PIL interview with S. Shyum Sundar

Project Information Literacy has posted a new interview on their website. They say: "Shyam co-directs the Media Effects Research Lab and is a Professor at Penn State, where he teaches courses in the psychology of communication technology, media theory, and research methodology. If you are interested in learning more about how "bandwagon heuristics" and "FOMO" are impacting how we search and gather information, this may a good read for you. Shyam also discusses how immersive, interactive communication modes (AR and VR) are changing how we experience something total unfamiliar to us, such as breaking news." Go to http://www.projectinfolit.org/shyam-sundar-smart-talk.html

Webinar: Disciplinary Applications of Information Literacy Threshold Concepts

There is a priced ACRL webinar on 10 April 2018 at 2pm US Eastern time, which is 7pm UK time: Disciplinary Applications of Information Literacy Threshold Concepts. "Explore threshold concepts as an approach to library practice through an in-depth introduction to the recent ACRL publication Disciplinary Applications of Information Literacy Threshold Concepts. During the interactive webcast, learn about themes from the book, including common challenges and approaches to working with the frames, and gain a deeper explanation of two example chapters from disparate disciplines.The presenters will share questions and prompts to encourage deep reflection around the concepts in the ACRL Framework. Suggestions for expanding use of these concepts beyond the classroom will also be provided, as well as strategies for working with disciplinary faculty around these concepts." The presenters are:Samantha Godbey, education librarian and assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and Susan Beth Wainscott, engineering librarian, for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas University Libraries. Costs are: ACRL member $50; ALA member $75; Nonmember $90; Student $40; Group*:$295  Registration at http://www.ala.org/acrl/onlinelearning/thresholdconcepts
Photo by Sheila Webber: Diamond building reflecting St Georges church, Sheffield, March 2018

Recent articles: Breakout game; curriculum analysis; post-truth

Three recent open-access articles:
- Baer, A. (2018). It’s all relative? Post-truth rhetoric, relativism, and teaching on “Authority as Constructed and Contextual”. College & Research Libraries News,79(2), 72-75, 97. https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.79.2.72
- Detwiler, S., Jacobson, T. and O'Brien, K. (2018). BreakoutEDU: Helping students break out of their comfort zones. College & Research Libraries News,79(2), 62-66. https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.79.2.62
- Pierce, M. (2018) Maximizing the impact of the in-person one-shot in community colleges: Selecting courses to target for library instruction through curriculum analysis, College & Research Libraries News,79(2), 68-71. https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.79.2.68
Photo by Sheila Webber: Snow a few weeks ago

Facebook group for information literacy librarians

Martinique Hallerduff posted recently on the North American information literacy list ili-l "A colleague and I have started a closed facebook group for Academic Library Instruction Coordinators (by any name). Please let me know if you' like to join by emailing me directly with the email address you use for facebook at mhallerduff@dom.edu. There are generally only one of us on each campus so I'm looking forward to having an easy forum for discussing issues related to leadership/management, scholarship, pedagogy, mentoring and more with others in a similar role."

Association of College and Research Libraries #ACRL Instruction Section awards: Mader; Nutefall; 23 Framework things

Award winners have been announced! Congratulations to them all.
- The Miriam Dudley Instruction Librarian Award goes to Sharon Mader (pictured). "Sharon Mader’s career in Information Literacy has had a prolonged and profound effect on the community of teaching and learning in libraries. Sharon was a founding faculty member of the Information Literacy Immersion Program, and has mentored librarians and leaders for many years. Her long term participation in the Instruction Section and ACRL has culminated in her role as ACRL's Visiting Program Officer for Information Literacy, and she has devoted herself to presenting about, advocating for, and communicating with others about the new Framework for Information Literacy, including the development of the Framework Sandbox. As a leader in our field, Sharon has helped the field as a whole put in place the structures that have enabled us to make the transition from theory to concrete action. We are delighted to recognize her for her many contributions to the advancement of instruction."
- The Ilene F. Rockman Instruction Publication of the Year Award goes to Jennifer E. Nutefall (Santa Clara University), for:
Nutefall, J. (Ed.) Service Learning, Information Literacy, and Libraries. Libraries Unlimited. ISBN-13: 978-1440840913 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Service-Learning-Information-Literacy-Libraries/dp/1440840911 This book " covers a critical and emerging gap in information literacy literature. As many colleges and universities begin focusing on civic and community engagement, this book may act as a primer for librarians who wish to incorporate service learning into their practice. This timely book pushes the field in new directions as it encourages librarians to consider new and innovative methods of teaching information literacy concepts and skills."
- The Instruction Section Innovation Award goes to 23 Framework Things which is at https://23frameworkthings.wordpress.com/. Recipients are Trent Brager (University of St. Thomas), Amy Mars (St. Catherine University), and Kim Pittman (University of Minnesota – Duluth) "The 23 Framework Things professional development program offers an innovative and open sourced solution to learning more about how to incorporate the Framework into information literacy instruction. The self-paced program allows users to interact with other librarians through commenting and reflection as they consider local implementation of the Framework. With expansion beyond the Minnesota Library Association and an indefinite extension of the program, 23 Framework Things is poised to help many librarians incorporate the Framework into their local context in the coming years."

