New articles; embedding; citations; mobile; research and practice

The latest issue (volume 42, no. 6) of The Journal of Academic Librarianship (priced publication) includes:
- The Constraints of Practice, or We Work in Libraries, That's Why We Can't Do Research by Elizabeth Blakesley
- Systematic Literature Review Informing LIS Professionals on Embedding Librarianship Roles by A. Abrizah, Samaila Inuwa, N. Afiqah-Izzati
- Measuring the Importance of Library User Education: A Comparative Study Between Fudan University and the National Taiwan Normal University by Qianxiu Liu, Patrick Lo, Hiroshi Itsumura
- Assessing Graduate Level Information Literacy Instruction With Critical Incident Questionnaires by Laura Saunders, Jenny Severyn, Shanti Freundlich, Vivienne Piroli, Jeremy Shaw-Munderback
- Why read it on your mobile device? Change in reading habit of electronic magazines for university students by Peng Wang, Dickson K.W. Chiu, Kevin K.W. Ho, Patrick Lo
- Effects of Information Literacy Skills on Student Writing and Course Performance by Xiaorong Shao, Geraldine Purpur
- Rethinking Mobile Learning in Light of Current Theories and Studies by Claudia Jennifer Dold
- User Acceptance of Mobile Library Applications in Academic Libraries: An Application of the Technology Acceptance Model by Hye-Young Yoon
- Providing Enhanced Information Skills Support to Students From Disadvantaged Backgrounds: Western Sydney University Library Outreach Program by Judy Reading
- Information Literacy in the Active Learning Classroom by Clarence Maybee, Tomalee Doan, Michael Flierl
- Citation Generators, OWL, and the Persistence of Error-Ridden References: An Assessment for Learning Approach to Citation Errors by Christy R. Stevens
- Finding and Reading Reports of Research: How Academic Librarians Can Help Students Be More Successful by Dian Walster, Deborah H. Charbonneau, Kafi Kumasi
- Patience, Persistence, and Process: Embedding a Campus-wide Information Literacy Program across the Curriculum by Glenn Johnson-Grau, Susan Gardner Archambault, Elisa Slater Acosta, Lindsey McLean
Abstracts at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00991333/42/6
Photo by Sheila Webber: Xmas wreaths of Sussex, 40: December 2016

Fake news: Forbes and American Libraries

There's been a clutch of articles worrying about "fake news". Here's one by a non-librarian and one from the library press.
- Leetaru, K. (2016, December 11). How data and information literacy could end fake news. Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2016/12/11/how-data-and-information-literacy-could-end-fake-news/#525291db3335 This concludes that "Suggestions like requiring programming and data science courses in school would certainly create more technically-literate citizens, but this is not the same as data literacy and the kind of critical and devil’s advocate thinking it requires. Technology is also not a panacea here, as there is no simple magic algorithm that can eliminate false and misleading news. Instead, to truly solve the issue of “fake news” we must blend technological assistance with teaching our citizens to be data literate consumers of the world around them."
- Banks, M. (2016, December 27). Fighting Fake News: How libraries can lead the way on media literacy. American Libraries. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2016/12/27/fighting-fake-news/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Xmas wreaths of South London, 26: DEcember 2016

Merry Christmas from the Information Literacy Weblog

Merry Christmas to all readers of the Information Literacy weblog. Pictured is the Christmas wreath I made this year (as usual, from offcuts from the tree)

Pima Community College Library Tutorials; Introduction to Tripod

The latest PRIMO (Peer-Reviewed Instructional Materials Online) site of the month is Introduction to Tripod. "This interactive tutorial provides an introduction to searching Tripod, the library catalog of the Tri-College Libraries (Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College and Swarthmore College), and covers searching for known items and items by topic and finding physical items in the library using Library of Congress call numbers". The interview with creator Alex Pfundt is at http://acrl.ala.org/IS/instruction-tools-resources-2/pedagogy/primo-peer-reviewed-instruction-materials-online/primo-site-of-the-month/december-2016-site-of-the-month/?preview=true
The tutorial is at http://libguides.brynmawr.edu/bmclibrary-tutorials/tripod-intro

The previous site of the month (announced a couple of weeks ago) was Pima Community College Library Tutorials "Pima Community College Library’s online, self-paced tutorials instruct students in academic-level research skills at point-of-need, without the limits of time or place. The tutorials educate and entertain researchers as they accompany an animated anthropology student on a research quest into the desert southwest. The tutorials’ setting reflects the unique landscape and history of Tucson, Arizona." There is a text interview with creators Sandra J. Ley and Rob Booth at http://acrl.ala.org/IS/instruction-tools-resources-2/pedagogy/primo-peer-reviewed-instruction-materials-online/primo-site-of-the-month/november-2016-site-of-the-month/
The tutorials themselves are at https://pima.edu/current-students/library/write-research-paper.html
Photo by Sheila Webber: Xmas wreaths of South London, 44; December 2016

Teaching librarian; books

Michael Stoepel is the ACRL Instruction Section Teaching Methods Committee’s latest Featured Teaching Librarian, He is interviewed at http://acrl.ala.org/IS/featured-teaching-librarian-michael-stoepel/
Secondly, recent books relating to the ACRL Framework for IL are listed at http://acrl.ala.org/framework/?p=335
Photo by Sheila Webber: Xmas wreaths of South London, 36

Presenters wanted for ALA conference

The Distance Learning Section of the ALA is looking for presenters for a session Visibility and Engagement: Design, Develop, or Refresh your Online Instruction, a "program that aims to share practical methods for libraries to create effective student-success-based online instructional strategies that include creative methods for developing assessment plans and delivering high-impact information literacy skill instruction." This will be part of the American Library Association conference to be held in Chicago, USA, June 22-27, 2017.
The call say "These strategies may include but are not limited to the topics of: reaching students through online presence, instruction, and assessment; creating and implementing high-impact online instruction; handling challenges when developing online instructional materials; time management; providing access to resources and technology; developing digital learning object repositories for online instruction; embedding librarian programming in a course or program. This is open to any academic librarian with any online instruction experience they want to share."
To express interest in contributing to he panel or for more information, contact the DLS Programming Planning 2017 Committee Co-Chairs, Karla Aleman alemankj@gmail.com and Neely Tang nt243@cornell.edu by January 6th, 2017.
Photo by Sheila Webber: Ministry of Magic uniforms, WB Making of Harry Potter, November 2016

