Chatting Info Lit: Desmystifying the publication process

The latest episode (14) of the Chatting Info Lit podcast has been published: Desmystifying the publication process. Jess Haigh, Managing Editor of the Journal of Information Literacy (JIL) "sets out the JIL publishing process step by step, offering some great tips along the way. If you’re booked on (or have attended) a workshop on writing for research by JIL editors, this podcast is a great place to start!" 
It is avaliable at: 
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-fourteen-demystifying-the-publication-process/id1673423506?i=1000770961870 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/18iLL0XJhLMg9YW8IXcPSi 
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/chatting-info-lit-podcast/ep14 
Transcript at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RxD_EZnPshCO77s-RG62_kPbr6YyU4po/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=105844347620717531095&rtpof=true&sd=true
Photo by Sheila Webber: Sheffield Botanic Gardens, May 2026 - green shade is very welcome in the current hot weather

Registration opens: International Conference on Information Literacy

Early bird registration for the International Conference on Information Literacy (ICIL) Africa 2026 is now open. The conference takes place at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, 26–30 October 2026. The conference theme is Empowering Societies through Information Literacy: AI, Data, and Open Media for Sustainable Futures.
Go to http://library.nwu.ac.za/icil-2026-registration

LOEX outputs

The LOEX (US information literacy conference) took place on 7-9 May 2026 and presentations are mostly available. Today I'll link to the pages with lightning talks: https://loexconference.org/lightning-talks-accepted-thu/ and https://loexconference.org/lightning-talks-accepted-saturday/

As a bonus, here's a blog posts from LOEX delegates:
- Ball, E. (2026, June 20). A (Long Overdue) LOEX 2026 Recap. ACRLog. https://acrlog.org/2026/06/20/loex-2026/
- Butorac, K. & Finn, B. (n.d.) LOEX and ARLIS/NA: Two CSB+SJU Librarians Travel to Out-of-State Conferences. https://www.csbsju.edu/libraries/library-blogs/loex/

Book recommendations

From Eleanor Ball, some summer book recommendations "Critical Pedagogy, AI, and More" https://acrlog.org/2026/05/14/summer-break-book-recommendations/
As my own recommendation I'll give Pedagodzilla: Exploring the Realm of Pedagogy which is open access online and can also be bought as a paperback. It is worth reading it through chapter by chapter (each chapter explains a learning theory with reference to something in (pop) culture - starting with "How do spooky Muppets guide Scrooge through transformative learning?") https://www.pedagodzilla.com/the-book/

New book: Media and Information Literacy as Civic Practice

Grosse, M. & Clarke-De Reza, s. (Eds). (2026). Media and Information Literacy as Civic Practice: Lessons from the College Classroom. Taylor Francis. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003628507/media-information-literacy-civic-practice-meghan-grosse-sara-clarke-de-reza
Interestingly, a minority of contributors come from the library or communications field and the introduction (you can read it free as a sample) identifies that they want to take ML and IL out of their silos.
Photo by Sheila Webber: lovely tree, May 2026

Media and information literacy: combating hate speech in the digital age

Today is United Nations International Day for Countering Hate Speech. UNESCO has organised a webinar today (18 June) at 13.30 CEST (12.30 BST) Countering Hate Speech in the Digital Age: Promoting Information Integrity and Resilient Societies. Short notice, but I only just found out about it. "The event will bring together experts to discuss current challenges and responses to hate speech in digital environments, including the role of Media and Information Literacy in fostering inclusive and resilient societies" 
Register at https://unesco-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RmmOuj6OQ1O10SkETpVldw#/registration

However, if you can't make the webinar you can look at the new 16-page publication it is launching: 
Roksa-Zubcevic, A. (2026). Media and information literacy: combating hate speech in the digital age. UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000398298? 
It sets out the issues and then looks at a MIL response and makes recommendations. 
Not its main purpose, but a useful bonus for this publication is a list at the end of some UNESCO MIL publications (e.g. the Prague Declaration, though unfortunately not the Alexandria Declaration) - UNESCO has moved them around over the years and they can be hard to track down.
Photo by Sheila Webber: Poppy, May 2026

Google: liable for fakery; cannabilising

A couple of items of news and opinion about Google. Firstly a court in Germany has ruled that although Google has previously been found not responsible for incorrect information in its search results, it is liable for misleading and defamatory information in AI summaries. 
"Because the AI summarizes results in its own words, evaluates their content, and presents them in a structured format, the judges ruled that Google creates entirely new, independent statements that go beyond mere links." 
Connor, R. (2026, May 12). German court holds Google liable for fake AI answers. Deutsche Welle. https://www.dw.com/en/german-court-holds-google-liable-for-fake-ai-answers/a-77527661?