Date change for the 5th Annual LILi Conference.

The date for the 5th Annual LILi (Lifelong Information Literacy) Conference has changed from July 13 to Friday, August 17 2018. The venue remains Glendale Public Library, California, USA. The conference proposal deadline has been extended to April 20 2018. "When it was realized that the original date of the LILi Conference (July 13) conflicted with that of the People of Color in Library & Information Science (POCinLIS) Summit, the LILi Board voted to change the date of the LILi Conference to support the POCinLIS Summit and LILi members who wish to attend both events." More info on the LILi website http://campusguides.glendale.edu/c.php?g=817424

New articles: Wikipedia; Public library websites: Use of web sources in schools

The new issue of open-access journal Information Research (vol. 23, issue 1) has been published. It includes:
- Teemu Mikkonen: Justifying the use of Internet sources in school assignments on controversial issues
- Reine Rydén: How trust in Wikipedia evolves: a survey of students aged 11 to 25
- Allison Littlejohn and Nina Hood: Becoming an online editor: perceived roles and responsibilities of Wikipedia editors
- Diane L. Velasquez and Nina Evans: Public library Websites as electronic branches: a multi-country quantitative evaluation
Go to: http://www.informationr.net/ir/23-1/infres231.html
Photo by Sheila Webber: snow, February 2018

New articles in health science and information literacy

Buysse, H., Peleman, R. and De Meulemeester, A. (2018). Information literacy in health sciences education: proposal of a new model in a multi-perspectivism setting. JEAHIL (Journal of the European Association for Health Information and Libraries), 14(1), 15-20. "Information literacy should be integrated and practiced within a complete curriculum by using horizontal (basic IL skills) and vertical integration (IL integrated within the discipline) that would guarantee equal opportunities for students’ IL development and which could be a more cost-effective solution within curriculum development. The emerging technologies and the impact on educational models will more and more demand different expertise and thus collaboration of experts with different backgrounds". The issue is at http://eahil.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/journal-1-2018-web.pdf

Goodman, X. et al. (2018). Applying an information literacy rubric to first-year health sciences student research posters. Journal of the Medical Library association, 106(1), 108-112. "This article describes the collection and analysis of annotated bibliographies created by first-year health sciences students to support their final poster projects. The authors examined the students’ abilities to select relevant and authoritative sources, summarize the content of those sources, and correctly cite those sources". https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5764575/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Weston Park, Sheffield, 28 February 2018

Webinar: Collective Learning: Developing an Instruction Community of Practice

An ACRL webinar takes place on April 11, 1-2pm US central time, which is 7-8pm UK time: Collective Learning: Developing an Instruction Community of Practice. It appears to be free. "Communities of Practice within academic libraries can provide opportunities for teaching librarians to intentionally develop strategies, confidence, and creativity while building camaraderie and teamwork skills. This online panel discussion will highlight recent efforts to establish communities of practice and recount both the successes and challenges encountered. Participants will learn more about instruction communities of practice and gather ideas that may be taken back to their institutions." Presenters are: Amanda Peters (Student Engagement Librarian University of Michigan Library), Doreen Bradley (Director of Learning Programs & Initiatives University of Michigan Library), Marybeth McCartin (Instructional Services Librarian New York University Libraries), Nicole Brown (Head, Instruction Services Division University of California, Berkeley). Register at [URL updated 9 April 2018] https://zoom.us/j/389691990
Photo by Sheila Webber: after the UCU rally on International Women's Day

