Road to Research tutorial

On the ili list I noticed the Road to research tutorial at the University of California (UCLA) being mentioned. I haven't explored it properly but it's got a good number of features (though obviously various parts are tailored to the UCLA situation)
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/library/
You can login as a guest.

(Photo by S. Webber: Produce at Blackheath farmers' market, Sept 2005.)

IL Workshop in Aberdeen

Prof. Dorothy Williams and Caroline Wavell will be holding a workshop to look at the results of a recent study examining secondary school teachers' conceptions of information literacy in relation to their classroom practice. The workshop is open to interested practitioners and researchers and will be held at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, in November/December.

The date is yet to be confirmed, but during the day, participants will have the opportunity to learn about this research and to explore strategies for developing information literacy.

For further details, get in touch with Caroline Wavell at c.wavell@rgu.ac.uk or contact her at the Aberdeen Business School, Robert Gordon University, on 01224 263886.

ANZIIL Symposium "Information Literacy: Getting back to basics

ANZIIL Symposium Series Five Information Literacy: Getting back to basics will be held at University of Otago Dunedin, New Zealand, November 10-11 2005.
Keynote speakers are Dr Helena Ward (Program Director, Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy andMedical Sciences, University of South Australia (Australia) and MichaelWooliscroft University Librarian (retired), University of Otago, Dunedin
(New Zealand).

The two day Symposium focuses on 'engaging the learner' and 'engaging the institution'. The theme of the symposium is the same as for Symposium Four which was held at the University of South Australia in July and includes a similar mix of papers, case studies and workshops.

Program details and online registration are available from
http://www.anziil.org/events_meetings/2005/events/symposiumseriesfive/overview.htm

(Phot by S. Webber: Asters, including michaelmas daisies, in a Radford vase, Sept 2005)

Vivienne Bernath, Information Literacy and Reference Librarian, Monash University Library (Australia) has written in to say
"Some of your blog readers might be interested to see the presentations from the 2nd Research Applications in Information and Library Studies Seminar, held in Canberra earlier this month. Several of the presentations were related to aspects of information literacy eg:

• Judgements during Information Seeking: Assessing enough information.
  
• Taking the pulse... the information literacy practices of Victorian TAFE librarians.
  
• The Information Literacy Needs and Practices of Research Students in the Digital Age

Program, abstracts and presentations are at
http://www.nla.gov.au/initiatives/meetings/railprog.html "

Hmmm ... I note it was supported by the National Library of Australia. Not sure I can see the BL sponsoring something like this!

(Photo by S. Webber: Ripening blackberries, Sheffield, Sept. 2005)

IL papers from the WLIC conference

The World Library and Information (IFLA) conference (held in Oslo, Norway, in August) is one of the things I missed reporting on, because of our blog being down. I co-organised, with Christina Tovote, a dual session on information literacy and marketing. The first session was focusing on "Information Literacy, a voyage of discovery for citizens" and in this we asked for contributions which described initiatives where people had investigated citizens's information literacy needs and were planning how to meet the needs. Two papers available from the IFLA website in English from this session are as follows. As you see, they bring the international perspective which is one of the unique features of IFLA:

The digital divide, the fishball maker and lifelong learning: NLB responds to the Clarion Call with information literacy programs: NGIAN LEK CHOH and RAJEN MUNOO (National Library Board, Singapore) http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla71/papers/106e-Choh_Munoo.pdf

Information capability building: role of information literacy programmes - a study SASIKALA CHAGARI (Dept. of Library & Information Science, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, India) http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla71/papers/043e-Chagari.pdf (Sasikala Chagiri is pictured above a the discussion session at IFLA (r.) with Roswitha Poll and Benno Homann)

Swedish report: "Someone else's job"

What must be a really interesting document was published a couple of months ago. It reports on a investigation into how Swedish universities have responded to the paragraph in the Swedish Higher Education act that basically legislates that all students have to graduate with information skills. Unfortunately I can't read Swedish, but I know something about it having talked to one of the authors of the report. We are also rather chuffed* that the authors chose the title "Someone else's job" after attending a seminar in Sweden where we were presenting our research (one of the conceptions of teaching information literacy amongst our sample of UK academics was that teaching IL was "Someone else's job"). I believe the authors may be producing a summary in English, but in the meantime you can download the full thing in Swedish:

Hansson, Birgitta and Rimsten, Olle.(2005) "Someone else's job": måluppfyllelse av 1 kap. 9 paragrafen högskolelagen avseende studenters informationskompetens. Örebro: Örebro universitet, Universitetsbiblioteket. http://www.kb.se/BIBSAM/bidrag/projbidr/avslutade/2005/someone_elses_job.pdf

* For non-Brits, chuffed=pleased, satisfied
(Photo by S. Webber: Forest near Tilburg University, August 2005.)

Merging IL and technology...

In the 32 volume of the LOEX Quarterly (available online at http://www.emich.edu/public/loex/3212.pdf), there is an interesting article by Jennifer Sharkey of Purdue University entitled "Merging information literacy and technology through instructional and collaborative initiatives". Sharkey's introduction follows:

Every new generation of students coming to our campuses will have different and higher expectations for using and accessing types of technology. While college IT departments are responding by establishing wireless networks, implementing course management systems, and even providing iPods, students still struggle with effectively building their information literacy skills and merging these with the technology they use every day. The Digital Learning Collaboratory (DLC), a program and facility at Purdue University, encourages creative application of information literacy and technology to research and course projects. Active collaboration with faculty helps bridge the gap students have with information literacy and technology.

Read the entire article here.

IL evaluation e-learning course for UK health librarians

UK librarians working in a library or information centre that supports National Health Service staff are invited to participate in the FOLIO Infoskills 2 training course, sponsored by the National Library for Health Librarian Development Programme. It runs 24th Oct- 2nd Dec 2005. The course aims "to equip you with the knowledge and skills to effectively evaluate information skills training courses". It is delivered through e-learning.

If you are eligible and interested fill in the InfoSkills2 registration form at http://www.nelh.nhs.uk/folio/register11.doc and email it to Ms Lynda Ayiku at: L.Ayiku@shef.ac.uk Registration for the course will close on 14th of October. There is more info about the FOLIO programme generally at http://www.nelh.nhs.uk/folio/

(Photo by S. Webber: Hydrangeas, Myanoshita, Japan, July 2005.)

Anne Clyde: a sad loss

I was sorry to hear today of the sudden death of L. Anne Clyde, Professor in the Department of Library and Information Science at the University of Iceland. She was very active professionally, and in particular had taken a deep interest in blogs recently. She had an excellent resources page on blogs, and was author of the book Weblogs and libraries. As Alex Byrne (IFLA President) says in a tribute today on the IFLA list "We join with her family, friends, colleagues and students in mourning Anne and in celebrating her achievements."

Early notice of ACRL 2007

The ACRL 13th National Conference will be held in Baltimore, Maryland March 29-April 1, 2007. The call for participation will be issued this upcoming November. The ACRL 13th National Conference offers a forum for an exciting and energizing exchange of ideas on research, practices, developments, and visions in the field of academic and research librarianship.

This year’s theme, “Sailing into the Future – Charting our Destiny,” recognizes that coming together with other bright minds at the national conference gives many of us a chance to discuss, think, and dream about the future for our libraries. We believe that this forum serves as the compass and map to sail beyond our major challenges and truly chart our own destinies.

For more information, visit the conference website: http://www.acrl.org/ala/acrl/acrlevents/baltimore/baltimore.htm

Healthcare study day on e-learning and IL

A joint Information for the Management of Healthcare and Libraries for Nursing Study Day will be held at Leeds University Library, UK, on 14 November 2005 with the theme E-learning and information literacy. There will be presentations and workshops. The keynote speaker is David Peacock, a member of the LKDN (Library and Knowledge Development Network) Executive Team, and joint author of The role of the LIS in supporting learning. More information will be available from the IFM Healthcare website http://www.ifmh.org.uk/studydays.html

Information Literacy acronym glossary

The wiki mentioned in the posting below includes an IL glossary which makes us recall that Stuart created an Information Literacy acronym glossary at http://dis.shef.ac.uk/literacy/ project/ilgloss.html (must add that to the links at the side here!)