Information Overload and knowledge

Two items: a Pew Internet report on Information Overload and material from the 2016 Annual Lecture of the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIST) held at Edinburgh Napier University and given by Professor Steve Fuller which touched on the same theme.
The Pew Internet report was published a couple of weeks ago and is as usual a robust piece of research investigating American life (based on a sample of 1,520 people in the USA). "...for the most part, the large majority of Americans do not feel that information overload is a problem for them. Some 20% say they feel overloaded by information, a decline from the 27% figure from a decade ago, while 77% say they like having so much information at their fingertips. Two-thirds (67%) say that having more information at their disposals actually helps to simplify their lives." "Those who are more likely to feel information overload have less technology and are poorer, less well-educated and older." Another problem which is identified is what I would call personal information management - and also an assumption from organisations that people should be information literate: "when institutions expect people to bring a lot of information with them to carry out tasks, some Americans find it can be burdensome to keep track of the volume of information needed. Nearly half (46%) of Americans say this statement describes them “very well” or “somewhat well”: “A lot of institutions I deal with – schools, banks or government agencies – expect me to do too much information gathering in order to deal with them.” Those who feel this way are more likely than others also to say that keeping track of information is stressful for them (56% vs. 30%)."
"These findings suggest that information overload may not be the right way to frame anxieties about the volume of information in people’s lives. Rather, information overload is more situational: Specific situations may arise, such as when institutions impose high information demands on people for transactions, which create a sense of information burden for some Americans." http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/12/07/information-overload/


Secondly, there is an informative report and a video of the ASIST Annual Lecture given by Professor Steve Fuller on What, if anything, makes knowledge an improvement over information? This is on Hazel Hall's blog at https://hazelhall.org/2016/12/19/asist-annual-lecture-2016-resources-now-available-asist_al16/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Mad eye Moody and Professor Trelawney, WB Making of Harry Potter, November 2016

Information Literacy, Threshold Concepts and Disciplinarity #ARCLframework

I realised that I hadn't posted the presentations I was involved with at the European Conference on Information Literacy, so I'll do that this week. Firstly, there is the presentation given by me and Bill Johnston: Information Literacy, Threshold Concepts and Disciplinarity. I've given our abstract below the embedded presentation. In the third slide ("key strands") Bill and I also positioned ourselves within this field (that of British, Nordic and Australian educational research), from which the concept of Threshold Concepts emerged. We are educational researchers within this field, and have connections with some of these researchers.

Information Literacy, Threshold Concepts and Disciplinarity from Sheila Webber

Abstract
Threshold Concepts (TCs) are significant in developing the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy (ACRL, 2015), and this has stimulated discussion about using TCs in Information Literacy (IL). This paper: briefly summarises TCs; identifies key disciplinary and pedagogical anomalies in the approach to TCs in IL; presents proposals for exploring TCs in IL more holistically.
TCs emerged from research into characteristics of quality learning environments in UK higher education (Meyer & Land, 2003). TCs are described as transformative concepts within disciplines, enabling learners to conceive the subject in a new way, and experience possibilities for deeper disciplinary thinking and practice. Mayer & Land (2005) identify ways for educators to use TCs to facilitate “epistemological transitions, and ontological transformations” (Meyer & Land, 2005: 386). They note the danger of structuring teaching mechanistically, which might encourage mimicry rather than understanding; they also identified the value of variation as a teaching strategy. Åkerlind et al. (2014) have taken this further by combining phenomenography, variation theory and TCs.
We identify two anomalies in the way in which TCs have been developed for IL in a USA context. The first is in sidestepping the question of disciplinarity (as do Townsend et al. (2011). The studies which have inspired ACRL’s adoption of a TC approach have investigated the views of librarians teaching IL to learners of other subjects. This is different from identifying the TCs of a discipline, for learners aiming to think and practice in that discipline (the original, and usual, focus for TCs). Whilst Tucker et al (2014) have proposed TCs as valuable for the library and information curriculum, there has not been a study of IL TCs for people studying IL as a subject in its own right. The second anomaly is the way in which TCs are fixed generically within the ACRL framework (rather than more explicitly acknowledging that IL is experienced differently within different subject disciplines (Webber et al., 2005). Further, for understandable, pragmatic, reasons, there is evidence that they are being incorporated in reductive ways (e.g. Oakleaf, 2014), which may negate the transformative possibilities and lead to mimicry and surface learning.
We draw on experience in teaching IL as a subject to propose an approach to discovering and using TCs for IL education, which acknowledges that IL has its own epistemology and ontological reality (Johnston & Webber, 2006). This is elaborated with observations and reflections from an IL module, using an action research framework.
References
Åkerlind, G., McKenzie, J. & Lupton, M. (2014). The potential of combining phenomenography, variation theory and threshold concepts to inform curriculum design in higher education. In J. Huisman, M. Tight (Eds.), Theory and Method in Higher Education Research II. (pp.227 – 247). Bingley, England: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Association of College and Research Libraries. (2015). Framework for information literacy for higher education. Retrieved February 15, 2016 from http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework
Johnston, B. & Webber, S. (2006). As we may think: Information Literacy as a discipline for the information age. Research Strategies, 20(3), 108-121.
Meyer, J. & Land, R. (2003). Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge 1: linkages to ways of thinking and practicing. In C. Rust (Ed), Improving student learning: ten years on. Oxford, England: Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development.
Meyer, J. & Land, R. (2005). Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (2): epistemological considerations and a conceptual framework for teaching and learning. Higher Education, 49(3), 373-388.
Oakleaf, M. (2014). A roadmap for assessing student learning using the new framework for information literacy for higher education. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 5(40), 510-514.
Townsend, L., Brunetti, K. and Hofer, A., (2011). Threshold concepts and information literacy. Portal: Libraries and the Academy, 11 (3), 853-869.
Tucker, V., Weedman, J., Bruce, C. & Edwards, S. (2014). Learning portals: analyzing threshold concept theory for LIS education. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 55(2), 150-165.
Webber, S., Boon, S. & Johnston, B. (2005). A comparison of UK academics’ conceptions of information literacy in two disciplines: English and Marketing. Library and Information Research, 29(93), 4-15.

