Themes and Trends in Library and Information Research

To be held on 8 November 2017 Themes and Trends in Library and Information Research is an event at Canterbury Christ Church University organised by CILIPinKent. Talks include The value of practitioner research, the impact of such research activity (on individual career paths as well as services provision) and current areas of research interest (Professor Hazel Hall), Reaching saturation point? Reframing information literacy research (Alison Hicks) and Examining the information needs and behaviors of first year Fine Art undergraduates at the University for the Creative Arts (Rebecca Daniels). Register by 31 October at http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/themes-and-trends-in-library-and-information-research-tickets-38251596555
Photo by Sheila Webber: Iceland, 2003

23things for digital knowledge #23ThingsEdUni

The University of Edinburgh has just started a 23 things initiative (where you are introduced to a new "thing" and normally have to do an activity and blog about it). The digital knowledge "things" are: Thing 2: Blogging; Thing 3: Digital Footprint; Thing 4: Digital Security; Thing 5: Diversity; Thing 6: Accessibility; Thing 7: Twitter; Thing 8: Facebook; Thing 9: Google Hangouts/Collaborate Ultra; Thing 10: Wikimedia; Thing 11: Copyright; Thing 12: Open Educational Resources; Thing 13: Video (YouTube/Vimeo/MediaHopper); Thing 14: Audio (Podcasts/SoundCloud); Thing 15: Digital Curation; Thing 16: OneNote/ClassNotebook; Thing 17: Geolocation Tools; Thing 18: Augmented & Virtual Reality; Thing 19: Altmetrics; Thing 20: LinkedIn / Academia.edu / ResearchGate; Thing 21: Online Games & Learning Tools; Thing 22: Fun and Play; Thing 23: Reflection. (Thing 1 is "introduction: not sure that's a real thing!)
You can still get a lot out ofit if you are not at Edinburgh University (if you ARE then there is access to extra videos, and prizes).
http://www.23things.ed.ac.uk/
Photo by Sheila Webber: taken in the Deathrow Designs shop in Second Life (TM Linden Lab)

International Fact checking Networking

The International Fact-Checking Network is "a forum for fact-checkers worldwide". It is hosted by North American Poynter Institute, which provides jouirnalism training and supports related initiatives. The home page is here https://www.poynter.org/channels/fact-checking
Ther are currently 36 member agencies from 26 countries in the Network (I did that count very quickly, I may be one out). They have to sign up to this Code of Principles. These are agencies that large organisations (like Google) and (in some countries) politicians may consult about concerns with fake news etc.
Photo by Sheila Webber: autumn trees, October 2017, Sheffield

Call for papers: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries

There is a call for proposals for papers, workshops, posters etc. for the 10th Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries International Conference, which will be held in Chania, Crete, Greece on 22-25 May 2018. There are a wide range of themes (with an emphasis on the Future of Library and Information Science) including information literacy and information behaviour: see http://qqml.org/description-of-the-contribution/ and http://qqml.org/call-of-proposals/ The deadline for proposals is December 20, 2017. Papers are published at http://www.qqml-journal.net (which has past conference papers)
Photo by Sheila Webber: artwork, Sheffield University, October 2017

Theorising information literacy #ecil2017

These are the slides from the panel on information literacy and theory, that I chaired at the European Conference on Information Literacy in September. My co-panellists were Olivier Le Deuff and Bill Johnston. Apologies for not putting them up sooner!

Theorising information literacy: Exploring different expert views and reflections and different national / cultural perspectives from Sheila Webber

2 million page views for the Information Literacy Weblog

This is the first of two self-congratulatory posts ;-) This blog hit the two million page view mark last week. I hope this means that people still find the blog useful! I continue the blog (started in 2005) partly because I like blogging, and the blog is useful to me as a reference database about information literacy. However I certainly wouldn't continue without some evidence that other people find it useful too! So thanks to those who continue to view the blog and mention it to others! However, so this post isn't just about this blog, two international news items:

- Baines, S. (2017, October 14). Digital danger - Youth urged to be careful of social media footprints they create. [An article flagging up some of themes of the forthcoming Global Media and Information Literacy conference being held in Jamaica 25-26 October, which I will be attending] http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20171014/digital-danger-youth-urged-be-careful-social-media-footprints-they

- The Tribune. (2017, October 13). Media can play only complimentary role in achieving sustainable development: VC. [Highlights a message from a Media and information Literacy seminar taking place in India this week] http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/chandigarh/media-can-play-only-complimentary-role-in-achieving-sustainable-development-vc/482089.html

Webinar: Informed learning: a narration #USQSalon

Infolit guru Professor Christine Bruce is giving a "salon conversation" Informed learning: a narration on 26 October 2017 at 11am-12 noon local (Toowoomba, Australia) time (which I think is 2am-3am UK time). You can watch on livestream with an archived recording afterwards. "In this salon conversation, Christine Bruce, author of Informed Learning, will read the narratives underpinning the book's chapters. The intention is to reveal the narrative thread which reflects a journey of the scholarship of learning and teaching. In the course of that journey, two new academics engage in learning and teaching innovation, securing their own professional development, and creating unexpected opportunities for colleagues and the wider university in the process. Informed learning is a way of thinking about the educational process in terms of using information to learn. Information is often the hidden element in curriculum...present, critical, not always explicitly recognised. Thinking in terms of informed learning provides a language and an approach that highlights the role of information in the learning process, encouraging all members of the learning community to be aware of that role, and benefit from it. The narratives will serve as openers to discussion about the experience of learning and teaching with attention to information environments." More info at https://www.usq.edu.au/learning-teaching/USQSalon/2017/bruce
Photo by Sheila Webber: Arbour, Brisbane, Australia, 2006.

