cfp Effective Library Instruction: Inspiring Student Motivation

There is a call for chapter proposals for a book to be published by ACRL Press, called: Effective Library Instruction: Inspiring Student Motivation. Proposal submission deadline is October 1, 2016.
"The book’s primary focus is student motivation, with an emphasis on motivational techniques that can be incorporated into instruction settings where time is of the essence: one-shots, quick introductions, video tutorials, etc. We are open to studies that branch away from higher education as long as they focus on adult learners. New and completed research and case studies are welcome, provided any new studies can be completed within the timeline explained below. Chapters based on completed research must not be previously published or simultaneously submitted elsewhere."
They are looking for 2 types of chapter; firstly, research or examples of motivation-related topics e.g. "Establishing a connection between student needs and interests and the value of information literacy topics/frames" and secondly "Instruction exercises that use/encourage" motivation. Proposals should be up to 500 words, plus "a short author’s statement, and a writing sample and final manuscripts will be between 1500 and 5000 words (due July 2017).
There is more information about the required themes at http://www.blogarama.com/blogs/576888-library-writers-blog/8549094-call-for-chapters-effective-library-instruction-inspiring-student-motivation-acrl-publication
More information is also available from the editors: Sarah Steiner, Head of Research & Instruction Services, Western Carolina University, sksteiner@wcu.edu and Miriam Rigby, Social Sciences Librarian, University of Oregon, rigby@uoregon.edu
Photo by Sheila Webber: Sea and foam, near Gothenburg, August 2016

Recent articles: Assessment; Instructional design; IL education; Syllabus analysis

The latest issue of Portal: libraries and the academy (Volume 16, Number 3, July 2016, priced publication) includes:
- Instructional Design: Skills to Benefit the Library Profession by Jennifer Turner
- Using Rubrics to Assess Learning in Course-Integrated Library Instruction by Laura W. Gariepy, Jennifer A. Stout, Megan L. Hodge
- Motivated Reasoning, Political Information, and Information Literacy Education by Mark Lenker
- What Do Undergraduate Course Syllabi Say about Information Literacy? by Britt McGowan, Melissa Gonzalez, Claudia J. Stanny
- Assessment for One-Shot Library Instruction: A Conceptual Approach by Rui Wang
Go to https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/33776 for the contents page
Photo by Sheila Webber: Dahlias, Gothenburg Botanic Gardens, August 2016

Journal Club discussion #ILread

I was away last week so I couldn't participate in the Information Literacy blog-post Journal Club on Thursday 25th August, but there was an interesting discussion, which of course is still open for you to read (and add to!) People were discussing:
Turner, J. and Schomberg, J. (2016) ‘Inclusivity, Gestalt principles, and plain language in document design’, In the Library with the Lead Pipe.
Go to http://infolitjournalclub.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/inclusivity-gestalt-principles-and_7.html#comment-form to see the discussion
Photo by Sheila Webber: sculpture by Pal Svensson, Gothenburg, August 2016

2 Health Information Literacy articles: Older Irish Adults; Systematic review

McCabe, A. and Wickham, S. (2016). Health Information Literacy among Healthy Older Irish Adults. Journal of Nursing and Care, 5, 333. http://www.omicsgroup.org/journals/health-information-literacy-among-healthy-older-irish-adults-2167-1168-1000333.php?aid=69220 (open access)
"Methods: This study utilized a validated health literacy assessment tool to profile a sample of older adults in terms of health information access and utilization... Results: Of the participants recruited 40% had limited HL. The General Practitioner (GP) was considered by 80% of participants to be the first preference for sourcing health information. While 80% of the sample had Internet access at home, only half of them used it to source health information, but that 50% had substantially higher HL scores than the other 50%. ... Conclusion: The study confirmed that a cohort of older Irish people has difficulties with HL. The finding pertaining to better HL skills in those who used the Internet to source health information is interesting and requires further research"

van‘t Jagt, R.K. et al (2016). Comprehensibility of Health-Related Documents for Older Adults with Different Levels of Health Literacy: A Systematic Review. Journal of Health Communication, 21(2), 345. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10810730.2015.1049306 (priced publication)
"A systematic review was conducted to assess the available evidence for the effectiveness of interventions aiming to improve the comprehensibility of health-related documents in older adults (≥50) with different levels of health literacy.  ... Only for narratives and multiple-feature revisions (e.g., combining revisions in textual and visual characteristics) did the included studies provide evidence that they may be effective for older adults. Using narrative formats and/or multiple-feature revisions of health-related documents seem to be promising strategies for enhancing the comprehensibility of health-related documents for older adults. The lack of consistent evidence for effective interventions stresses the importance of (a) replication and (b) the use of standardized research methodologies."
Photo by Sheila Webber: Southern Archipelago, Gothenburg, August 2016

Exploring Creative Information Literacy Practices via Divergent Thinking

ACRL periodically highlight an article relevant to the ACRL framework for information literacy. The latest Framework Spotlight on Scholarship highlights Exploring Creative Information Literacy Practices via Divergent Thinking by Joseph Hartnett which can be found free at http://creativelibrarypractice.org/2016/04/12/exploring-creative-information-literacy-practices-via-divergent-thinking/
The introduction and link to the article can be found at
http://acrl.ala.org/framework/?p=276
Photo by Sheila Webber: Boat, ‎Brännö, Sweden, August 2016