New articles: Ageing and information; political participation; dyslexia and IL; social equality

The new issue of open-access journal Library and Information Research (vol 40, No 123, 2016) focuses on Strategic and policy making issues in information literacy, with guest Editor John Crawford. The issue includes:
- Ageing and information: The Scottish older people’s movement by Bill Johnston
- Information literacy as a tool to support political participation by Lauren N Smith
- Does dyslexia present barriers to information literacy in an online environment? A pilot study by Lynne Cole, Andrew MacFarlane, George Buchanan
- Information literacy development in a small country: A practical proposition? by John Crawford
- Between digital inclusion and social equality: The role of public libraries in Newcastle upon Tyne by Maria Laura Ruiu, Massimo Ragnedda
- Information literacy and information seeking of public sector managers in the Welsh Government by Elizabeth Tait, Robert Edwards
The issue is at http://www.lirgjournal.org.uk/lir/ojs/index.php/lir/issue/view/74
Photo by Sheila Webber: Dusk, North Greenwich underground station, December 2016

Open-access preprint book: Information Literacy: Research and Collaboration across Disciplines

There is a pre-print open access version of: D'Angelo, B., Jamieson, S., Maid, B. and Walker, J. (Eds) (2016). Information Literacy: Research and Collaboration across Disciplines. Fort Collins, Colorado: The WAC Clearinghouse and University Press of Colorado. http://wac.colostate.edu/books/infolit/
There are 20 chapters divided into four sections: Part I. Situating Information Literacy; Part II. Researching Information Literacy; Part III. Incorporating and Evaluating Information Literacy in Specific Courses; Part IV. Collaborating to Advance Programmatic Information Literacy

Identity, Agency, and Change in Academic Libraries conference grants

The Identity, Agency, and Change in Academic Libraries conference, which takes place May 22-23, 2017 in Los Angeles, USA, is offering travel grants to attend the conference. University of Southern California Libraries "will award a total of $1,500.00 in travel grants (no more than $750.00 for a single grant), the number of grants awarded will be at the discretion of the planning committee. The committee seeks a diverse attendance of paraprofessionals, professionals, and students, especially from historically underserved communities." It doesn't say you have to be in North America to qualify, but it would be worth enquiring about that, if you aren't based there. I also can't see a deadline mentioned anywhere. The website on the conference is here http://iacal2016.wixsite.com/iacal2017 and the application form is here
Photo by Sheila webber: Golden beetroots, Blackheath Farmers' Market, December 2017.

The ACRL Framework for Information Literacy Sandbox is live! #ACRLframework

There is now a "sandbox" for material relevant to teaching using the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy. You can search for material to reuse (or at the moment, there are few enough items that you can browse) and also you can easily sign up and contribute. "The ACRL Framework for Information Literacy Sandbox allows for searching, browsing, and contributing to a repository of materials related to the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. It serves as a resource for librarians seeking to engage the Framework in their instructional practice, by providing access to materials created by those in the field. Materials made available in the Sandbox address the Framework, and include information about the context in which they were created and used. The Sandbox, in tandem with the Framework listserv and the Framework website, offers evidence of the Framework’s impact on the work of information literacy instructors, researchers, and learners. The target audience of the Sandbox is librarians and academic partners seeking lesson plans, instructional materials, professional development, and research on understanding and using the Framework within the classroom setting and on the programmatic level."
Go to http://sandbox.acrl.org/

cfp Innovation, Inspiration and Creativity Conference (i2c2)

There is a call for papers for the Innovation, Inspiration and Creativity Conference (i2c2), which takes place in Scarborough, UK, November 13-15, 2017. The call for workshops and presentations closes in May 2017, and for posters and lightning talks the deadline will be in October (precise dates aren't specified, but obviously you have lots of time at the moment ;-)
"We are looking for people that can contribute their experiences and knowledge to the conference. The overall theme of the conference is Innovation, Inspiration and Creativity, with a subtheme this year of "making, playing, co-creating". This covers library and information work in any sector and anywhere in the world, along with associated professions. There are some slots for presentations, but most conference slots are expected to be workshop based with a high degree of attendee involvement. So if you propose something longer than a lightning talk, think "can I help attendees learn something to apply to their own practice?" and not "can I put a set of slides together about a project I did"."
More info at http://i2c2conference.innovativelibraries.org.uk/call
Photo by Sheila Webber: apples, Blackheath Farmers' market, December 2017

Cognitive Authorities in Everyday Health Information Environments of Young People @InfoSchoolSheff

Currently we have visitors from Oulu University, Finland, who are embarking on the CogAHealth - Cognitive Authorities in Everyday Health Information Environments of Young People project, funded by the Academy of Finland and running 2016-2020. The photo shows (left to right) Dr Laura Palmgren-Neuvonen, Tuula Myllylä-Nygård, Professor Maija-Leena Huotari (a Sheffield alumna!), Dr Sari Räisänen, and my colleague in the University of Sheffield Information School, Pamela McKinney. "The CogAHealth project examines what data sources young people consider reliable and how authority is constructed in modern, multimodal health communication. The findings can be used to promote health, wellbeing and health equality of the young." There is more information about their project at http://www.oulu.fi/cogahealth-en/

cfp Critical Digital and social media studies; #openaccess book Critical Theory of Communication

There is a call for book proposals for an open access series: deadline 30 January 2017 11pm UK time. Proposals to be sent to A.Lockett@westminster.ac.uk - full info at http://www.uwestminsterpress.co.uk/site/news "Critical Digital and Social Media Studies is a new open access book series edited by Professor Christian Fuchs on behalf of the Westminster Institute for Advanced Studies (in the UK) and published by the University of Westminster Press (UWP). We invite submissions of book proposals that fall into the scope of the series.Example topics that the book series is interested in include: the political economy of digital and social media; digital and informational capitalism; digital labour; ideology critique in the age of social media; new developments of critical theory in the age of digital and social media; critical studies of advertising and consumer culture online; critical social media research methods; critical digital and social media ethics; working class struggles in the age of social media; the relationship of class, gender and race in the context of digital and social media; the critical analysis of the implications of big data, cloud computing, digital positivism, the Internet of things, predictive online analytics, the sharing economy, location- based data and mobile media, etc.; the role of classical critical theories for studying digital and social media; alternative social media and Internet platforms; the public sphere in the age of digital media; the critical study of the Internet economy; critical perspectives on digital democracy; critical case studies of online prosumption; public service digital and social media; commons-based digital and social media; subjectivity, consciousness, affects, worldviews and moral values in the age of digital and social media; digital art and culture in the context of critical theory; environmental and ecological aspects of digital capitalism and digital consumer culture."
The first volume in the series has been published:
Fuchs, C. (2016) Critical Theory of Communication. New Readings of Lukács, Adorno, Marcuse, Honneth and Habermas in the Age of the Internet. London: University of Westminster Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16997/book1 http://www.uwestminsterpress.co.uk/site/books/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Alstromeria, Blackheath Farmers' market, December 2017

New issue of Information Research: theory; doctoral students; autism spectrum disorders; engineers; makerspaces