Today! Livestreaming of IFLA's Global Vision Report Summary launch & OECD report

There is live streaming today (19 March) of IFLA President's Meeting Opening (starting at 9.30 Central European Time, which is 8.30 UK time) and IFLA's Global Vision Report Summary launch (at 16.30 CET, which is 15.30 UK time and 11.30 USA Eastern time). The Opening includes an introduction by IFLA Secretary General, Gerald Leitner, and a welcome address by IFLA President, Glòria Pérez-Salmerón, under the theme Leading the way: Libraries as Motors of Change. The Global Vision report is "the result of six regional workshops, hundreds of discussions, and 22,000 responses to our online consultation from 213 countries and territories". The live streaming is via YouTube at http://bit.ly/2tQfDC and select the LIVE video. No registration is required. A recording of the live streaming will be made available afterwards at https://www.youtube.com/user/iflahq and https://vimeo.com/ifla.

Another livestream and launch today is of the OECD report The Resilience of Students with an Immigrant Background: Factors that Shape Well-Being, with a livestream at 12.30 Paris time/CET (11.30 a.m. UK time). It will be presented by Gabriela Ramos, OECD Chief of Staff and Sherpa to the G20, at the European Commission in Brussels: go to https://webcast.ec.europa.eu/the-resilience-of-students-with-an-immigrant-background-factors-that-shape-well-being
http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/the-resilience-of-students-with-an-immigrant-background_9789264292093-en

Genealogical Proof Standard @ACRL_VWIG

Today I attended a presentation by Cheri Daniels (Head of Reference Services at Kentucky Historical Society) on genealogy, organised by the ACRL Virtual World Interest Group and given in the 3D virtual world, Second Life (the photo is from the presentation, I'm the one with the blue ponytail). She mentioned the Board for the Certification of Genealogists' Genealogy Standards at https://bcgcertification.org/ethics/ethics-standards/ which are very relevant to Information Literacy, and specifically the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) which says that "To reach a sound conclusion, we need to meet all five components of the GPS.
"1. Reasonably exhaustive research.
"2. Complete and accurate source citations.
"3. Thorough analysis and correlation.
"4. Resolution of conflicting evidence.
"5. Soundly written conclusion based on the strongest evidence."

Librarian profiles from #WLIC2017

An eBook with combined slides and records of discussion from the WLIC (World Library and Information Conference) 2017 President-Elect Session has been produced. It includes the presentation on Information Literacy from Robin Kear (and other keynote presentations, such as "Advocacy" by Elvira Lapuz) and (what I found most interesting) 26 "librarian profiles" each created by a table of participants at the session. For example there is a profile for "Alex" "Born in Sudan; Lives in Sweden; 34 years old; Speaks Swedish, Sudanese, English; No children; 2 cats; Public Library". As with the other profiles, the profile maps out the librarian in response to "hear" (what the librarian hears) "Think and feel" "See" "Say and do". The ebook has been made copyright free, so I reproduce here the profile which is called "Sheila" (nothing to do with me, obviously, but I couldn't resist the coincidence). The PDF is at https://goo.gl/XFVAWi and the iBook is at https://goo.gl/xSoqrv

Building a Badge Program with Learning Pathways

The recording and slides from the webinar Building a Badge Program with Learning Pathways by Nate Otto (which took place on 21 February 2018) are available: recording at https://youtu.be/TT118rlm-pc and presentation slides https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_hL-Ep7E9qo1KF9q94drUP7KRVQragU6jDEDrubHflE/edit?usp=sharing​
Photo by Sheila Webber: placards for student elections, February 2018

Online course: Feminist Pedagogy for Library Instruction

April 2 to April 27 2018 are the dates of the online course Feminist Pedagogy for Library Instruction, taught by Maria Accardi. The cost is US $175. "Students in this four-week course will engage with and explore feminist pedagogy through assigned readings and interactive online discussion. Central questions that will guide the course include: What is feminism? What is feminist pedagogy? What does it look like, and what are its concerns? How can we bring it into conversation with the work we do in the library instruction classroom? By the end of the course, students will be able to explain basic feminist theories, define feminist pedagogy, identify and describe specific ways in which feminist pedagogy is enacted, and develop a plan for deploying a feminist pedagogy activity in the academic library instruction classroom." Includes a copy of Accardi's book Feminist Pedagogy for Library Instruction. More information at http://libraryjuiceacademy.com/065-feminist-pedagogy.php

Webinar: Instruction and Outreach for Diverse Populations: International Students