(Photo by S. Webber: Fujiya Hotel gardens, Japan, July 2005.)

Wiki on library instruction

Thanks to Lisa Sloniowski for alerting us to the wiki at http://instructionwiki.org/Main_Page which focuses on "library instruction". It has a practical focus and already has some links and content. It is a product of the Oregon Library Association's Library Instruction Roundtable but, being a wiki, anyone can add to or amend it. I know there is also a wiki that's been started up by a UK librarian on information literacy, but I need to check whether it's OK with him to publicise it yet.

(Photo by S. Webber: Saltire in the sky, viewed over Sheffield, Sept. 2005 (Scotland's national flag has a white cross - saltire- on a blue ground). This reminds me of when I lived in Scotland and the Daily Record newspaper (Scotland's most popular tabloid) had a photo like this on its front page which was supposed to augur well for the victory of the Scottish football team.)

Georgia Conference on IL

The Georgia Conference on Information Literacy, 2005 Conference will be held on September 30 - October 1, 2005 in the Nessmith-Lane Continuing Education Building on the campus of Georgia Southern University.

Featured speakers are Michael A. Pemberton, Director of the University Writing Center at Georgia Southern University, and Carolyn Rackley from the Educational Testing Service. The two-day event contains a very large number of presentations on IL and its increasingly significant role in higher education.

For more information, visit the conference website: http://ceps.georgiasouthern.edu/conted/infolit2005.html

Setting the Stage: New Roles in the Library Conference 2005

The Academic Library Association of Ohio (ALAO) will hold its 31st Annual Conference on Friday, November 4, 2005 at the Fawcett Center in Columbus, OH. The conference theme is Setting the Stage: New Roles in the Library:

Lights! Camera! Action! Libraries of all types and sizes and library staff with various backgrounds and expertise are increasingly “on stage” in the age of the Internet, the “information commons,” and 24/7 expectations. Not only are we asked to perform but we must play several different roles simultaneously – in one project, one day, even one interaction with staff or patrons. Library buildings are changing roles as quickly as the staff they house. What are these various roles? How do they overlap? Why are they important? The following aspects of our changing roles offer some inspiration for the thespian in all of us – the one that thrives on lightning-speed costume changes, dynamic stage design, and a challenging script.

For more information, visit the conference website: http://www.alaoweb.org/05conf/

Information Literacy for a Lifetime Conference announcement

The biennial LOEX-of-the-West Conference, Information Literacy for a Lifetime, will be held June 8-10, 2006, in Fairmont Orchard, Hawaii. For information: http://www.hawaii.edu/loex/Conf/history.htm

This conference will interest librarians and other educators who wish to examine the extent to which information literacy forms the basis of and contributes to the goal of lifelong learning.

Information Literacy: recognising the need

A one-day conference with this title will be held at Staffordshire University (Stoke Campus), UK, on Wednesday 17th May 2006.

The provisional list of speakers is:
- Susie Andretta, Senior Lecturer in Information Management, London MetropolitanUniversity.
- Moira Bent, Liaison Librarian, University of Newcastle and National Learning and Teaching Fellow.
- Debbi Boden, Faculty Team Leader at Imperial College London.
- Sheila Corrall, Sheila Corrall is Professor of Librarianship & Information Management atthe University of Sheffield.
- Peter Godwin, Academic Services Manager, in Learning & Information Services at London South Bank University.
- Mark Hepworth, Lecturer in the Department of Information Science at Loughborough University.
- Sheila Webber, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Information Studies at theUniversity of Sheffield (i.e. me ;-)

Further details, including a call for papers, will be issued in the near future. For further information and a provisional booking please contact: Geoff Walton g.l.walton@staffs.ac.uk or Alison Pope a.j.pope@staffs.ac.uk

(Photo by S. Webber: Boats on Lake Ashi, Hakone district, Japan, July 2005)

IFLA-ALP Workshop on Information Literacy at Punjabi University, Patiala, India.

The Department of Library & Information Science, Punjabi University, Patiala is organizing a 5-day international workshop on Information Literacy from 3-7 October 2005. The theme of the workshop is Information Skills for Learning.