As promised, here is information about the ISIC (Information Seeking In Context) conference supplement to the latest issue of the open access peer reviewed journal Information Research (vol. 21. no. 4). Papers include:
- T.D. Wilson, A general theory of human information behaviour
- Hester W.J. Meyer, Untangling the building blocks: a generic model to explain information behaviour to novice researchers.
- Reijo Savolainen, Approaching the affective barriers to information seeking: the viewpoint of appraisal theory
- Erika Janiuniene and Elena Maceviciute, Information sharing between doctoral students and supervisors: fixed roles and flexible attitudes
- Martha Sabelli, Social mediators and inclusive information: communication flow of healthcare information among adolescents in vulnerable communities
- Ivana Martinović and Ivanka Stričević, Information needs and behaviour of parents of children with autism spectrum disorders: parents’ reports on their experiences and perceptions
- Xiaofeng Li and Ross J. Todd, Information practices during 3D modelling in a public library makerspace: generating ideas, seeking help and iterative trial and error
- Pamela Fransen-Taylor and Bhuva Narayan, #Homeless but at home in cyberspace
Madely du Preez and Hester W.J. Meyer, Consulting engineers' social networks and their collaborative information behaviour
- Frances Ryan, Peter Cruickshank, Hazel Hall and Alistair Lawson, Managing and evaluating personal reputations on the basis of information shared on social media: a Generation X perspective
The issue is at http://www.informationr.net/ir/21-4/isic/isic2016.html
Photo by Sheila Webber: green tomato, Blackheath farmers' market, December 2016

New issue of Information Research: self-directed learning; e-books; serious leisure; health information

The latest issue of the open access peer reviewed journal Information Research (vol. 21. no. 4) has been published. In this post I will highlight some articles in the main issue, and in the next post I will highlight some of the papers in the proceedings from the ISIC conference (a supplement to this issue)

- Cecilia Gärdén: Information literacy in the tension between school's discursive practice and students' self-directed learning ("The paper aims to create an understanding of how information literacy can be recognised in the tension between the schools' practice and the students' self-directed learning. This is done through a qualitative case study including forty-three interviews, thirty observations and seventeen documents, which gave in-depth knowledge of information activities in relation to a complex school assignment.... The findings reveal an absence of interaction about information seeking and use in the educational context, as well as a lack of common references in the form of tools and support, leading to difficulties for the students in achieving the results that were expected according to learning objectives."
- T.D. Wilson and Elena Maceviciute Publishers’ responses to the e-book phenomenon: survey results from three 'small language' markets.
- Sung Un Kim and Sue Yeon Syn Credibility and usefulness of health information on Facebook: a survey study with U.S. college students.
- Jenna Hartel, Andrew M. Cox and Brian L. Griffin Information activity in serious leisure
- Min Sook Park and Hyejin Park Topical network of breast cancer information in a Korean American online community: a semantic network analysis
- Ann Gillespie, Helen Partridge, Christine Bruce and Alisa Howlett The experience of evidence-based practice in an Australian public library: an ethnography
- Yunseon Choi Supporting better treatments for meeting health consumers' needs: extracting semantics in social data for representing a consumer health ontology
Contents page at http://www.informationr.net/ir/21-4/infres214.html
Photo by Sheila Webber: Hogwarts Express, WB making of Harry Potter, November 2016

Online course: Information Literacy and Writing Studies: Exploring Pedagogical Possibilities

A six week online course is: Information Literacy and Writing Studies: Exploring Pedagogical Possibilities. It is taught by Andrea Baer and runs January 2 to February 10, 2017. The cost is US$250. "In this six-week course, participants will explore intersections between information literacy and composition studies, including the theoretical and practical applications these connections have for us as librarians and as educators. The class will be structured around assigned readings, online discussion, and assignments. More specifically, weekly discussions and assignments will invite participants to apply theoretical and pedagogical concepts to developing practical learning activities and lesson plans for library instruction." More information at http://libraryjuiceacademy.com/068-IL-composition-studies.php
Photo by Sheila Webber: chard, November 2016

cfp Media is the Message: Critical Use of Video in the Digital Age #WLIC2017

There is a call for Papers for the open session organised jointly by the Information Literacy, Audiovisual and Multimedia and School Libraries Sections of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). This session will take place during the World Library and Information (IFLA) Conference in Wroclaw, Poland, between 19-25 August 2017. The title is Media is the Message: Critical Use of Video in the Digital Age. "The way we communicate and interact has changed significantly over the last few years. Driven by digital network technologies, we increasingly use new approaches, tools and media types to collaborate and share information. Intensive use of digital media impacts our entire life cycle, from pre-school to university to the workforce and daily life. Ultimately, these changes have a profound effect on the way we find, evaluate, and organize information. It has become very popular to find, share, and communicate information via short videos on digital networks like Facebook and Twitter, using simple aids such as smartphones and free web applications. As creators and consumers of information delivered in this format, we need to develop skills that enable us to think critically about media messages, the media we use to create our own messages, and the information contained therein. In this open session we would like to see innovative approaches to media and information literacy that empower us to ACCESS, ANALYZE, EVALUATE, CREATE, and ACT, using video in the classroom, the lecture hall, the workplace, or the boardroom. ... examples include: Librarians’ role in teaching video skills; Teaching the literacy of video information creation and consumption; Creating video assignments as an alternative to research papers; Evaluating non-print media sources: how to translate traditional information literacy concepts of authority and purpose; Designing and assessing information literacy outcomes in relation to makerspaces"
Deadline for submitting a detailed abstract (500 words) and full author details, including name, position, affiliation, and email address of each author, is 31 January 2017. If selected, the full paper is due on 31st May 2017 and must be an original submission not presented or published elsewhere. The conference paper should be presented in English. Email your submission to Michael Miller, Chair, Audiovisual and Multimedia Section, Michael.miller@bcc.cuny.edu and Deborah Benrubi, Program Coordinator, Audiovisual and Multimedia Section 2017, benrubi@usfca.edu
Slightly more information at http://2017.ifla.org/cfp-calls/avms-joint-with-infolit-and-school

ALT free online 3 day teaching with tech conference

The Association for Learning Technology (ALT) has just started a 3 day conference (6 to 8 December) on teaching with technology. Sessions are in various formats e.g. webinar, Tweetchat, Facebook live session. It says it is a "showcase " so some of the sessions are focusing on use of a specific product (it isn't a research conference) but there are also people talking about how they or their institution have used learning technlogy at a practical level. Note the programme is in UK time (which is 5 hours ahead of US Eastern time) - one option to view events is via Google calendar so that may customise it to your calendar's timezone (I'm in the same timezone already, so I can't tell). Examples from Tuesday afternoon (UK time) are: #101creativeideas Challenge; Construals as Objects-to-Converse-With: Making the Strange Familiar and the Familiar Strange; Pre-entry module design: preparing incoming students for HE study (with a smidgeon of play); Student engagement: creation of online materials. One session which I would have liked to attend (but I have another meeting) is the Open University Library (Wednesday 7th at 10am UK time) talking about how they use Facebook Live. programme at  https://altc.alt.ac.uk/online2016/#/day1
Photo by Sheila Webber, taken in Second Life (a trademark of Linden Lab)