On March 23 2018 at 2pm US Eastern time (6pm UK time) there is a webinar Instruction and Outreach for Diverse Populations: International Students. "This webinar series provides practical ideas for implementing instruction and outreach for diverse populations. In this session, the following speakers will discuss their experiences supporting international students through programs, services, and initiatives: Anamika Megwalu, Assessment & Engineering Librarian, San Jose State University; Mark Mattson, Global Partnerships and Outreach Librarian, Pennsylvania State University; Karen Bordonaro, Liaison Librarian, Brock University" The webinar is organised by the ACRL Instruction Section’s Instruction for Diverse Populations Committee and the Library Marketing and Outreach Interest Group. Register (it looks as though it's free) at https://acrl.webex.com/acrl/onstage/g.php?MTID=efcd1248f839936cf2207b63c5feb3e77
Photo by Sheila Webber: photographing the student occupation of the Arts Tower, today,

The spread of true and false news online

There's been a lot of press coverage for: Vosoughi, S., Roy, D. and Aral, S. (2018). The spread of true and false news online. Science, 359(6380), 1146-1151. DOI: 10.1126/science.aap9559 http://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6380/1146. A key finding was that false news travels faster than true news (truth and falsity was judged by using fact checking sites) and that it was humans rather than bots who were responsible. To quote the easy-rerad abstract they "used a data set of rumor cascades on Twitter from 2006 to 2017. About 126,000 rumors were spread by ∼3 million people. False news reached more people than the truth; the top 1% of false news cascades diffused to between 1000 and 100,000 people, whereas the truth rarely diffused to more than 1000 people. Falsehood also diffused faster than the truth. The degree of novelty and the emotional reactions of recipients may be responsible for the differences observed." Two of the more useful articles reporting on the article are:
- Skelton, V. (2018, March 11). Fight the false: how news spreads on Twitter. http://www.infotoday.eu/Articles/Editorial/Featured-Articles/Fight-the-false-how-news-spreads-on-Twitter-123767.aspx?utm
- Meyer, R. (2018, March 8).The Grim Conclusions of the Largest-Ever Study of Fake News. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/03/largest-study-ever-fake-news-mit-twitter/555104/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Hinamatsuri display in Minamoto Kitchen, London, March 2018

The Future of Teaching Librarianship

Registration has opened for the Maryland Information Literacy Exchange event The Future of Teaching Librarianship which takes place on April 11 2018 at the Loyola Graduate Centre, Columbia, MD, USA. For more information go to http://milexmd.org

Webinar: Applying Information Literacy to Digital Humanities Projects

There is a priced webinar from ACRL on March 20, Applying Information Literacy to Digital Humanities Projects, at 2pm US Eastern time (which is 6pm UK time - at the moment the US has gone over to Summer time whereas many other countries haven't). "This webcast will point out reflexive strategies that can be used to bring out dialogue and conversation on humanities topics, while also pointing out some of the common problems and pitfalls with teaching digital humanities. Discover how instruction helps to promote and provide information literacy guidance to those who are presented with digital collections with little or no interpretation added to them." For more details and registration go to http://www.ala.org/acrl/onlinelearning/digitalhumanitiesprojects

Call for papers: Critical Librarianship & Pedagogy Symposium

The second Critical Librarianship & Pedagogy Symposium takes place on November 15-16 2018 at the University of Arizona Libraries, USA. The theme is Power & Resistance in Library Pedagogy. There is a call for papers, closing on April 16 2018. Information about the conference and how to submit proposals is at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aBPOhV4E3pWIYHF9HL_sEPkPTGoc6vn6tyWGI698S3o/edit
Photo by Sheila Webber: totoro bun, 2018

Books for open education week @OEWeek

I only just found out that this is the end of Open Education week (5-9) March, so here are links to some open access books; three that I haven't mentioned before:
- Blessinger, P. and Bliss, T.J. (eds.) (2016). Open Education: International Perspectives in Higher Education. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers. https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0103
- Mays, E. (Ed.) (n.d.). A Guide to Making Open Textbooks with Students. Rebus. https://press.rebus.community/makingopentextbookswithstudents/
- Smith, T. (2017). Politicizing Digital Space: Theory, the Internet, and Renewing Democracy. London: University of Westminster Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16997/book5
And one that I have mentioned before, but the web address changed:
- 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. https://wac.colostate.edu/books/perspectives/infolit/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Rally today, Sheffield City Centre, end point of march fighting for pensions, and celebrating International Women's Day

