Perspectives on teaching librarians

A few interesting posts from the ACRL blog:
(1) Calomino, B. (2024, Decemeber 20). Liaison Librarianship: A Trial By Fire (and 5 Takeaways) https://acrlog.org/2024/12/20/liaison-librarianship-a-trial-by-fire-and-5-takeaways/
(2). Mitola, R. & Bowles-Terry, M. (2025, January 15). Immersion at UNLV: Revising and Reviving an ACRL Program. https://acrlog.org/2025/01/15/immersion-at-unlv-revising-and-reviving-an-acrl-program/
(2) Rowe, |J. (2024, November 20). The trap of knowing. https://acrlog.org/2024/11/20/the-trap-of-knowing/ (life lesson - It’s okay not to know!)
Image created by Sheila Webber using Midjourney AI

New articles: Modifying CRAAP test; Privacy #literacy

The January 2025 issue of College & Research Libraries News (volume 86, no. 1) includes:
- Emily Jaeger-McEnroe. Rethinking Authority and Bias: Modifying the CRAAP Test to Promote Critical Thinking about Marginalized Information.
- Kevin Adams. Surveillance and Privacy: How Can the Framework Support Privacy Literacy? (that's the ACRL IL Framework)
Go to https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/issue/view/1671/showToc
Photo by Sheila Webber: discarded Christmas trees, January 2025

Recording: Information Literacy as a Discipline: What's the Difference?

The Information Literacy Group has published the recording of the webinar Information Literacy as a Discipline: What's the Difference? in which I was one of the panellists last October. The event was co-organised by the CILIP Information Literacy Group, the Purdue University Institute for Information Literacy, USA, and the University of Sheffield Information School, Libraries and Information Society Research Group. UK.
The panellists were Dr. Karen Kaufmann (Assistant professor, School of Information, University of South Florida, USA), Bill Johnston (activist and retired academic, Scotland), Dr Clarence Maybee (Associate Dean for Learning and the W. Wayne Booker Endowed Chair in Information Literacy at Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies, USA), Dr Syeda Shahid (Assistant Professor, Towson University, USA) and me (Sheila Webber, Senior Lecturer, University of Sheffield Information School, UK).
We are members of the international group of researchers and practitioners, ILIAD: Information Literacy Is A Discipline "advancing scholarly conversation around the idea that information literacy is a maturing discipline (Webber & Johnston, 2017). Since 2022 they have been developing wider debate via panel sessions (Maybee et al., 2023), and forthcoming from Facet Publishing in 2025 is an edited volume with contributors from 20 countries, Information Literacy Handbook: Charting the Discipline."
Here's the recording https://youtu.be/CKLX4a-BWUY?feature=shared

#LOEX2025 poster proposals saight from library and information students

There is a call for proposals for posters to be presented in-person at the USA's information literacy conference, LOEX 2025, taking place 15-17 May 2025 in Pasadena, California, USA. The deadline is 27 January 2025. The call is open to library and information students and to "library residents or fellows who have been in the field no more than five years". More info on the LOEX Poster Proposals webpage https://loexconference.org/poster-proposals/

Which Information Behaviour Theories are Relevant to Public Library Reference Service?

Dr Jenna Hartel has created a new video about information. It is the 12th episode in her What Makes This Paper Great? series. She presents Surfacing the ‘Silent Foundation’: Which Information Behaviour Theories are Relevant to Public Library Reference Service? by VanScoy et al. (2024). The 12 minute video is here https://youtu.be/QfcMHv3rI7Y?si=6T--9VNFpUfvackw Additionally she has created a colouring book with pages for each of the theories, which is here

Registration for #LILAC2025 open

Bookings for LILAC 2025 (the UK information literacy conference, in person in Cardiff, Wales, 14-16 April 2025) are open. "150 places at the conference have been released and we aim to release a further 125 places later in the month.
To register go to https://www.lilacconference.com/lilac-2025