New articles in Journal of Information Literacy: political information, flipping, health literacy, evaluation, German IL concept

The new issue of the open access Journal of Information Literacy has been published (vol. 10 no. 2, 2016). Articles include:
- School libraries, political information and information literacy provision: findings from a Scottish study. Lauren N. Smith
- Health literacy: a cross-disciplinary study in American undergraduate college students Rachel Joseph, Samantha Fernandes, Lauri Hyers, Kerri O'Brien
- Flipping the classroom in business and education one-shot sessions: a research study Madeline E. Cohen, Jennifer Poggiali, Alison Lehner-Quam, Robin Wright, Rebecca K. West
- An assessment of library instruction: its influence on search behaviour of first- and third-year students Torunn Skofsrud Boger, Hanne Dybvik, Anne-Lise Eng, Else Helene Norheim
- Rethinking the concept of "information literacy": a German perspective Rares G Piloiu
There are also conference reports and book reviews. Go to https://ojs.lboro.ac.uk/ojs/index.php/JIL
Photo by Sheila Webber: books created for Harry Potter sets, November 2016

Designers selected for #ACRLframework learning initiative

ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries, USA) has selected Andrea Baer (Instructional Services Librarian and Assistant Professor, University of West Georgia), Brittney Johnson (Head of Library Instruction, St. Edward’s University) and Lindsay Matts-Benson (Instructional Designer, University of Minnesota) as their team to develop continuing professional development to support librarians in their use of the ACRL Information Literacy Framework. More information at http://www.acrl.ala.org/acrlinsider/archives/12731

New articles on #dataliteracy

An interesting issue of the open access journal Journal of Community Informatics (Vol 12, No 3 (2016) focuses on Data Literacy. Articles include:
Introduction: Data Literacy - What is it and how can we make it happen? Mark Frank, Johanna Walker, Judie Attard, Alan Tygel
- Creating an Understanding of Data Literacy for a Data-driven Society Annika Wolff, Daniel Gooch, Jose J. Cavero Montaner, Umar Rashid, Gerd Kortuem
- Data Literacy defined pro populo David Crusoe (in case you are interested he defines data literacy as: "Data literacy is the knowledge of what data are, how they are collected, analyzed, visualized
and shared, and is the understanding of how data are applied for benefit or detriment, within
the cultural context of security and privacy." p.38)
- Data literacy conceptions, community capabilities Paul Matthews
- Urban Data in the primary classroom: bringing data literacy to the UK curriculum Annika Wolff, Jose J Cavero Montaner, Gerd Kortuem
- Contributions of Paulo Freire for a Critical Data Literacy: a Popular Education Approach Alan Freihof Tygel, Rosana Kirsch
- DataBasic: Design Principles, Tools and Activities for Data Literacy Learners Catherine D'Ignazio, Rahul Bhargava
- Perceptions of ICT use in rural Brazil: Factors that impact appropriation among marginalized communities Paola Prado, J. Alejandro Tirado-Alcaraz, Mauro Araújo Câmara
- Graphical Perception of Value Distributions: An Evaluation of Non-Expert Viewers' Data Literacy Arkaitz Zubiaga, Brian Mac Namee
- Some Key Challenges for Data Literacy Mark Frank, Johanna Walker
In addition I was interested in the article: Granny gets smarter but Junior hardly notices (report on a survey that students did on elders' mobile phone use, in South Africa) Isabella Margarethe Venter, Karen Renaud, Renette Blignaut
http://www.ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/issue/view/59
Photo by Sheila Webber: Hogwarts Express carriage. Disconcertingly, this carriage is evidently a real former railway carriage, exactly like ones I used to commute in in the 1980/90s, November 2016.

The Information Literacy Constellation: Understanding by Design as a Model to Integrate Frames and Standards #acrlframework

Lisa Hinchliffe gave a webinar for the Academic Instruction & Information Literacy Member Group of the Florida Library Association (FLA) on 29 November2016 and the FLA have kindly released the recording. The title is: The Information Literacy Constellation: Understanding by Design as a Model to Integrate Frames and Standards. "ACRL has an expansive set of information literacy documents; however, with the approval of the Framework and rescinding of the Standards, that "constellation" has shifted. How can librarians develop programs that are guided by professional standards and guidelines while reflecting local context and needs? Drawing on Understanding by Design (Wiggins and McTigue), this webinar provide guidance for librarians who are stepping up to the challenge “to be imaginative and innovative in implementing the Framework” (http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframeworkapps#suggestions)." You will have to give your contact information in order to access the webinar recording but there is no fee. The PPT slides and webinar recording are are linked at http://www.flalib.org/fla-webinars-and-trainings
Photo by Sheila Webber: model of Hogwarts, WB Making of Harry Potter, November 2016

cfp CILIP conference 2017

The (UK) Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) Conference 2017 takes place 5-6 July 2017 at the University of Manchester, UK. There is a call for proposals: the deadline is 10 February 2017. There are 2 strands.
Strand 1 - Future Trends is "aimed at Heads of Service, Senior Managers and Decision Makers, who want to understand, discuss and share insight into key issues that will affect our sector, both today and in the future." The 6 session topics are: Public Policy; Law; Technology; Learning (which includes "Classroom of the future"); Society (which includes Information Literacy); Social Justice.
Strand 2 - Workshops "will be run by experts in a specific field to encourage discussion, sharing of knowledge and offer practical advice. This strand is aimed at practitioners, front line staff and managers who are looking to learn from other sectors, share experiences and knowledge and take away key messages and tools that can be applied in the workplace." One of the 6 workshop topics is Information Literacy. More information at http://cilipconference.org.uk/
Photo by Sheila Webber: the Hogwarts Express, WB Making of Harry Potter, November 2016 (the set was amazingly like the real Kings Cross station)

Rate proposals for the Innovative Library Classroom 2017

The organisers of the one-day conference, The Innovative Library Classroom 2017 (taking place on May 11, 2017, in Radford University, Virginia, USA) want help in rating the proposals they have received for the conference. "In addition to using the traditional peer review process, we are crowdsourcing reviews of the proposals by opening up public voting on the proposals. Although conference coordinators will make the final selections, the decisions will be made based on results from both the peer review process and the public voting. Anyone who is considering attending TILC 2017 can vote. All voting is anonymous, and we ask that you please vote only once." Voting closes on December 16. information on the proposals + voting is at http://tinyurl.com/TILC2017Voting the conference website is at http://theinnovativelibraryclassroom.weebly.com/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Hogwarts model, WB Making of Harry Potter, November 2016