Hip Hop Information Literacy

Through an article:
Bonifay, E. (2016, August 17). Hip Hop Lib Guide. Bringing Information Literacy to your Fingertips. Dallas weekly. http://www.dallasweekly.com/education/article_391b07b6-64d3-11e6-98e4-97557349860e.html
I learnt about the Hip Hop Information Literacy Libguide at https://hiphoplibguide.wordpress.com/
"The online resource seeks to reach students from around the world and succeeds in communicating and informing them in a context that is familiar, complex and captivating." It says on the LiGuide that "Hip Hop Information Literacy is comprised of a group of knowledge practices that are necessary for students in an academic setting to be cognizant of how to find, retrieve, evaluate, apply, and acknowledge cultural, visual, and data literacy information in the digital age." It draws on the ACRL IL Framework
My superficial impression is that it has information about hip hop and also uses hip hop for examples e.g. for data literacy, but that it also aims to educate in information literacy generally.
Photo by Sheila Webber: Rudbeckia, Gothenburg Botanic Gardens, August 2016

Sign the petition for a global MIL week!

There is a petition aimed at UNESCO to acknowledge and support a global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) week. Although there IS a gloabl MIL week being organised by the part of UNESCO which supports MIL, it isn't an official global event (unlike e.g. World Book Day). Having this week supported by UNESCO will help raise the profile of MIL internationally.
The petition is at https://www.change.org/p/support-the-call-for-an-internationally-recognized-global-media-and-information-literacy-week and the person who set it up is the Chair of the international committee of Global Alliance partnertships on Media and information Literacy (GAPMIL).

CPD guidelines and Best Practices for library services for children and young adults #WLIC2016

A number of guidelines and projects are either launched or officially endorsed at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress, still currently running in Columbus, USA. So far, these include:
- IFLA Guidelines for Continuing Professional Development: Principles and Best Practices. "The guidelines are intended to alert the LIS profession to the importance of investing in the development and maintenance of the expertise of staff. It aims to advise individuals, associations, and institutions in their efforts to assure ongoing learning for a profession that will be well qualified to provide excellent service to its publics." http://www.ifla.org/publications/node/10532 (currently just in English)
- The Libraries for Children and Young Adults IFLA Section launched a new project: collecting and displaying Best Practices for library services for children and young adults. "The Best Practices may be events, reading promotions, campaigns, outreaches, partnerships, innovative use of library space or some other aspect of library services. The Best Practices hopefully serve as a source of inspiration, benchmarking and a way to reach other library professionals for advice and discussion." Phase 1 for the project involves collecting videos showing best practices on the Section's Youtube channel. See http://www.ifla.org/node/10425 for more information.
Photo by Sheila webber: a conference hall, August 2016

Information Literacy in Europe, MIL and #SDGs #WLIC2016

I presented in the Information Literacy session at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, USA today. My powerpoint is embedded below, and I've also put all the links in my presentation, under that.

Information Literacy in Europe, MIL and Sustainable Development goals from Sheila Webber

Links from the presentation (in the order they are in the presentation (I did this rather quickly, apologies that it is roughly formatted)
•SCONUL 7 Pillars model http://www.sconul.ac.uk/sites/default/files/documents/coremodel.pdf
•James Herring’s model http://farrer.csu.edu.au/PLUS/
•Welsh Information Literacy project & Framework https://libraries.wales/national-information-literacy-framework/
•Scottish IL Community of Practice & Framework http://www.therightinformation.org/framework-home/
•Royal College of Nursing’s Nursing, midwifery health and social care information literacy competences (2011) https://www.rcn.org.uk/professional-development/publications/pub-003847
•InformALL’s Determining the Value of Information Literacy for Employers tool https://www.informall.org.uk/employment/il-value/il-value-tool/

•Information Literacy Standards for University students (2009) (Germany) (see http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/Events/mil2016_lativa_forum_fabian_franke.pdf)
•AKVS/ IVIG (2008). The concept of Information education in universities in the Czech Republic (includes standards for IL) http://www.akvs.cz/komise-iniciativy/komise-ivig/dokumenty/zakladni-dokumenty-o-iv-a-ig/
•InFlow model (outcome of a European project, iTec) https://sites.google.com/site/inflowinformationflow/
•GAPMIL page http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/media-development/media-literacy/global-alliance-for-partnerships-on-media-and-information-literacy/

2nd European Media and Information Literacy Forum: links
•Storify https://storify.com/sheilayoshikawa/2nd-european-mil-forum-riga-latvia-27-29-june-2016
•My liveblogs of the conference: http://information-literacy.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/2ndeurmil
•Conference presentations http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/media-development/media-literacy/global-alliance-for-partnerships-on-media-and-information-literacy/second-european-media-and-information-literacy-forum/
•Riga Recommendations on MIL in a Shifting Media and Information Landscape http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/riga_recommendations_highlight_media_and_information_literac/
•Twitter stream https://twitter.com/search?q=%232ndeurmil