SUNYLA annual #infolit instruction showcase

On 13 January 10.00-15.30 US EST (which is, e.g., 15.00-20.30 GMT) the SUNYLA (State University of New York Librarians Association) Information Literacy Committee hold their annual Instruction Showcase online.
You can see the programme here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JzgOBoGBkdy-2KYP9Oze6XgNJqAJi9b1Ma7QfQogOxY/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.fo48wfk0h5oo
It is free, but registration is required - go to https://oswego-edu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMofumvrjsiH9KoKDTfKdQfe7gYk7oJSKoH
Photo by Sheila Webber: Christmas tree out for collection by the council (on the 30th December, that seemed early)

New articles: #Infolit for first years; teacher librarians' experience of teaching; Librarians involved in systematic review; Librarians and #SoTL

The latest issue of open access journal College and Research Libraries (Vol 86 Issue 1 2025) includes:
- Sarah LeMire, Zhihong Xu, and Doug Hahn. First-Year and First-Gen: Assessing the Information Literacy Skills of First-Year, First-Generation College Students.
- Matthew Weirick Johnson. Job Control, Library Instruction, and Burnout: A Quantitative Analysis of Academic Instruction Librarians’ Experiences of Job Control While Teaching.
- Catherine Boden, Susan Bolton, and Angie Gerrard. Health Sciences and Beyond: An Investigation into Canadian Librarian Participation in Systematic Reviews Across Disciplines.
- Anne Grant, Kyle Feenstra, and Mills Kelly. Why Does SoTL [Scholarship of Teaching & Learning] Happen in a Librarian-Free Zone?
Go to https://crl.acrl.org/index.php/crl/issue/view/1670/showTocPhoto by Sheila Webber: snow in November 2024. The snow is still on the ground now, but less picturesque

Recent UNESCO news: China and Uzbekistan

Two short reports. The first reports on a meeting at the Communication University of Zhejiang, China, which included the launch of the 2023-2024 version of China's Media Literacy Blue Book.
UNESCO. (2024, December 14). UNESCO Promotes the Implementation of Media and Information Literacy Initiative in China. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-promotes-implementation-media-and-information-literacy-initiative-china
The second gives a brief overview of the AIM programme (Empowering the Government and Citizens of Uzbekistan by Strengthening Access to Information, Accountability of Institutions, and Media Competence) (I think this is a description of the project by the main funder).
UNESCO (2025, January 6). AIM program: Enhancing access to Information, media freedom and digital literacy in Uzbekistan. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/aim-program-enhancing-access-information-media-freedom-and-digital-literacy-uzbekistan?hub=79862
Photo by Sheila Webber: a Christmas present from last year

Two new articles on Information seeking - IS of Lithuanians in time of war; IS of business students

Wilson, T.D. & Maceviciute, E. (2025). Information seeking in a time of war: coping with stress in Lithuania during the Russia/Ukraine war. Journal of Documentation 81(7), 31-62. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-06-2024-0156 ; "A majority of participants experienced moderate to high levels of stress associated with the war in Ukraine. Information seeking and discussing information found with family members and friends played a significant role in helping to moderate stress. Most of the participants understood more than one language and, consequently, were able to compare local information sources with international sources. Only five participants were active users of social media, the rest were critical of these sources. All participants valued those sources they believed to be reliable and truthful."

Vinyard, M., Morales, I & Helton, E. (2024). Information seeking behavior of graduate business students: using a qualitative approach to determine the role of the library. Journal of Business & Finance Librarianship. https://doi.org/10.1080/08963568.2024.2435758 "Librarians interviewed 15 graduate business students to understand their information-seeking behavior. Google emerged as the primary research tool, though students encountered paywalls and credibility concerns. Their research skills were shaped by prior work experience, and the depth of research expertise varied according to their bachelor’s degrees. Students were more likely to seek assistance from classmates and professors than librarians. Faculty guidance and database usage varied significantly, impacting students’ use of library databases. Student’s ability to interpret financial and economic data was a significant issue."
Photo by Sheila Webber: another snowy scene from November 2024.

