Dr. Kate McDowell is an assistant professor at the University of Illinois, in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS). She teaches in the area of library services to youth, specifically children's literature and resources and storytelling, and she has also taught young adult literature and youth services librarianship in the past. Her research interests are in the cultural history of youth services work in libraries and how librarians have contributed to the public culture of childhood. You can visit her projects page to see some of her research. Kate also serves on the Board of Trustees at The Urbana Free Library, where she previously worked as a children's librarian.

As a doctoral student she was awarded a Project Athena fellowship, contributing to a nationwide effort to recruit the next generation of library and information science educators. During her master's work, she was awarded the Bound to Stay Bound Books Scholarship from the American Library Association, the Herbert Goldhor Award for Public Librarianship, and worked as editorial assistant and web resources designer for the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books. For a full list of her accomplishments and commitments, see her curriculum vitae.