Sustainable Development Goals https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs

References
•Blasco Olivares, A. & Durban Roca, G. (2012). La competencia informacional en la enseñanza obligatoria a partir de la articulación de un modelo específico. Revista Española de Documentación Científica, 100-135. http://redc.revistas.csic.es/index.php/redc/article/viewArticle/746 (chapter in a book edited by A. Calderón-Rehecho, Competencias sin competencia: la ALFIN y sus circunstancias)
•Grizzle, A. and Carme Torras Calvo (Eds) (2013). Media and Information Literacy: policy and strategy guidelines. Paris: UNESCO.
•Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia. (2007). Real Decreto 1631/2006, de 29 de diciembre, por el que se establecen las enseñanzas mínimas correspondientes a la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria. (BOE-A-2007-238). http://www.boe.es/
•UNESCO (2016) Media and Information Literacy. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/media-development/media-literacy/mil-as-composite-concept/
•Wilson, C. et al (2011) Media and information literacy curriculum for teachers. Paris: UNESCO. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/resources/publications-and-communication-materials/publications/full-list/media-and-information-literacy-curriculum-for-teachers/

IFLA Statement on Net Neutrality and Zero-Rating #WLIC2016

The IFLA Statement on Net Neutrality and Zero-Rating was launched at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, USA. They define network neutrality and zero-rating (I have copied some of this text, below) and identify the issues for libraries and librarians (which touch very much on issues of access on equality). The Statement can be downloaded at http://www.ifla.org/publications/node/10700
"Network neutrality, or net neutrality, is the principle that all data or traffic on the Internet should be treated equally. Internet users’ freedom of choice should not be restricted or affected giving preferential treatment to certain content, services, applications, or devices."

"Zero-rating is the practice according to which data consumption of specific applications or services is not counted against users’ data allowance. ... Zero-rating violates the principle of net neutrality because the services that are zero-rated are positively discriminated, thus allowing ISPs to orientate the choice of the users. Moreover, in spite of the acclaimed risk that infrastructure may not bear traffic growth, zero rated services attract inordinate levels of traffic due to their low or no cost. This distorts the consumption of content and can lead to the “walled garden effect” where a user’s experience of the Internet is limited to the zero-rated services alone."

#Wikipedia and libraries #WLIC2016 @GLAMWiki

I'm attending a session on Wikipedia and Libraries at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, USA. It started with a presentation from Alex Stinson and Jake Orlowitz (Wikimedia Foundation/Wikipedia Library, United States). This presentation is at https://goo.gl/DPDqUQ and so I won't give a detailed account of it, but here are some main points.
They indicated the scale of wikipedia in terms of editors, content and reach. They mentioned some apps including the medical app. The speakers stressed the importance of references and verification of information, and described how they were trying to ensure that wikipedia entries included references to articles behind a paywall (i.e. they wanted to make sure that articles from priced journals were not excluded as evidence). They highlighted that "50% to 90% of physicians use Wikipedia" (as a starting point) and there have been 10,000 downloads of the medical app (which is also available in Chineses, Farsi and Arabic).
The speakers also mentioned the 1Lib1Ref campaign. Finally, they talked about some specific Wikipedia projects and picked out some points from: Todorinova, L. (2015). Wikipedia and undergraduate research trajectories. New Library World, 116 (3/4), 201-212. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/NLW-07-2014-0086

Two draft discussion papers were prepared for this session, both of which will be publicised as consultation documents. The presentation I linked to above i.e. https://goo.gl/DPDqUQ also includes both the presentations that were made, which picked out key points from the papers. The academic library presentation was made by Vicki McDonald (State Library of New South Wales, Australia), who talked about how her own library had contributed to, and used, Wikipedia. This included creating a manual for Wikipedia editing. This page includes a link to the training manual https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:GLAM/State_Library_of_New_South_Wales

The consultation papers can already be downloaded, but there isn't a consultation mode yet. One paper is on public libraries http://2016.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/08/112-IFLAWikipediaandPublicLibrariesDiscussionDRAFT.pdf and Wikipedia and one on academic and research libraries and Wikipedia http://2016.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/08/112-IFLAWikipediaAcademicandResearchLibrariesDiscussioDRAFT.pdf. Both of them describe the different kinds of projects and activities that libraries might adopt using Wikipedia, with existing examples.