Nieman Lab - Predictions for Journalism, 2025

The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard (University, USA) has published Predictions for Journalism, 2025 from "some of the smartest people in journalism and media" asking them "what they think is coming in the next 12 month". There is a North American focus, but a good number of different perspectives (and all fairly short reads) - for example Cristina Tardáguila writes about Getting beyond the fact-check "The global focus on disinformation is undeniable, and that’s a positive step. But the field has become overcrowded, with many players prioritizing performative actions over measurable results. After nearly a decade in this fight, we’re stuck in a cycle of rehashing old strategies and are in desperate need of a reset."
Go to https://www.niemanlab.org/collection/predictions-2025/
Photo by Sheila Webber: snow in November 2024 (it is also snowy at the moment, though not as snowy as this).

Extremism, conspiracy theories and the middle aged

SMIDGE is a Horizon Europe research project (funded by the European Union) focused on extremist narratives (including spread of conspiracy theories and misinformation) and people aged 45-65. The partner institutions are in Denmark, the UK, Austria, Italy, Belgium, Kosovo and Cyprus. They point out that this is an under researched group (with most attention going to younger people), and the project's activities include podcasts, webinars, conference presentations and an online survey (at time of writing I can see a document outlining the methods, but they hadn't posted results yet). Their latest newsletter  is here: https://shoutout.wix.com/so/16P6uI8ur?languageTag=en&cid=301b3122-0a42-4ea6-ac43-fdb7e0e03720
I was alerted to this by an article in The Conversation: Wilford, S. (2024, August 6). Middle-aged radicalisation: why are so many of Britain’s rioters in their 40s and 50s? https://theconversation.com/middle-aged-radicalisation-why-are-so-many-of-britains-rioters-in-their-40s-and-50s-236263
Photo by Sheila Webber: fragmented, November 2024

The Problem with “Perfect” Answers

A useful blog post reporting on interesting research: Munoz, R. (2024, October 15). The Problem with “Perfect” Answers: GenAI and Academic Research Tools. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2024/10/the-problem-with-perfect-answers-genai-and-academic-research-tools
Librarian Roberta Muñoz talks about the problem when people get so used to search engines, AI etc. delivering the answers they expect, that people get frustrated and baffled when they are presented with information that isn't exactly tailored to their preferences. This is drawing on some research by Xu et al., namely:
Xu, R., Le, N., Park, R., Murray, L., Das, V., Kumar, D. & Goldberg, B. (2024). New contexts, old heuristics: How young people in India and the US trust online content in the age of generative AI. https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.02522 "We conducted in-person ethnography in India and the US to investigate how young people (18-24) trusted online content, just as generative AI (genAI) became mainstream. We found that when online, how participants determined what content to trust was shaped by emotional states, which we term "information modes." Our participants reflexively shifted between modes to maintain "emotional equilibrium," and eschewed engaging literacy skills in the more passive modes in which they spent the most time. We found participants imported trust heuristics from established online contexts into emerging ones (i.e., genAI). This led them to use ill-fitting trust heuristics, and exposed them to the risk of trusting false and misleading information. While many had reservations about AI, prioritizing efficiency, they used genAI and habitual heuristics to quickly achieve goals at the expense of accuracy. We conclude that literacy interventions designed to match users' distinct information modes will be most effective."

Also linked from Muñoz's blog post is a  news report on Xu et al.'s research
Rogers, A. (2024, April 25). The secret digital behaviors of Gen Z. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-most-trusted-news-source-online-comment-sections-google-2024-6
Unfortunately, although I was able to read this free a couple of days ago, it is now asking me for money, so I'm relying on my memory for what was in it. I think the author of the research paper is quoted as saying that initially they were investigating information literacy, but then they discarded that idea because what the Gen Zers were doing wasn't information literacy. That seems a bit narrow, since it seems to me that what Xu et al. have done is Information Behavior research, which could be used to engage with the participants to develop ideas of context-appropriate IL (which wouldn't involve them totally changing their IB, but being more aware of what they are doing, which could bring shifts in behaviour).
Photo by Sheila Webber: Winter in the Botanic Gardens, December 2024