Information Literacy in Higher Education: A Sociocultural Perspective

A new book is Information Literacy in Higher Education: A Sociocultural Perspective, which is authored by a group of Colombian-based academics and published by Springer. The book has 134 pages and the following chapters: The Study of Information Literacy in University Education; The Concept of Information in the Documentation and Information Science Fields; Methodological Proposal for the Observation of Information Literacy; Information Literacy Profiles of University Students; Information Literacy and Experiences of University Professors; Shifts in Information Literacy Research.
- Cabra-Torres, F., Marciales Vivas, G.P., Castañeda-Peña, H., Barbosa-Chacón, J.W., Melo González, L. & Hernández, O. (2020). Information Literacy in Higher Education: A Sociocultural Perspective. Springer. ISBN-13: 978-3030500139 https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030500139
Photo by Sheila Webber: beautiful blush rose cluster, July 2020

Data Justice and COVID-19: Global Perspectives

A new book which can be viewed or downloaded free download or bought in hard copy is Data Justice and COVID-19: Global Perspectives. The focus is on the technologies used for data access/manipulation/monitoring etc., and it would be a useful reader when discussing issues of data privacy, who has power over our data etc. The book starts with perspectives on issues such as privacy and COVI19 contact tracing, and then has sections with "reports" from 28 countries or regions around the world. Go to https://meatspacepress.com/
Photo by Sheila Webber: City of London, July 2020

Global Media and Information Literacy Week 2020 #Globalmilweek #MILCLICKS

Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Week 2020 takes place 24-31 October 2020, and will be a virtual event with the theme Resisting disinfodemic: Media and Information Literacy for everyone and by everyone. Everyone is encouraged to organise some action or event for Global MIL week, and there will be more on this blog about how we aim to celebrate it in the the Information School at the University of Sheffield! https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/globalmilweek/2020/howtocelebrate

Call for proposals: The Connection

There's a call (open until 7 September 2020) for all sorts of proposals for the virtual event talking place in March 2021 and organised by the Library Collective. It is The Connection, offering "useful, fun, and affordable virtual professional development to library workers": "Inform us with your scholarship. Share your expert opinions. Wow us with your innovations. Show off your creativity. Display your colors, your personas, your playlists. Let us hear your voices in word and song. Help us see you and your work through still and moving images."
The conference page is at https://www.thelibrarycollective.org/libcon and The call for proposals is at https://www.thelibrarycollective.org/collaborate
Photo by Sheila Webber: a Community Virtual Library event in Second Life, July 2020

Recent articles: news consumption; use of research databases; visual analysis

Some articles from the last few issues of priced journal Journal of Information Science:
- Tang, R. & Oh, K. (2020). University students’ mobile news consumption activities and evaluative/affective reactions to political news during election campaigns: A diary study. Journal of Information Science, 46(4), 476-495. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551519845855
- Islam, A. & Sheikh, A. (2020). A study of the determinants of postgraduate students’ satisfaction of using online research databases. Journal of Information Science, 46(2), 273-287. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551519834714
- Greyson, D, O'Brien, H & Shankar, S. (2020). Visual analysis of information world maps: An exploration of four methods. Journal of Information Science, 46(3), 361-377. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551519837174
Photo by Sheila webber: pink rose, August 2020

Webinar: Data Curation and Visualization in the Arts & Humanities

There is a webinar from the Arts & Humanities Special Interest Group of ASIS&T on 5 August 2020 at 12 noon to 4pm US Eastern time (which is e.g. 5pm-9pm UK time) on Data Curation and Visualization in the Arts & Humanities. It is free to ASIS&T members and costs $25 to others. "The symposium starts with a presentation about three methodological approaches for (re)constructing the information structure of a Chicago public housing community archive utilizing photographic and manuscript items found in the Henry Booth Settlement House archive. The next presentation will be a map visualization project about the COVID-19 spread developed specifically for creating effective policy making based on the discoveries of disease spread and human behaviors built from cell phone data.
.. [the final] presentation will give details on how to create a maker space for fiber pattern creations to embroider from digital images. Fans of rare illuminated manuscripts will celebrate the resources." Go to https://www.asist.org/meetings-events/webinars/sig-ah-virtual-symposium-data-curation-and-visualization-in-the-arts-humanities/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Spanish chestnut in the park, July 2020

Ofcom's Making Sense of Media Network #MILCLICKS #medialiteracy

Ofcom (the UK media watchdog agency) is "launching a Making Sense of Media Network, to bring together organisations and individuals with expertise in media literacy to work towards a shared goal of improving the online skills, knowledge and understanding of UK adults and children". I just happened to come across it, so I'm not sure how long this has been published, but they are making a call for interested individuals and organisations to fill in a form expressing interest, which still seems to be open. Do not be put of the "media" literacy tag, as much of what they describe could be categorised as information literacy. I think they are aiming at people in the UK. Go to https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/media-literacy-research/network

