology at Cornell University, St. Lawrence University, Menlo College, the City University of New York, and the Providence VA Medical Center.

William holds a doctorate in sociology (demography) from Brown University and is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. His recent research focuses on scholarly communication, bibliometrics, academic librarianship, artificial intelligence in higher education, nonprofit management, and educational assessment.

Leah Gregory
Presenter
Leah Gregory
IHLS Membership Coordinator School Liaison

Leah works as part of the Membership Services Team to collect accurate information regarding member libraries and to provide support for the multitype libraries that comprise IHLS. A special focus of this position is to work with school districts and schools that are members of IHLS.

Stephanie Hunt
Presenter
Stephanie Hunt
IHLS Data Analyst

Stephanie supports both IHLS and its partner programs with valuable insight into our stored data sources. They produce rich data visualization creation with the collaboration of leadership and management teams, to measure and evaluate the effectiveness and impact of core services in alignment with IHLS’s mission, vision, and strategic objectives

Kate Kite
Presenter
Kate Kite
IHLS Continuing Education Coordinator Liaison

Kate works as part of the Membership Services Team to develop, assess, and oversee the continuing education program. A special focus of this position is cooperative work with other state and national library organizations to make quality continuing education opportunities available to Illinois library workers.

Dr. Carol Hogan-Downey
Presenter
Dr. Carol Hogan-Downey
IHLS Communications & Advocacy Administrator

Carol is IHLS primary media relations strategist, the Communications & Advocacy Administrator manages and responds to requests for information from media outlets. They are responsible for most communications with member libraries and the public, and they serve as the social media manager. The Communications & Advocacy Administrator also leads IHLS cause-advocacy efforts by identifying issues relevant to members and developing and implementing advocacy plans.