Comment on ACRL research agenda

There is a new draft ACRL ([US] Association of College and Research Libraries) research agenda on "library contributions to student learning and success". From my reading of it, this is aiming to identify an agenda for research that will demonstrate and evidence library impact on student learning and success (rather than one for impacting student learning and success).  Input and reactions are sought by December 16, 2016. Since you are asked to indicate "region" this is aimed at ARCL mebers, but there is an "other" box so interested non-US people may wish to contribute.
Project website: http://www.oclc.org/research/themes/user-studies/acrl-agenda.html
Draft agenda: http://www.oclc.org/content/dam/research/themes/acrl-research-agenda-nov-2016.pdf "First, a brief literature review is provided to overview some of ACRL’s work on the value of academic libraries and to describe how this work informed development of a codebook, which was then used to identify the themes of 357 relevant readings. Next, an overview of methods is provided, followed by a presentation and discussion of findings from content analysis of the readings and analysis of the focus group interview transcript. The paper concludes by outlining key takeaways from the work completed to date by the team." Thus this document is useful for those interested in academic library impact, even if you don't want to give feedback.
Feedback form: http://www.oclc.org/research/forms/feedback-acrl-agenda.html
Photo by Sheila Webber: model of Dumbledore's room, WB Making of Harry Potter, November 2016

Critical Information Literacy in Art and Design Libraries

3 items- (1) Just one session - but this caught my eye: At the ARLIS/NA 45th Annual Conference taking place in New Orleans (whole conference is 5-9 February 2017): On Wednesday, February 8, 1:15pm - 2:15pm: Critical Information Literacy in Art and Design Libraries with Siân Evans, Stephanie Grimm and Jennifer Ferretti. https://arlisna2017.sched.org/event/8jgo/critical-information-literacy-in-art-and-design-libraries
(2) Accessible to all, there is a dialog between Evans and Ferretti on the ACRLog (May 23 2016, "#libeyrianship: Pop Culture and #critlib in Information Literacy Programs") in which they talk about the LibGuide Beyoncé’s Lemonade and Information Resources. http://acrlog.org/2016/05/23/libeyrianship-pop-culture-and-critlib-in-information-literacy-programs/
(3) I will remind people about the section on ACRL Information Literacy in the Disciplines resource related specifically to art: http://acrl.ala.org/IS/is-committees-2/committees-task-forces/il-in-the-disciplines/information-literacy-in-the-disciplines/information-literacy-in-the-disciplines-art/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Model of Diagon Alley (there was a section devoted to the art and design work), WB Making of Harry Potter, November 2016

Seeding local curricula with the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy

Latest open access perspectives on the (ACRL) framework:
Witek, D. (2016). Becoming gardeners: Seeding local curricula with the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy. College and Research Libraries News, 77(10), 504-508. http://crln.acrl.org/content/77/10/504.full
Photo by Sheila Webber: Diagon Alley at the WB "Making of Harry Potter" November 2016

2 recent articles on using material from websites etc. for systematic review

As you might expect, Systematic reviews is generally useful for the area of systematic review, including searching, and is an open access journal. Just published:
- Stansfield, C., Dickson, K. and Bangpan, M. (2016). Exploring issues in the conduct of website searching and other online sources for systematic reviews: how can we be systematic? Systematic reviews, 5, 191. DOI: 10.1186/s13643-016-0371-9
And thanks to Steven Duffy, who alerted people on LinkedIn to:
- Adams, J. et al. (2016). Searching and synthesising ‘grey literature’ and ‘grey information’ in public health: critical reflections on three case studies. Systematic reviews, 5, 164. DOI: 10.1186/s13643-016-0337-y  Useful for proposing search strategies and (e.g.) approaches to extraction. "We propose the term ‘grey information’ to capture a wide range of documented and undocumented information that may be excluded by common definitions of ‘grey literature’. Information on applied public health research questions relating to the nature and range of public health interventions, and many evaluations of these interventions, may be predominantly, or only, held in grey literature and grey information. Evidence syntheses on these topics need, therefore, to embrace grey literature and information."
Photo by Sheila Webber: apples from my tree, October 2016

How can libraries better serve refugees and asylum seekers? #libraries4refugees

Not strictly information literacy, but an interesting web discussion on: How can libraries better serve refugees and asylum seekers?
Web-conference sessions: November 28, 2016, noon-1:00 pm US CT (which is 6-7pm UK time) and December 2, 2016 10:30-11:30 am CT (which is 16.30-17.30 UK time). Participant link: http://tinyurl.com/pw-room
Twitter chat sessions: November 29, 2016; 1:00-2:00 pm CT (which is 6-7pm UK time); December 5, 2016; 8:00-9:00 pm CT (which is 2-3am UK time) Join the Twitter discussion @MortensonCenter using the hashtag #libraries4refugees
Use the hashtag #welcomepitch to share announcements, resources, CFPs, etc relevant to chat topic or refugees and asylum seekers
Use https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html to determine other local times.
"The Mortenson Center for International Library Programs has partnered with ALA [American Library association] on the IMLS-funded Project Welcome: Libraries and Community Anchors Planning for Resettlement and Integration of Refugees and Asylum Seekers. Project Welcome is a one-year planning grant (May 2016 – April 2017) that aims to learn about and articulate ways libraries can address the information needs of refugees and asylum seekers in order to support and empower them in their resettlement and integration process... As part of the planning grant, we are holding listening sessions to learn from the library and information community: How can libraries better serve refugees and asylum seekers? The input will be incorporated into a thought paper, that will be used to provide background for the 2-day collaborative learning space/meeting" Questions to projectwelcome01@gmail.com
Photo by Sheila Webber: Sheffield, November 2016

Local Information Literacy news

Some librarians are good at getting stories and press releases into their local news sites. Firstly, a small guest column about information literacy in a local US newspaper, which includes a reminder that President Obama designated October Information Literacy month:
- VCAL/VSLA/VLA Information Literacy Working Group. (2016, November 3). Guest Column: Vt. [Vermont] librarians speak up about information literacy. Williston Observer. http://www.willistonobserver.com/guest-column-vt-librarians-speak-up-about-information-literacy/
IL month is also celebrated in this local US news story, which summarises the events and awards a college had organised:
- e-news Park Forest. (2016, October 28). 3rd Annual Information Literacy Month Closing Event Held at South Suburban College. e-news Park Forest. http://enewspf.com/2016/10/28/3rd-annual-information-literacy-month-held-south-suburban-college/
Finally, from Ireland, Dundalk Institute of Technology announced the winners of its Bi-annual Information Literacy Awards:
- Dundalk Democrat. (2016, November 1). DkIT literacy champs are honoured at event. Dundalk Democrat. http://www.dundalkdemocrat.ie/news/home/222032/dkit-literacy-champs-are-honoured-at-event.html
Photo by Sheila Webber: autumn leaf and water feature, Sheffield, November 2016