Find your inner activist #WLIC2016

The next talk I'll blog at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, USA is from Maura Marx (US IMLS) (shown in my photo) talked about increasing focus on equality issues and more library activism. She thought it was important to "claim our activism", to counter the dull stereotype, and raise awareness of how librarians are actually engaged nowadays. Marx took the IFLA trend items and focused on a few of them, stressing more activist aspects.
Looking at trend one ("New Technologies will both expand and limit who has access to information") she identified the problems about access to e-books (causing inequality). As a response she talked about the open e-book app; adults receive codes for the children they work with, and the code unlocks a library of e-books to children. There was no identiable personal information and there are accessibility features. However she noted that at the moment the books were not very multicultural: this was an equity issue that needed to be addressed.
Marx emphasised that this was building on library principles: she felt it was important to build library technology based in these principles (e.g. protecting identity, having accessibility). This meant getting involved in developing platforms, and this in turn involved library activism. This linked to IFLA Trend 3 ("boundaries of privacy and data will be redefined").
Another inititaive, connecting to IFLA Trend 4 ("Hyper-connected societies will listen to and empower new voices and groups"), funded by IMLS is Mukurtu, an open access platform that enabled indigenous communities to keep their cultural heritage safe and managed. It allows access, whilst honouring cultural protocols of who should be allowed to see particular images or works.
This led to a discussion about diversity, and the need to have a more diverse profession. That could also lead to more diverse collections and services. Marx then turned to another interpretation of contenet diversity, to talk about collection and management of digital material, such as social media. She mentioned the Documenting the Now project, Art+Feminism and also the archive A people's archive of police violence in Cleveland.
Marx finished by urging us to "find our inner activist", so libarians can be a greater social force than ever before.

Keeping the internet healthy #WLIC2016

Day 2 of the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, USA. I'm attending the IFLA President's session which is focused on the IFLA Trends report. It started with four talks and then there will be a discussion, but I won't liveblog blog it all. One of the talks was from Mark Surman (Executive Director, Mozilla Foundation - he's shown in my photo). He started by mapping the development of the Internet from being open and diverse, to being dominated and filtered. He cited some research that showed that many people using Facebook on their phones didn't realise they were using the Internet. He also highlighted that money-making apps were mostly produced in North America, certain parts of Europe and certain parts of Asia-Pacific. However the largest growth in mobile devices is in other regions such as Africa. In a striking phrase he said that now there is "a fight over what is imaginable and possible" on the Internet. He urged us to make the health of the Internet a mainstream issue everywhere. As part of this he emphasised the role of libraries and of digital (though not information) literacy. Finally he had a particular message about copyright and he talked about their copyright campaign.
I asked after his talk about talking about digital literacy rather than information literacy. He said that one of the reasons they chose digital literacy was because they wanted to emphasise that being literate with digital information was as important as traditional reading and writing. Mozilla Foundation have a slogan read, write and participate.
This is Mozilla's open policy and advocacy blog: https://blog.mozilla.org/netpolicy/

Reading Express; service for newcomers and refugees #WLIC2016

the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, USA. In a session on libraries and the UN 2030 goals, Ingrid Bon (Rijnbrink, Netherlands - she presented) and Karien van Buuren (Rijnbrink, Netherlands) had authored Reading Express; service for newcomers and refugees (full paper at http://library.ifla.org/1333/1/081-bon-en.pdf)
This was a project "Voorlees Express", in the Netherlands. It was about a reading programme, carried out in the home or shelter where the refugee families live. The aim is reading to children, with the parents/carers there, to get a reading culture. There are a lot of aspects which the library offering the programme has to deal with: PR, getting funding, recruiting families, recruiting and training reader volunteers and quality control.
They aim to have 250 "matches" (reader-family) per season, with readings in Spring and in Autumn. Although there are volunteers, this is not free of cost. The costs are seen as part of ongoing reading programme. It does take up staff time (including training, getting official documents). However, this programme is seen as very important: making new entrants to the country feel at home, improve language skills, start a reading culture, get connection to the library, improve school performance and last but not least it is important that it is fun.
Also there is a new initiative with young adults, to help them improve their pronunciation of Dutch (which is so important for learning and employment): the results of this have been fast and obvious. They have had a pilot, and hope now for extra funding. Again, do look at the paper which has more information (this was the last paper in the session, and the speaker very effectively shortened her talk to finish within time, but it meant I couldn't capture everything).
Photo by Sheila Webber: therapy dog, WLIC 2016

Library services for immigrants and refugees #WLIC2016

Next I'm liveblogging, at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, USA in a session on libraries and the UN 2030 goals, Jack Hang-tat Leong (Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library, University of Toronto, Canada) talked about Library services for immigrants and refugees: actions and principles from a global perspective (full paper at http://library.ifla.org/1334/1/081-leong-en.pdf)
He started by highlighting that in 2015 244 million people lived outside their original countries. The multicultural library manifesto has been endorsed by IFLA and UNESCO. This is at http://www.ifla.org/node/8976 and Leong highlighted some of its principles. Libraries are asked to pay special attention to groups that are often marginalised. Services should be an integral part of library services, not an add on.
There are challenges, for example lack of material in targeted languages, lack of demand in fact indicating inadequate services, and special needs of the highly educated migrants.
Staff need good language and communication skills; there need to be regular community analysis; connecting with the life and activities of the various communities is valuable. Some examples he gave were the Arizona Public Libraries serving Spanish-speaking patrons, http://Mylanguage.gov.au, and Libraries without borders (idea boxes for refugee camps). You can find more detail and more examples in his paper (linked above).
Photo by Sheila Webber: conference bags, WLIC 2016

Libraries contribution to a sustainable future supporting people experiencing homelessness #WLIC2016