The workshop is sponsored by UNESCO and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).

Resource persons include: Mr. Gerald Brown, International Association of School Librarianship (IASL), Canada; Prof. Russell Bowden (UK) Honorary IFLA Fellow, Sri Lanka; Dr Diljit Singh, Faculty of Computer Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Ms. Karen Bonanno, Australian School Libraries Association (ASLA), Australia; Mrs. Pradeepa Wijetunge, Director, NILIS, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka; Prof. P.B. Mangla, India; Dr. Harish Cahndra, Indian Institute of Technology; Prof. I.V. Malhan, University of Jammu, India. International delegates from Asia have already been invited.

A limited number of places (25-30) are available for Indian delegates. Applications will be considered on first-come-first-served basis, though with preference for those having knowledge/ experience in the field of information literacy. The registration fee is:
Indian delegates (residential): Rs. 5000/- ; (non residential): Rs. 4000/-

For further details, contact the Workshop/Project Coordinator: Dr Jagtar Singh, Project Coordinator and Head, Department of Library & Information Science, Punjabi University, Patiala 147 002: Tel: 0175-3046179 (work)
Email: kindu_jagtar@yahoo.co.in, empowering8@sify.com, jagtar@pbi.ac.in

Canadian information literacy

The Canadian Library Association information literacy group have created a wish list to advance the cause of IL in Canada, on their blog at http://blog.uwinnipeg.ca/ilig/ - it's part of the August 31st 2005 entry. They are calling for contributions, comments, offers of action etc.

Looking into the future, the 2007 Canadian information literacy conference (WILU) will be hosted at York University.
(Photo by S. Webber: Myanoshita station, Japan, July 2005)

Netskills courses

There are various Netskills training courses coming up in the UK e.g. "Design solutions for e-learning" - see
http://www.netskills.ac.uk/workshops/forthcoming.html

The Creating Knowledge IV conference will take place August 16-18 2006, at the the Royal Library and University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Keynote speakers are Jude Carroll and Patricia Senn Breivik. Key topics are: Academic Support, Transferable Skills, Plagiarism and Information Literacy. February 1st 2006 is the deadline for abstracts of papers and presentations of good practice in academic, cross-institutional support of students' learning processes.

Co-sponsors are the Danish Network for University Pedagogy, The Danish Research Library Association and NordINFOLIT (Nordic Forum for Collaboration on information Literacy)
For more information contact tip@kb.dk

(Photo: Hydrangea after rain, Myanoshita, Japan: Photo by S. Webber)

Thanks to Anne Lehto who I met when I gave a talk on Information Literacy Assessment at the TICER course in Tilburg, Netherlands about 10 days ago (more about that anon!) She has sent me information about the Finnish national project on information literacy. The link to the national project is:
http://www.helsinki.fi/infolukutaito/index.htm

This has limited information in English. There are presentations from the 2005 Summer School, mostly in Swedish, but including an English contribution from Sirje Virkus (click on Sommarskolans presentationer to see the list of presentations)

http://www.helsinki.fi/infolukutaito/svenska/sommarskolan.htm

There are links to the international information literacy organisations etc. on the Finnish page:
http://www.helsinki.fi/infolukutaito/kvlinkit.htm

Sheila
(Photo: short-tailed swallowtail butterfly, photographed in Guelph, Canada)

There is a one day professional development seminar at the University of Toronto at Scarborough, Canada entitled: "Creating Your Teaching Portfolio: Documenting a Librarian's Instructional Achievements" onFriday December 9, 2005, 9:00 am - 4:30 pm see http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/TLS/faculty/institute/PortfolioLib.htm for more details. This programme is offered through the "Institute for the Scholarship of
Teaching and Learning in the Disciplines at UTSC". Librarians interested in
this professional development event are encouraged to apply early as
enrolment is limited.

Hi

This is a temporary blog created whilst The Information Literacy Blog (at http://ciquest.shef.ac.uk/infolit/ since April 2003) is being found a new home. As with that blog, we aim to report on information literacy around the world. Unfortunately, this temporary blog doesn't have our fine archive of material. We hope to have a new home as soon as we can!

Sheila Webber and Stuart Boon