Awards at Global Media and Information Literacy Week 2016 #MILweek2016

Awards were made during Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Week 2016 in São Paulo, Brazil, earlier this month. The Global (and international) MIL Awards winners for 2016 are: Divina Frau-Meigs (4th from the right in this picture taken at the European MIL Forum in June) and Bérangère Blondeau, from France’s University of Sorbonne Nouvelle; Thomas Röhlinger, Founder and Editor in Chief of Radijojo World Children's Media Network, Germany; and the Child and Youth Media Institute, Thailand. There is more information at http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/resources/news-and-in-focus-articles/all-news/news/awards_at_global_media_and_information_literacy_week_2016_t/

cfp i3 2017 #i3rgu

There is a call for papers for the 2017 i3 conference: information: interactions and impact, 27-30 June 2017, that at usual is held in Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland. Deadline for abstracts is 25 January 2017. They are calling for proposals for full papers, short papers and round table discussions. Research papers concerning impact of information, information behaviour, information literacy etc. are solicited "The conference focuses on the quality and effectiveness of the interaction between people and information and how this interaction can bring about change. i3 will look beyond the issues of use and accessibility of technology to questions about the way people interact with the information and knowledge content of today's systems and services, and how this might ultimately affect the impact of that information on individuals, organisations and communities." This is one of my favourite conferences. More information at http://www.rgu.ac.uk/research/conferences/i-2017/overview/
The photo shows me at i3 2015 with three of my then PhD students (now all "Dr", having achieved #phdsuccess): l to r: Joseph Essels, Me, Syeda Hina Batool, Kondwani Wella

Information literacy research: dimensions of the emerging collective consciousness: a reflection.

Bruce, C.S. (2016). Information literacy research: dimensions of the emerging collective consciousness: a reflection. Australian Academic & Research Libraries, 1-6. Open access at http://eprints.qut.edu.au/100095/
This is a short reflection on an important earlier work by this infolit guru: the original article is here http://eprints.qut.edu.au/46274/

#ECIL2016 presentations

Many (the majority) of the presentations from the European Conference on Information Literacy are available on the ECIL website http://ecil2016.ilconf.org/ Go to the Programmes tab and then you select the day. For your convenience the pages are Monday morning (10th October) , Monday afternoon, Tuesday Morning, Wednesday morning, Wednesday afternoon, Thursday morning. They don't seem to have the programme up any more (to tell what was on, when) but this is the book of abstracts in pdf - there should be something of interest to everyone there!
Photo by Sheila Webber: autumn colour by the Mappin building, November 2016

Rewired: Research-Writing Partnerships within the Frameworks

A new book from ACRL: McClure, R. (2016). Rewired: Research-Writing Partnerships within the Frameworks. ACRL. 978-0-8389-8904-3. US $68.00 (print: http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=11923); US $48 (e-book: http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=11924)
"Colleges and universities tend to be siloed spaces where we work within our own departments, divisions, and units and don’t always recognize the connections we have with the work of our colleagues down the hall. Rewired: Research-Writing Partnerships within the Frameworks highlights the clear connections between two important disciplinary documents—the Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing (CWPA, NCTE, and NWP, 2011) and the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (ACRL, 2016)—and examines partnerships between librarians and their colleagues who are teaching information literacy in new and impactful ways."Section 1 is Developing a Shared Understanding; Section 2 is Partnering Research & Writing; Section 3 is Assessing Writing & Information Literacy. There is a list of contributors at the above links.
Photo by Sheila webber: autumn beech, November 2016

Recent articles: nursing; IL job ads; credit class; paper activity

Selected from journals of 3 ACRL chapters:
Sproles, C. and Detmering, R. (2016). Working Information Literacy: The Instruction Librarian Specialty in Job Advertisements, 1973-2013. Codex: the Journal of the Louisiana Chapter of the ACRL, 3(4), 10-32. http://journal.acrlla.org/index.php/codex/article/view/118 A snippet from the end of the article "In the past 40 years, the concept of information literacy transformed from new concept to an accepted tenant of librarianship. As the concept of information literacy blossomed throughout the years, so did the number of job ads, the amount of requirements for the positions, and the percentage of ads that requested teaching-related requirements (Table 8). This trend demonstrates the application of theory to practice and the growing demand for librarians as teachers."

Deal, E. (2016). Teaching Information Literacy and Library Skills to Online Nursing Students: A Selected Annotated Bibliography. Codex: the Journal of the Louisiana Chapter of the ACRL, 3(4), 33-54. http://journal.acrlla.org/index.php/codex/article/view/116

Frank, E. and MacDonald, A. (2016). Eyes Toward the Future: Framing For-credit Information Literacy Instruction. Codex: the Journal of the Louisiana Chapter of the ACRL, 4(4)[sic: I think it should actually be volume 4 issue 1, as the one before is volume 3 issue 4],9-22. http://journal.acrlla.org/index.php/codex/article/view/124

McIllece, E. (2016). Build-a-Paper: Old tools With a New Twist. Nebraska Libraries, 4(4), 20-22. "The build-a-paper activity provides a hands-on method for students to learn about using sources in an academic paper." http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/neblib/17/ (the pdf of the whole issue)

Miller, M. and Neyer, L. (2016). Mapping Information Literacy and Written Communication Outcomes in an Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum: A Case Study in Librarian-Faculty Collaboration. Pennsylvania Libraries: Research & Practice, 4(1), 22-34. http://palrap.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/palrap/article/view/121 From the abstract"A syllabi study was conducted by the health science librarian and nursing faculty members in a baccalaureate nursing program to map information literacy and communication learning outcomes. Nursing course syllabi and assignments were examined for particular evidence of information literacy and communication learning outcomes in relationship to three sets of standards from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the Association of College & Research Libraries, and the rubrics of the Association of American Colleges & Universities. ... The resulting analysis led to a change in the librarian’s practices with greater involvement with the nursing department."
Photo by Sheila Webber: Sheffield Botanic Gardens, November 2016

cfp European Conference on Information Literacy #ECIL2017

There is a call for papers for the 2017 European Conference on Information Literacy (ECIL) which will take place in Saint Malo, France, September 18-21 2017. "ECIL aims to bring together researchers, information professionals, employers, media specialists, educators, policy makers and all other related parties from around the world to exchange knowledge and experience and discuss recent developments and current challenges in both theory and practice." The main theme is Workplace Information Literacy, and there are some subthemes connected with that, but papers on other IL topics are also encouraged (e.g. IL and citizenship, IL in different educational contexts, teaching IL, IL and technology). Abstract submission deadline is 15 February 2017. Several kinds of proposal are possible e.g. panel session, paper, workshop, pecha kucha, doctoral forum, poster. For full information go to http://ecil2017.ilconf.org/

