During the twenty-four years that the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) ALA Student Chapter has existed, one thing hasn't changed-its advisor, Dr. Terry Weech. Weech was one of two GSLIS faculty members who helped found the chapter in September 1981, the second of its kind in the U.S.. Weech has served as advisor and mentor to numerous members of the UIUC GSLIS ALA Student Chapter, helping them understand not only how to get the most out of their student chapter membership, but also how to get the most out of ALA as a whole.

Over the last several years, the UIUC GSLIS ALA Student Chapter has seen its focus expand significantly to include programming and outreach beyond typical professional development offerings. The growth in distance education at GSLIS led to many of the chapter's programs being offered via the GSLIS web site for students who are unable to attend, and a committee was founded in 2002 to help the chapter better meet distance education students' needs. The Chapter regularly records audio of presentations and lectures and makes these recordings available via the GSLIS LEEP server. These recordings are available to any student or alumni who wishes to access them.

One perennially successful event is the Chapter's t-shirt sale, held every year in October and November. GSLIS students are encouraged to submit designs for a library school-related t-shirt, and the results range from whimsical to political to downright hysterical. This year's t-shirt simply reads "Ask me about my access points"-a joke that only the cataloging-savvy will truly understand. Previous years' offerings have featured quotes from John F. Kennedy, Jorge Luis Borges, and other famous names. One of the most popular t-shirts was the 2003 edition, which featured a drawing of an antelope with the words "catalog this." The design was created by recent GSLIS graduate Molly Dolan, who was inspired by a reading in one of the two required courses at GSLIS. The t-shirt caught the attention of Michael Buckland, who wrote the article that inspired the design. He purchased several to give away to friends and colleagues.

In conjunction with the other GSLIS student organizations, the ALA Student Chapter presents a "career series" each semester, covering such topics as interviewing, perfecting the resume and cover letter, and salary negotiation. The Chapter makes audio recordings of these lectures and makes the audio available to distance education students via the GSLIS LEEP server. In addition, the Chapter also sponsors field trips to a variety of different types of libraries, lectures and presentations from library leaders, and an annual holiday party.

This school year, the GSLIS ALA Student Chapter brought current ALA President Carol Brey-Casiano to campus to speak about grassroots advocacy, and the Chapter is currently planning to bring ALA President-Elect Michael Gorman to campus. Current Illinois Library Association President also gave an on-campus presentation. To further promote the benefits of ALA membership to students, the Chapter invited local librarians to their monthly meetings to discuss membership in various ALA divisions and roundtables. Upcoming speakers include active ACRL, RUSA, IFRT, and SRRT members.