Then a perspective from the Register on Google search
Claburn, T. (2026, May 25). Google is cannibalizing the web to feed AI. The Register. https://www.theregister.com/ai-ml/2026/05/25/google-is-cannibalizing-the-web-to-feed-ai/5244641 Subtitle "Google Search used to direct users to web sites; AI Mode will keep them in Google's garden" 
Photo by Sheila Webber: Let's think of chocoloate, rather than of how Google has declined; Lindt world of chocolate, May 2026

Call for Participation for the UNESCO Youth Hackathon 2026

The Call for Participation for the UNESCO Youth Hackathon 2026 is now open. People aged 18–30 from anywhere in the world can participate in teams of 2-6. The theme is Play Your Part: Youth Design the Future of Media and Information Literacy. Participants are encouraged "to collaborate, innovate, and develop practical solutions that strengthen Media and Information Literacy (MIL) in their communities." Submission is between 6 July and 16 August 2026. 
Proposals can be one of the following categories: Games; Applications/Websites; Radio programmes/Podcasts; Artistic work such as comics, short videos, documentaries, etc.; Educational toolkits; Youth organization campaign; Community-based interventions; Other creative modalities for innovative interventions. You submit a proposal document and a pitch video (you don't have to produce the actual application for submission). 
For more information go to https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-youth-hackathon-2026?hub=750 

The 2025 edition included 1,200 teams from 138 countries - more information about last year's winners is here https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/global-youth-lead-way-media-and-information-literacy-meet-unesco-hackathon-2025-winners 

Advancing Social Justice Through Curriculum Realignment

An interesting open access book:
Mfengu, A. et al. (2025). Advancing Social Justice Through Curriculum Realignment: Centering Scholarly Communication in LIS Curricula. UCT Libraries Press https://openbooks.uct.ac.za/uct/catalog/book/79
Photo by Sheila Webber: roses, May 2026

Digital Co-Creation with Nursing Students: Enhancing Digital Competencies

On 25 June 14.00-15.30 BST (UK time) there is a free online event: DigiCONS (Digital Co-Creation with Nursing Students: Enhancing Digital Competencies).
"This online session brings together educators, researchers and practitioners from Scotland, Portugal and Greece, who are passionate about embedding equitable, human‑centred digital competencies into the future of nursing education." They will "explore innovative approaches, share international perspectives and build connections across institutions committed to advancing digital readiness in nursing curricula."
There is a project website. The organising Committee (Robert Gordon University, Scotland) is Dr Konstantina Martzoukou, Dr Errol Luders, Emma Hay-Higgins and Jennifer Elliott.
Registration at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/co-creating-the-future-of-digital-competencies-in-nursing-education-tickets-1990315901439
Photo by Sheila Webber: relaxation in the Botanic Gardens, May 2026

Full Fact Report 2026

A new report from Full Fact, a UK fact checking agency: Full Fact Report 2026: A system under strain: strengthening the UK’s democratic information. There are sections on: The state of the UK’s information environment (based on the fact checking they have done, a survey on trust and analysis of platforms' tactics, political pressures etc.); Impacts on democracy and the case for reform; Global lessons for UK policymakers; UK governance, regulation and institutional preparedness; Building democratic information resilience. 
They do recommend more attention to media literacy (information literacy only gets mentioned a couple of times in the context of "media and information literacy"). One of their recommendations is "Embed media literacy across the curriculum Support the integration of media and information literacy across the curriculum at all stages, including an understanding of AI-mediated information, with the provision of teacher training, guidance and high-quality teaching resources environment", also "Fund long-term media literacy delivery capacity" and "Introduce a statutory duty to provide media literacy. The latter involves supporting "effective, evidence-based media and information literacy among users" including a requirement "to embed media literacy by design" . 
The report is at https://fullfact.org/policy/reports/full-fact-report-2026/
Photo by Sheila Webber: rhododendrons and the Tower of Arts, May 2026. I realised after I took this that the tower looks photoshopped/AI-ed in, but that really is a raw shot with the University of Sheffield's tower (home of Europe's tallest paternoster) visible from Weston Park (so no disinformation!)

Books: infolit and transformational learning; Critical Information Literacy

I need to catch up on highlighting some books I'd missed, today it's 
- Hess, A.N. (2025). Information Literacy and Critical Thinking: Using Perspective Transformation to Break Information Bubbles. ALA. Item Number 979-8-89255-324-7. Cost: ALA Member US$53.99, others $59.99. https://alastore.ala.org/ILandCT "Hess invites academic librarians to consider critical librarianship, pedagogy, and information literacy instruction in tandem with transformative learning theory, demonstrating tangible ways to integrate these concepts into their practice." 
- Hornick, J.N. & Kehoe, L. (Eds.) (2025). Critical Information Literacy Applications for All Libraries. ALA. Item Number 979-8-89255-218-9. Cost: ALA Member US$49.49, others $54.99. https://alastore.ala.org/libcil There are sections on: Theoretical Frameworks of Critical Information Literacy (3 chapters); Critical Information Literacy Programming (7 chapters); Professional Development Programs (6 chapters); Critical Information Literacy Lesson Plans (8 plans).
Photo by Sheila Webber: under the willow tree, May 2026

MIL Curriculum for Asia

There's a short interview on the UNESCO website with Professor Arul Selvan, who leads development of a Media and Information Literacy Curriculum (based on the UNESCO MIL Curriculum) for South and Southeast Asia. 
UNESCO. (2026, June 6). Shaping a new generation: Integrating Media and Information Literacy into India’s education system. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/shaping-new-generation-integrating-media-and-information-literacy-indias-education-system
Photo by Sheila Webber: greenery, including stickyweed, May 2026