Crash Course in Assessing Library Instruction

There is an online Library Juice Academy course running April 2 to April 27 2018, Crash Course in Assessing Library Instruction. It is led by Candice Benjes-Small and Eric Ackermannand costs US $175. "This class is intended for teaching librarians who have some classroom experience and would like to explore different assessment techniques in library sessions, such as one-shots." More information at http://libraryjuiceacademy.com/145-crash-assessment.php

#digifest18

Digifest is taking place 6-7 March 2018, with the focus on use of technology in higher and further education (e.g. learning environments, learning analytics). Resources from the first day (slides and some videos) and the programme for Wednesday 7 March are at https://www.jisc.ac.uk/events/digifest-06-mar-2018/programme and the hashtag to follow the conference is https://twitter.com/hashtag/Digifest18?src=hash
Photo by Sheila Webber: wildlife crossing, Blackheath, February 2018

Call for evidence on the impact of social media and screen-use on young people’s health

The UK Government's Science and Technology Committee has launched an inquiry into the impact of social media and screen-use on young people’s health. Evidence has to be submitted by 6 April 2018. "The committee is welcoming the perspectives and experiences by children, schools and youth organisations, as well as details of any initiatives taken, including:
- What evidence there is on the effects of social media and screen-use on young people’s physical and mental wellbeing — for better and for worse — and any gaps in the evidence.
- The areas that should be the focus of any further research needed and why.
- The wellbeing benefits from social media usage, including any Apps that provide mental-health benefits to users.
- The physical/mental harms from social media use and screen-use, including safety online risks, the extent of any addictive behaviour, and aspects of social media/Apps which magnify such addictive behaviour.
- Any measures being used, or needed, to mitigate any potential harmful effects of excessive screen-use and what solutions are being used.
- The extent of awareness of any risks, and how awareness could be increased for particular groups (children, schools, social media companies, Government, etc.).
- What monitoring is needed, and by whom.
- What measures, controls or regulation are needed.
- Where responsibility and accountability should lie for such measures."
The Enquiry web page is at
http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/science-and-technology-committee/inquiries/parliament-2017/impact-of-social-media-young-people-17-19/
Photo by Sheila Webber: snowdrops, February 2018

Recent articles: infolit and music; tutorials; OER and infolit

These are priced articles.
- Camacho, L. (2018). If we built it, would they come? Creating instruction videos with promotion in mind. Journal of Business & Finance Librarianship. Early online publication https://doi.org/10.1080/08963568.2018.1431867
- Duffy, M.J. (2017). Contemporary Analysis of Information Literacy in Music: A Literature Review and Selected Annotated Bibliography. Music Reference Services Quarterly. Early online publication https://doi.org/10.1080/10588167.2017.1398801 (definitely worth getting hold of if you have an interest in information literacy in the music discipline)
- Evelyn, S. and Kromer, J. (2017). OER evaluation as a means of teaching information literacy in individual and small group settings. The Reference Librarian. Early online publication https://doi.org/10.1080/02763877.2017.1402730
- Lantz, C. et al. (2018) “I'm a Visual Learner so I like this”: Investigating Student and Faculty Tutorial Preferences. Internet Reference Services Quarterly. Early online publication https://doi.org/10.1080/10875301.2018.1427171
Photo by Sheila Webber: strange freezing mist today, Sheffield.

Material from teachmeets

An interesting collection of presentations from various teachmeets held 2013 to 2017 at Staffordshire University, UK, are at http://libguides.staffs.ac.uk/teachmeets/infolit.
Photo by Sheila webber: bandstand in the snow yesterday, Sheffield, March 2018

Western Balkan Information Literacy Conference

There is a Call for Papers for the 2018 Western Balkan Information Literacy Conference which will take place 21 - 22 June 2018 in Bihac, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The deadline for abstracts is 4 May 2018 and the theme is Alternative facts, Fake News, getting to the truth with Information Literacy. The four main subthemes are: Information literacy in the modern world; Librarians as support to the lifelong learning process; Media and information literacy – theoretical approaches (standards, assessment, collaboration, etc.); New aspects of education/strategic planning, policy, and advocacy for information literacy in a digital age. Keynote speakers are Ismail Serageldin (Emeritus Librarian of Alexandria and the Founding Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina), Tefko Saracevic (Emeritus Professor at Rutgers University) and Jesús Lau (Professor at Universidad Veracruzana). More information on the conference website http://wbilc2018.com/ The call for papers is at http://wbilc2018.com/callForPapers.php
Photo by Sheila Webber: Weston Park, Sheffield, today, in snow