Expert Consultation on Strengthening Media and Information Literacy Competencies of Youth in Pakistan

There is a short report on a meting that UNESCO held on the topic of Media and Information Literacy Competencies of young people in Pakistan https://en.unesco.org/news/expert-consultation-strengthening-media-and-information-literacy-competencies-youth-pakistan
Photo by Sheila Webber: rudbeckias in the park, July 2020

Role of Library and Knowledge Specialists in Moving Education and Training Online

The UK's Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals's (CILIP) Information Literacy Group has released a Statement on the Role of Library and Knowledge Specialists in Moving Education and Training Online to "raise awareness of the roles that library and knowledge specialists can play in improving the quality of online education and training resources." It can be found here https://www.cilip.org.uk/news/518869/Role-of-Library-and-Knowledge-Specialists-in-Moving-Education-and-Training-Online.htm

Webinar: Engaging your online audience in IL instruction

The UK's Open University Library and Royal Holloway University of London Library are running a free online workshop on 11 August 2020, 1.30-2.30pm UK time: Get connected! Engaging your online audience in IL instruction. "In this webinar, Librarians at the Open University (OU) Library and Royal Holloway Library will share their expertise and examples on how you can make your online teaching more accessible, interactive and engaging. ... The event will cover: Examples of interactive activities you can run online; Pedagogical principles underlying online learning; Ensuring the accessibility of your online activities. Presenters are: Eva Dann (Information Consultant, Royal Holloway); Hossam Kassem (Teaching and Learning Librarian, The Open University); Greg Leurs (Digital and Online Teaching Information Consultant, Royal Holloway). Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-ou-and-royal-holloway-university-of-london-30803535870
Photo by Sheila Webber: Canary Wharf, July 2020

New articles: fake news; teaching teachers; doctoral students; meta-synthesis

The latest issue of the Journal of Academic Librarianship (priced) (Volume 46 issue 5) includes:
- Information literacy and fake news: How the field of librarianship can help combat the epidemic of fake news (this article is open access) by Saoirse De Paor, Bahareh Heravi
- Teaching the teachers to teach information literacy: A literature review by Jane Hammons
- Faculty perceptions of librarians and library services: Exploring the impact of librarian faculty status and beyond by Cathy Weng, David C. Murray
- Research workflow skills for education doctoral students and postdocs: A qualitative study by Sharon Ince, Christopher Hoadley, Paul A. Kirschner
- Academic library guides for tackling fake news: A content analysis by Sook Lim
- Meta-synthesis in Library & Information Science Research by Juan Xie, Qing Ke, Ying Cheng, Nancy Everhart
Go to https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/the-journal-of-academic-librarianship/vol/46/issue/5
Photo by Sheila Webber: flowerbed in the park, July 2020

International Visual Literacy Association grants

The International Visual Literacy Association (IVLA) has a call for proposals for research, with grants of up to US $3,000, deadline August 15 2020. You have to be a member of the Association to apply. "The purpose of the IVLA competitive Research Grants Program is to encourage and support empirical research in visual literacy. Grant funds may be used for direct costs associated with the research project, including materials, software, tokens of appreciation for research participants, travel to collect or analyze data, transcription services, research assistants, etc. Grant funds may not be used for release time, salary, or conference travel, or to pay indirect costs or other overhead." The details are at https://ivla.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IVLA-Research-Grants-CFP.pdf
Photo by Sheila Webber: redberries, July 2020

Webinar: online teaching of medical IL skills

The ACRL Health Sciences Interest Group organised a series of free one-hour webinars on Interactive Online Learning. The last one is on August 7 2020 at 9am US Pacific time (which is, e.g., 5pm UK time). This has 3 presentations:
- Health Information Literacy and Interactive Video: An Accessible, Asynchronous, Student-Driven Search Strategies Activity (Samantha (Sam) Harlow, online learning librarian and liaison to Kinesiology, Public Health Education, and Community and Therapeutic Recreation at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, USA)
- Video Modules for Online Learning: Creating Content for the New Normal (Julia Stumpff, Instructional Design Librarian, and Laura Menard, Assistant Director for Medical Education and Access Services, Ruth Lilly Medical Library, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA).
- Breakout! Utilizing a Virtual Breakout Room to Teach Hands-On Medical Research Skills (Vera Elwood, Instructional Services Librarian at Central Methodist University, USA)
Register for this session here: https://ala-events.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_QH4Tn_LtSZ2BSP2pkOdx2Q
You can get more details, plus (scroll down the page) the recordings and slides from the previous webinars at https://acrl.libguides.com/c.php?g=519489&p=6027142
Photo by Sheila Webber: hydrangea, July 2020