New articles: badges; reflective writing

The latest issue of SCONUL focus (open access) mainly has items relating to librarians' Continuing Professional development, but it also includes:
Rizvi, M. (2016). Been there, done it, badge it! Information literacy and the use of digital badges at Middlesex University. SCONUL Focus, (67), 89-93. (an interesting short article as the cohorts targetted were in the UK and in China).
Additionally there is an article about reflective blogging, referring to library students, but the points could also apply to other cohorts: Burns, J. (2016). Pedagogical approaches to teaching blogging and reflective writing to library school students. SCONUL Focus, (67), 17-19.
The issue is at http://www.sconul.ac.uk/page/focus-67
Burns refers to an article in which a former colleague of mine discusses how we use reflection on a module here at Sheffield University iSchool, so I will cite that as well:
Sen, B.A. (2010.) Reflective writing: a management skill. Library management, 31(1–2), 79–93. (the open access version is here: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/10336/)
Photo by Sheila Webber: apple, October 2016

Staying safe in your digital world

There is a free online course from the Tinder Foundation (a UK organisation which has a focus on enabling access) Staying safe in your digital world aimed at the general public "In this course you will learn how to keep you and your family safe in your digital world. The course covers ways to avoid your personal information being shared on the internet, how to protect yourself when using social media and how to avoid scam telephone calls. The internet is great for keeping in touch and helping us save time and money but it’s good to understand some simple steps you can take to ensure the information you’re sharing is being used safely and securely and who to contact if you ever have any problems." There are 5 topics: It’s a digital world; Safe sharing with companies; Safe sharing with people; Spotting a scam; Safety challenge. Go to https://www.learnmyway.com/courses/staying-safe-in-your-digital-world
Photo taken by Sheila Webber in second Life, July 2016

12 apps of Christmas #RUL12AoC

Regent’s University London is running its 12 apps of Christmas 23-things type activity, starting 1 December 2016. They say "It is tailored for academic staff (lecturers, librarians, student support staff and others) at . We will be covering the basics and some more advanced tips on using 12 educational apps. However, if you are from a different institution or do not work in Higher Education at all, you are welcome to join the course. Over the twelve days of the programme, I will publish a post with the day’s task here at 10am, so that you can work through it whenever you have ten minutes or more spare in the day. Don’t worry if you get a bit left behind – you can always catch up! Each post will contain instructions on a different app, together with tailored suggestions of how to use it with your students and how it might work effectively for you in your professional context. Each task shouldn’t take you much more than ten minutes a day .." The site is at https://openeducation.blackboard.com/mooc-catalog/courseDetails/view?course_id=_811_1 The hashtag is #RUL12AoC
Photo by Sheila Webber: Aberystwyth, October 2016

UNESCO launches #MILCLICKS

I have mentioned UNESCO's #MILCLICKS initiative, and it is now launched. #MILCLICKS stands for Critical thinking and creativity, Literacy, Intercultural, Citizenship, Knowledge and Sustainability. "These are all elements that UNESCO includes in its composite concept of Media and Information Literacy (MIL)." The idea is that you use the hashtag #MILCLICKS to share tips etc. about being media and information literate. "UNESCO MIL CLICKS on social networks will share knowledge, tips and resources and provide people with insight about “how you know what you know?”. Through channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others, MIL CLICKS social media strategy will engage people to play, learn and use MIL skills, know how to evaluate information and how to identify and to find credible sources. “Critical engagement goes hand in hand with encouraging people online to get involved into peace building, dialogue, promote tolerance, diversity, equality and freedom of expression,” says Alton Grizzle" [who developed the MILCLICKS concept]. A bit more information at http://en.unesco.org/news/milclicks-new-movement-media-and-information-literacy-social-networks and below is the video.

Sponsored place at LILAC

CILIP's ARLG (North East) group are sponsoring a free place at the LILAC Conference (to be held 10-12 April in Swansea, Wales) for librarians living or working in the North East of England. The conference sponsorship includes 3 days attendance at all LILAC sessions and social events (networking evening and conference dinner) and up to £200 towards travel and accommodation. To be eligible you must be a personal member of CILIP or ARLG, be currently living, working or studying in the North East in an Further Education, Higher Education or research library and a first time delegate to an LILAC conference. North East region covers Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, County Durham and the Tees valley areas. Apply by 20 January 2017 to Helen Ashton at helenashton1203@btinternet.com with approximately 200 words describing how your attendance at the conference will impact on your professional development and how you plan to share your conference experience with others, including the ARLG North East community. The successful applicant will have to write a short report on the conference for ARLG which will be used for publication. You should also include your CILIP membership number, your job title and the name of your institution.

New articles: Bibliography of #infolit; First Year experience; ACRL Framework; Interview with Hinchliffe

Reference Services Review volume 44 issue 4 (priced publication) has been published. It includes the annual annotated bibliography of information literacy items: this year they list 488 items (but only 4 (!) of them relate to public libraries):
- Library Instruction and Information Literacy 2015 by Latisha Reynolds, Samantha McClellan, Susan Finley, George Martinez, Rosalinda Hernandez Linares
- A Constellation to Guide Us: An Interview with Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe about the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education by Christine Bombaro, Pamela Harris, Kerri Odess-Harnish
- The Framework Is Elitist by Christine Bombaro
- A Survey of Information Literacy Credit Courses in U.S. Academic Libraries: Prevalence and Characteristics by Nadine Cohen, Liz Holdsworth, John M. Prechtel, Jill Newby, Yvonne Mery, Jeanne Pfander, Laurie Eagleson
- Buy, borrow, or access online? Format behaviors among college freshmen in a reading-intensive course by Diane Mizrachi
Contents page at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/toc/rsr/44/4
Photo by Sheila Webber: autumn in Sheffield, October 2016

New research grants from CILIP ILG

The CILIP Information Literacy Group has awarded research grants for two projects. One is on Lost in information? New Syrian Scots’ information literacy way-finding practices and the other looks at the impact of mis-information on young people. More information at http://www.cilip.org.uk/news/new-research-information-experiences-syrian-refugees-scotland-impact-mis-information-young-people
Photo by Sheila Webber: St Georges Church, Sheffield

How can published health research be made more accessible to users in low- and middle-income countries?

HIFA (Healthcare Information For All) has organised an online discussion around the question: How can published health research be made more accessible to users in low- and middle-income countries? The discussion starts on 7 November and continues until 2 December 2016. "HIFA has more than 15,000 health workers, librarians, publishers, researchers and policymakers, committed to improve the availability and use of healthcare information. One-third of members are based in Africa, one-third in Europe, and one-third in the rest of the world." You have to join HIFA (free) to participate. More information at http://www.hifa.org/news/new-hifa-thematic-discussion-how-can-published-research-be-made-more-accessible-users-low-and