Next at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, USA, still in a session on libraries taking action for the UN 2030 development agenda
Sanja Bunić (Zagreb City Libraries, Croatia) talked about On the front line: Libraries contribution to a sustainable future supporting people experiencing homelessness (the full paper is at http://library.ifla.org/1315/1/081-bunic-en.pdf)
Bunić identified homelessness (citing Leilani Farha) as a result of inequality and poverty on a global scale. She noted the various stereotypes of the homeless persons, and the facts that few people chose to be homeless and when they become homeless their rights may be violated. There are social groups at risk of homelessness e.g. people with disabilities, families on the move and indigenous people. This issue is directly related to the Sustainable Development goal 1 "end poverty in all its forms everywhere".
They are drawing up guidelines for libraries in supporting the homeless. The speaker gave 3 examples of library work. The first is at Denver Public Library, USA. They have a Homeless Service Action Committee, which now has support from the Mayor and their Director, resulting in some funds. They now have a full time Community Resource Specialist, a social worker, who can explain the needs of homeless people to libraries etc. and initiates diverse services (e.g. meditation, connection to medical care). This example shows the importance of collaboration within the community.
The second example is Waverley Library in Australia. This example shows that even when they don't have support from the community, librarians can still take action. They have an online toolkit, donate books to a special library, train in mental health awareness, participate in relevant events etc.
The third example is a day centre supported by Riga Central Library, Latvia, and other Riga Council units. Ist floor is basic needs, 2nd floor relaxation and studies, 3rd floor library. 40% of users have managed to change their status, finding homes.

Supporting development and access through literacy #WLIC2016

Liveblogging from the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, USA, in a session on libraries taking action for the UN 20130 goals, Annie Everall (Authors Aloud UK, United Kingdom) talked about Literacy Matters: Supporting Access and Development through Literacy and Reading Initiatives in Libraries
She talked about 2 library initiatives: Big Book Bash for Children in Care (UK) and Better beginnings/ Reparation through Reading in Western Australia. The latter is a collaborative approach to adult literacy and family history. It is a family literacy programme, using established networks of libraries, coommunity health etc. to work with families at risk. It is a joint initiative with WA Corrective Services and prison-based services. They learn ways of improving young children's literacy and this also changes parent behaviours as the prisoners' confidence in reading improving and they can enjoy sharing and supporting their children's reading. Some research undertaken by Edith Cowan University showed improvement in reading, books in the home etc. There was a paper about this at IFLA in 2014 http://library.ifla.org/893/1/169-jones-en.pdf
Big Book Bash for Children in Care targets a group that has lower literacy levels (those in local authority care or in foster homes). The initiative is in Derbyshire, UK, where there are 620 children in care. It is a one day reading festival for children and their carers (plus birth children of foster carers). It is annual and the last one was the 13th book bash. They aim to promote enjoyment in reading, and bring authors/artists in contact with children in care and to raise awareness of library services. The steering group for the event has representatives of many stakeholders including children and parents. The day includes a reading relay, free books, meetings with authors etc. In 2016 there were 500 children, 40% said they visit libraries more, over 90% said they are sharing and reading books more.They are on Twitter @BigBookBash
Photo by Sheila Webber: registration, WLIC 2016

Media today #WLIC2016

I'm attending the IFLA World Library and Information Congress, which this year is held in Columbus, Ohio, USA and I will be liveblogging a few sessions, wifi permitting. The first plenary is from Carol Luper on Current and future of media communications. Carol Luper is a veteran Columbus-based news reporter (there is a video here). My photo shows her (right) with the session chair Maria Carme Torras.
She started by welcoming us to the USA and Columbus. She has worked in radio and TV for about 40 years, retiring 3 years ago (but still in touch). She reflected on how news news reporting has changed. When she started out, grammar, complete sentences and so forth were important: now it is unformal, and influenced by text chat. When she started there were three local TV networks, and three local radio stations. There wasn't the same prominence of sponsorhip, and radios had more local news. Now the TV news is advertiser-driven. Then, the reporter and cameraman would gather information, and she would review the material and put together the story for broadcast. She was able to choose who to feature on her news show.
Now there are "one man bands" - people who do the lot, and may be broadcasting direct from their phones, as well as using citizens' own phone videos. No longer does the reporter have to be on the scene, if there is a citizen on the spot with a phone broadcasting. "It's not professional but it's what people want because it's what's happening now".
Luper talked about how now more people are using social media for news, than conventional news stories. She held up the local paper and noted how it had shrunk over time. When she sits down to read the paper in the morning she has actually seen a lot of it already. She talked about how the role of the library has expanded, including a drive-by service at the Columbus public library.
She finished with questions: With so many sources of news are we better informed today? Do we look more deeply before making judgements? How do we decide who to believe? Do we believe the news anchors and reporters? Do we think they are balanced? Do we just look for our own views in the newspapers?
There was an interesting discussion after this, with thoughtful questions and answers. Just to pick out some of this: One of the audience asked her "If you could ask Donald Trump one question, what would it be?" and her answer was "Do YOU believe what you say?". Another question was, how can librarians get as much media coverage as Donald Trump. She gave a plug to the person who does media coverage of Columbus Metropolitan libraries, who was able to get regular coverage. She pointed out how he has good relationships with the media, building up connections, and is able to bring in a news hook (linking to local or seasonal events, human interest etc.) You have to be able to grab first of all the attention of the newsperson and then of the public.
Another questioner asked whether the abolition of the fairness doctrine had affected the news adversely, and whether the issue of slanted reporting was a problem worldwide. Luper did think it was, although she pointed again to the way in which people tended to prefer media that reflected their own views. She said in response to another question that it was difficult to get people to broaden their outlook if they felt very comfortable with their current view on life. This is a difficult problem with no easy solution!
One service that was mentioned, that was against the trend of advertiser-driven news, was C-Span, which covers political and congressional matters in depth.