Online course: Engaging with the #ACRLFramework

From 16 October 2017 to 17 November 2017 there is a new online course: Engaging with the ACRL Framework: A Catalyst for Exploring and Expanding Our Teaching Practices. The website says: "The ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education - with its emphasis on self-reflective and lifelong learning and on conceptual understandings about information, research, and scholarship and encouraging - has prompted many librarians to consider their teaching practices from fresh angles, as they explore their evolving instructional roles within and beyond the library classroom. [... ] In this online course, participants will explore concepts and pedagogical approaches outlined in the Framework and their significance to their own instructional work. Participants will apply their learning and reflection to creating instruction plans for their local contexts and considering possibilities for growing teaching partnerships." Activities are mostly asynchronous. There is a certificate if you complete the course, including some specific activities. Fees are: ACRL member: US $135; ALA member: $175; Nonmember: $205; Student: $75. More information at http://www.ala.org/acrl/onlinelearning/engagingwiththeacrlframework
Photo by Sheila Webber: michaelmas daisies, October 2017

Call for proposals: emergent literacies in academic libraries

The (priced) journal Reference Services Review is seeking authors to write on the theme of emergent literacies in academic libraries. "Articles in this issue will explore emergent literacies, intersections of multiple literacies, and ideas around the language used to describe, implement, and assess these literacies. We are interested in innovative interpretations and intersectional research around ideas, theory, and practice." The deadline for abstracts proposing an article is October 15 2017. Send proposals/abstracts or inquiries to both: Tammy Ivins (ivinst@uncw.edu) and Sylvia Tag (sylvia.tag@wwu.edu). There is more info in a pdf attached to the discussion post: http://lists.ala.org/sympa/arc/ili-l/2017-10/msg00041.html (bizarrely, there doesn't seem to be a call for papers on the journal's website)
Photo by Sheila Webber: John's Van recognises the language literacy of a large segment of his clientele, Sheffield, October 2017

Libraries Week #librariesweek

It's National Libraries Week in the UK! Scroll down the home page and you'll see some of the inititaives - http://www.librariesweek.org.uk/

Call for Proposals: The Innovative Library Classroom #TILC2018

There is a call for posters, presentations or lightning talks for The Innovative Library Classroom (TILC) conference, which takes place May 8 (posters and social) and May 9 (conference) 2018 at Radford University, Radford, VA, USA. There will be a modest conference fee. Jennifer Ferretti (Digital Initiatives Librarian at Maryland Institute College of Art) is the keynote speaker. "She is the creator of the popular "Beyoncé’s Lemonade and Information Resources" LibGuide and in her keynote she will discuss how art is information. You can use this idea as a jumping off point for your proposal, or you can submit anything related to innovative teaching." Submission deadline is November 16, 2017. Full information at http://theinnovativelibraryclassroom.weebly.com/
Photo by Sheila Webber: herbs, October 2017

Why infolit is important for journalists

A blog post describing a librarian's response to a journalism academic who wanted journalism students to understand why "research" was important. Joyce Garczynski (Towson University’s Assistant University Librarian for Development & Communications) uses the ACRL Framework in the process of explaining this, and they did their own threshold concepts investigation to find the students' "stuck places"..https://www.newsmediaalliance.org/support-real-news-research-matters/
There is a recording of a panel session that includes Garczynski talking about this, I think http://www.ala.org/acrl/aboutacrl/directoryofleadership/sections/ebss/ebsswebsite/discussion2015spring (caveat, I haven't listened to the recording, but as it's on the ACRL site I'm sure their description isn't fake news...)
Photo by Sheila Webber: Weston Park, October 2017

ACRL Instruction Section Innovation Award

The ACRL Instruction Section Awards committee seeks nominations for its Innovation Award. "Do you know of, or were you involved in, a project at an academic/research library that demonstrates creative, innovative, or unique approaches to information literacy instruction or programming? Now's your chance to boast about it to the world! Past awards have recognized well-known programs and initiatives such as the WASSAIL, the New Literacies Alliance project and Project CORA. The winner(s) of this award will receive a certificate and a US $3000 award, sponsored by EBSCO Information Services." More info at http://www.ala.org/acrl/awards/achievementawards/innovationaward.
Photo by Sheila Webber: autumn berries in the beech hedge, October 2017

Recent articles: peer evaluation of teaching; Educational story; Competency diagnosis; Scholarly communication

Items from the latest issue of Portal: libraries and the academy (Volume 17, Number 3) (priced publication):
- Peer Evaluation of Teaching in an Online Information Literacy Course by Susan A. Vega García, Kristine K. Stacy-Bates, Jeff Alger, Rano Marupova (pp. 471-483)
- Educational Story as a Tool for Addressing the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education by Joshua J. Vossler, John Watts (pp. 529-542)
- A Diagnosis of the Levels of Information Literacy Competency among Social Sciences Undergraduates by María Pinto, Rosaura Fernández-Pascual (pp. 569-593)
http://muse.jhu.edu/issue/36615

In an earlier issue this year (2017): Portal: libraries and the academy (Volume 17, Number 1)
- What Do Undergraduate Students Know about Scholarly Communication?: A Mixed Methods Study by Catherine Fraser Riehle, Merinda Kaye Hensley (pp. 145-178)
http://muse.jhu.edu/issue/35630
Photo by Sheila Webber: Michaelmas daisies, September 2017