LILi: Lifelong Information Literacy 2016 Conference presentations

Thanks to Esther Grassian for telling me that the presentations from the LIL: Lifelong Information Literacy 2016 Conference, which took place on August 8 2016, are now available at http://libguides.sandiego.edu/c.php?g=466332&p=3273746
They include:
- What would it look like if students had college-ready research skills? Strengthening the pipeline from high school to college with College-K12 collaborations - Allison Carr, Tricia Lantzy, Torie Quinonez, California State University San Marcos (CSUSM)
 - What Would it Look Like if Students Taught the One-Shot? Using ACRL Frames to Construct Information Literacy Competencies in a Learning Community - Yvonne Wilber, California Lutheran University
- Rethinking our Aims for Teaching the Evaluation of Information - Mark Lenker, University of Nevada Las Vegas

Infolit Journal Club: Inclusivity, Gestalt principles, and plain language in document design: 25 August 2016 #ILread

The next blog-post information literacy journal club is on 25 August 2016 at 3pm UK time, which is 10am US Eastern time, 7am US Pacific time. The article for discussion is:
Turner, J. and Schomberg, J. (2016) ‘Inclusivity, Gestalt principles, and plain language in document design’, In the Library with the Lead Pipe. http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2016/accessibility/

Helen Farrell (a Faculty Librarian for Social Sciences in Maynooth University, Ireland) proposed this paper, and she has written an introduction and posed some qustions on the Infolit journal club blog at
http://infolitjournalclub.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/inclusivity-gestalt-principles-and_7.html

Anyone can join this discussion! Participants aim to read at least some of the article in advance, then come along at 3pm BST and join in the discussion by adding comments to the blog post. You can see how this works by looking at previous discussions (just scroll down the blog for previous posts).
Photo by Sheila Webber: fair in the park, July 2016

cfp C.A.L.L.: Conference About Libraries & Literacy

There is a call for papers for the C.A.L.L.: Conference About Libraries & Literacy which will take place on 9 February 2017 in La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA with the theme If only they knew. They invite presentations on: successful collaborations which help develop information literacy skills in learners; innovative programmes or initiatives which promote information literacy; defining information literacy in a digital age. The deadline for proposals is October 17, 2016. Presentation formats are 5 minute talks, 30 minute presentations and panels. More info at https://callconferenceblog.wordpress.com/
Photo by Sheila Webber: curled cat, June 2016

Global MIL week call for papers and events #MILweek2016 #GAPMIL

Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) week will take place from 31 October to 5 November 2016. This is an event promoted by UNESCO. The key event of the week is a conference at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. The concept note can be downloaded at  https://en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/global_mil_week_2016_-_concept_note_05082016.pdf  and the website is at https://en.unesco.org/global-mil-week-2016/
There are a number of ways in which people are encouraged to participate.

Firstly, there is a call for papers. I have reproduced the list of topics at the end of this post. You can submit a paper even if you know that you cannot attend the conference in Brazil: the papers may just be selected for the conference, but papers may also be selected for publication by UNESCO (probably in a special open-access volume). This is not evident on the proposal form, but I have checked this with the organisers at UNESCO HQ. The deadline is 20 August. The proposal form is at https://en.unesco.org/feedback/global-mil-week-2016-paper-submission
You will see that you have to upload an “extract”. Again I checked with UNESCO HQ about this, and it does NOT mean that you have to have produced a full paper or presentation already, you can upload an abstract or a few slides that give an idea of what your presentation will be about.
The types of proposal are “Research; Theory; Case study; Evidence; Testimonial; Technology; Audiovisual product; Other”. Therefore if you have produced an engaging video, or have an engaging story to tell, about addressing any of the themes (e.g. migration and MIL; MIL and health; MIL and social inclusion) then you could submit that (i.e. it doesn’t have to be an “academic” paper). Since the term “MIL” doesn’t get used much yet, obviously the initiative itself is more likely to have been an Information Literacy” or “Media Literacy” event. The theme for the conference is Media and Information Literacy: New Paradigms for Intercultural Dialogue (so with an emphasis on intercultural dialogue), but as you can see from the list of themes, the topics are not restricted to that.

Secondly, you can register events: ones you plan for MIL week itself, but also ANY MIL event, which includes any IL event (though you might want to use the term “MIL” in the description) happening between now and November. To be honest, it is not 100% clear where this information will appear (I forgot to ask about that) but I assume it will be on the MIL week website: I think there will be a clickable map. To register your event go to https://en.unesco.org/feedback/global-mil-week-2016-celebration-event-registration.

Thirdly, you can submit a photo to put on the MIL week poster (see the graphic at the start of this blog post). The photo should be relevant to MIL and should be sent to ji.xu@unescco.org by 30 August 2016. The space on the poster that says “Submit a photo to replace me” is a circle with a small slice off the left side.

Fourthly (and overlapping with “firstly”) you can attend the conference in São Paulo, the Sixth Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue (MILID) Conference and the First General Assembly of the Global Alliance for Partnerships on Media and Information Literacy (GAPMIL), taking place November 2-5, There is no conference fee. You can register now at https://en.unesco.org/global-mil-week-2016/feature-event By the way, if you don’t need viva assistance, I don’t think you need to fill in the 2nd part of the form (with passport details etc.)

Fifthly, you can nominate someone for the International MIL Award: or rather prepare to nominate, since at the moment there is not a form to fill in yet. This will “recognize an educator integrating MIL (media and information literacy) in an innovative way in their classroom and curriculum” “This award is intended to honor an educator in any subject area from kindergarten through university, as long as their curriculum reflects integration of media and information literacy concepts with a focus on intercultural dialogue.” “Nominations should describe how the nominee’s teaching and curriculum impacts students in MIL; Nominations should describe how the nominee’s teaching practice does influence or could influence the Media and Information Literacy field at large; Nominations should provide links to two current curriculum examples and a syllabus (if appropriate) produced by the nominee.” https://en.unesco.org/global-mil-week-2016/international-mil-award

Finally, these are the “relevant themes” mentioned on the MIL Week paper submission form:
MIL and intercultural/interreligious dialogue – promoting mutual knowledge and understanding, both within different societies and internationally; Media independence and professionalism; Human rights, migration and MIL; Social inclusion and MIL; MIL for countering hate speech, favouring freedom of expression; MIL for preventing violence and extremism, favouring peace building; International networks and alliances for promoting MIL; MIL in schools – for children and youth (teacher training on MIL) – current programs, pedagogical models, best practices; MIL in libraries, museums, archives and community spaces – case studies, best practices, etc.; MIL for researchers – identifying key competencies; Current research on MIL – the academic perspective; The private sector – innovation in education through MIL; Public policies on MIL; MIL assessment at national level; Promoting local culture through MIL; MIL, privacy and freedom of expression; MIL and user security regarding ICT; MIL and youth identity; MIL and global citizenship education; MIL, search algorithms, programming and game design; MIL and health; MIL and gender equality issues; MIL and creativity; MIL and financial literacy/entrepreneurialism; MIL and non-formal education; MIL, audiovisual cultures and industries; MIL, environmental sustainability, and urban mobility; MIL, decent work and economic growth

The Information Literacy Assessment & Advocacy Project (ILAAP)

The people who developed the WASSAIL assessment tool have launched The Information Literacy Assessment & Advocacy Project (ILAAP). They have a multiple choice question bank mapped to the ACRL Standards and the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy. You can use the questions freely under a Creative Commons lisence, or you can register and also get free access to the web based WASSAIL interface and reporting tool.

"The ILAAP Assessment Tool is a customizable tool that responds to the unique needs of undergraduate information literacy instruction. The tool is web-based, offering multiple-choice and qualitative questions that have been mapped to the both the ACRL Standards and the Framework. This is how it works: you select questions from a question pool that you wish to use in each session, tailoring the assessment tool to content delivered in specific sessions. After you select the questions, we send you the URL to use after you teach. Then, we send you a report summarizing the responses." This tool and its predecessors have been used by a number of institutions.

They recommend its use for first or second year undergraduates and can also be used for pre- and post-tests. The project is led by the University of Alberta, Canda, notably Nancy Goebel, Head Librarian of the Augustana Campus Library of the University of Alberta. For more information go to http://ilaap.ca

Cluster analysis of information literacy research literature (in german)

A new German-language article provides a visualisation of the connections between authors in the information literacy field. BibExcel was used to extract the data and do the co-citation mapping etc. and VOSviewer provided the visualisation function. The analysis was carried out on 1589 articles on information literacy (identified by searching "information literacy" or "information literacies" on Web of Science and restricting to articles, reviews or proceedings (Jaklitsch, 2015). As well as showing the connections between authors, Jaklitsch identifies clusters which he identifies with research fields and disciplinary knowledge bases. Thus I am in the cluster of "Information Literacy in sociocultural context" and "phenomenography". I was drawn to it both because my name is in it and because I can speak German, but even without German skills you may find it interesting for the network diagrams and tables, which don't require much translation (and there's always Google Translate!).
Jaklitsch, M. (2016). Informationsvisualisierung am Beispiel des Begriffs Informationskompetenz: eine szientometrische Untersuchung unter Verwendung von BibExcel und VOSviewer. [Information visualisation: a scientometric investigation using BbExcle and VOSviewer: the example of information Literacy] Young Information Scientist, 1, 31–43. https://yis.univie.ac.at/index.php/yis/article/view/1417/1251
The dissertation upon which this article is based is: Jaklitsch, M. (2015) Informationsvisualisierung am Beispiel des Begriffs Informationskompetenz : eine szientometrische Untersuchung unter Verwendung von BibExcel und VOSviewer. Masters thesis, University of Graz. http://unipub.uni-graz.at/obvugrhs/content/titleinfo/789574

Young Information Scientist is a new open-access peer-reviewed journal published by the Austrian information science association: Verein zur Förderung für Informationswissenschaft (VFI)
Photo by Sheila Webber: Kaffee und Kuchen in Tamper, July 2016

Hooked, we are online more than we sleep: The Communications Market 2016

Published on 4 August was Ofcom's The Communications Market 2016 report (for the UK). The finding which they headlined to catch media attention was that "Fifteen million UK internet users have undertaken a ‘digital detox’ in a bid to strike a healthier balance between technology and life beyond the screen": however there is much more in the report, which has a fascinating quantity of information on consumers: frequency of use, amount spent per household, ownership of devices, feelings and behaviour online etc.etc. covering TV, radio, phones and internet. I have extracted some quotations etc. below. There are even longer sections on the industry itself (volume, trends etc.) which I haven't touched on here.
A notable increase is in the purchase of bundled services (e.g. voice plus broadband, or voice+ broadband+ TV). Other snippets are: "The average UK adult uses media and communications services for 8 hours 45 minutes, and sleeps for 8 hours 18 minutes". "Watching accounts for 39% of the total time spent on media and communications. For most age groups it represents the most popular type of activity. However, 16-24s spend more of their time communicating (32% vs. 29% for watching)." Instant messaging has grown in popularity, whilst there is less SMS texting and less email. "A fifth of all media and communications time is spent media multi-tasking" (e.g. messaging whilst watching TV).
They asked people to rate on a scale of 1-10 "how hooked they were on their connected device": 59% internet users said they were ‘hooked’ (giving a rating betwee 7 and 10). 34% of internet users "say that they find it ‘difficult to disconnect from the internet’". Almost half those surveyed said they checked their phones last thing before sleeping and first thing on waking. 72% of 16-24 year olds said they'd missed out on sleep due to spending time online. "41% said that if they didn’t have access to the internet, their lives would be boring." Meanwhile "12% of all adults bump into people or things on a weekly basis [because they are using their phone]"
For the educationalists: "Teens were also asked to what extent they agreed with various statements about the use of mobile phones or tablets during lessons, and generally, similar proportions agreed with the negative and positive statements: 45% said it made the time pass more quickly, while 49% said ‘it distracts me’, 35% said ‘it slows my learning’ and 37% said ‘it makes the lesson less boring’." (p39)
The section on "Digital detox" found that "when asked about the last time they had purposely gone on a digital detox, overall, a third (34%) of internet users said that they had ever done this, while one in ten said they had done so in the last week." and mostly they are positive about this afterwards.
(and there is a lot more - obviously this is of most interest to those based in the UK, but you may find it of interest for comparison, if you are based in another country).
The report is based on a number of Ofcom's high quality research exercises, these include: "Digital Day 2016" (diaries of what was done on a specific day - I will put more on that in another post): the technology tracker survey (run twice a year on a sample weighted to represent the 16+ UK population); the Residential Postal Tracker; The Business Postal Tracker (a sample of 1600 small and medium sized enterprises); The Media Tracker (run through the year and reported annually).

Ofcom. (2016) The Communications Market 2016 report: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/market-data/communications-market-reports/cmr16/uk/ (the full report can be downloaded: also on the right you can play with the inetractive data function)
Photo by Sheila webber: Tamper, July 2016

New articles: faculty voices; instructional design; using PBWiki; technology use

Reference Services Review volume 22 issue 3 (priced publication) has been published:
no access
Learning from Faculty Voices on Information Literacy: Opportunities and Challenges for Undergraduate Information Literacy Education by Sophie Bury
Student bibliographies: charting research skills over time by Catherine Lantz , Glenda Maria Insua , Annie R. Armstrong , Annie Pho
Using the Instructional Design Process in Tutorial Development by Terri Artemchik
Building Bridges: Outreach to International Students via Vernacular Language Videos by Xiang Li , Kevin McDowell , Xiaotong Wang
Studying the impact of blended learning that uses the online PBwiki guided by activity theory on LIS students' knowledge management by Chokri Barhoumi
Understanding Library Users’ Preferences and Expectations of Online Help by Tao Zhang et al.
Keeping your options open: A review of open source and free technologies for instructional use in higher education by Mara Rojeski Blake , Catherine Morse
Teaching the Reference Interview through Practice-Based Assignments by Laura Saunders
Go to http://www.emeraldinsight.com/toc/rsr/44/3
Photo by Sheila Webber: bee and lavender, Blackheath, August 2016

Academic libraries reimagined?

A blog post I'd recommend as much for the thoughtful dicussion in the comments as the original post is:
Fister, Barbara. (2016, July 26). David Lewis’s Library Reimagined. Library Babel Fish. https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/library-babel-fish/david-lewis%E2%80%99s-library-reimagined
This gives a short review of/ commentary on Lewis' book and the comments pick up on some important themes, in particular the issues raised by Laura S's comment "I'm a bit uncomfortable with framing our entire future around creating "products" focused on our patron's efficiency at work".
Photo by Sheila Webber: White rose, July 2016