Recent articles: Information Behaviour with Social media; IL and primary schools; Quality assessment of Wikipedia

Articles relevant to information literacy/behaviour from the last 2 issues of JoLIS and JIS (priced access, except where indicated).

- Amram, S., Aharony, N. & Ilan, J. (2021). Information literacy education in primary schools: A case study. Journal of Librarianship & Information Science, 53(2), 349-364. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000620938132. "This [qualitative] study focuses on teachers’ perspectives concerning information literacy teaching in two primary schools in Israel — one school that joined the national information and communications technology program and a second school that did not. ... The findings suggest that participation in the national information and communications technology program did not lead to the integration of information literacy in the school’s curriculum. A significant gap was discovered in both schools between the teachers’ perceptions—who understood the importance of teaching information literacy and its actual implementation."
- Fardous, J. et al. (2021). Group trip planning and information seeking behaviours by mobile social media users: A study of tourists in Australia, Bangladesh and China. Journal of Information Science, 47(3), 323-339. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0165551519890515
- Ihejirika, K. & Krtalic, M. (2021). Moving with the media: An exploration of how migrant communities in New Zealand use social media. Journal of Librarianship & Information Science, 53(1), 50-61. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000620911694. "An anonymous questionnaire was used to collect opinions and investigate the activities of migrant communities in New Zealand ... The main findings of our research showed that in the transitioning phase migrants use social media mostly for making the decision to move. In the settling phase, social media help them to cushion the anxieties associated with a move and also help them to make an informed decision in the new country. In the settled phase, participants used social media to stay connected with family and friends in the home country"
- Lund, B. (2021). The structure of information behavior dissertations 2009–2018: Theories, methods, populations, disciplines. Journal of Librarianship & Information Science, 53(2), 225-232. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0961000620935499 (Lund looked at dissertations listed in the Proquest dissertation database. "While the majority of information behavior research originates in the discipline of library and information science (53%), the field is nonetheless highly interdisciplinary. The theories of Kuhlthau, Dervin, and Wilson are used extensively as frameworks in information behavior dissertations. Students are the most commonly studied population, while interview is the most commonly utilized research method."
- Mansour, A. (2021). Affordances supporting mothers’ engagement in information-related activities through Facebook groups. Journal of Librarianship & Information Science, 53(2), 211-224. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000620938106. Open access. "This qualitative study investigated the information-related activities and affordances of a Facebook group for foreign mothers living in Sweden. Four key information activities were identified: posting, monitoring, commenting and searching. ... The article concludes with a discussion of how these different modes are facilitated by the affordances of visibility, accessibility, persistence and associations"
- Wang, P., Li, X. & Wu, R. (2021). A deep learning-based quality assessment model of collaboratively edited documents: A case study of Wikipedia. Journal of Information Science, 47(2), 176-191 . https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0165551519877646
Photo by Sheila Webber: cherry blossom petals in the curb, May 2021

De l’information à l’infodémie en temps de Crise Sanitaire mondiale

The French-language conference De l’information à l’infodémie en temps de Crise Sanitaire mondiale (From information to infodemic during a global health crisis) took place 20-21 May 2021. You can see the interesting programme here: https://infodemie2021.sciencesconf.org/ and the recordings of the sessions are here https://www.facebook.com/watch/UnescoStrasbourg/

Tutorials: Thinking like a scientist; Gopher Library Adventure

The last two Peer Reviewed Instructional Materials Online (PRIMO) sites of the month (for April and May) were
- Thinking Like a Scientist; creators Dani Brecher Cook, Michael Yonezawa, and Phyllis Ung (University of California, Riverside)" This interactive tutorial was a collaborative effort between the UCR Library and the Biology Department. It reframes traditional library searching skills around the idea of “thinking like a scientist.” There is an interview at https://acrl.ala.org/IS/instruction-tools-resources-2/pedagogy/primo-peer-reviewed-instruction-materials-online/primo-site-of-the-month/primo-site-of-the-month-interview-april-2021/ and the tutorial is at https://ucrlibraryteachingandlearning.github.io/learningobjects/bio_05La_forweb/content/index.html
- Gopher Library Adventure a Choose your own Adventure e-book; creators Lacie McMillin, Kat Nelsen, Kate Peterson "The Gopher Library Adventure is a Choose Your Own Adventure-style e-book created in Pressbooks for use in the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities College of Liberal Arts First Year Experience courses and Orientation." The tutorial is at https://pressbooks.umn.edu/umnlibadventure/ 

Additional information about PRIMO is at: http://acrl.ala.org/IS/instruction-tools-resources-2/pedagogy/primo-peer-reviewed-instruction-materials-online/
Photo by Sheila Webber: wax flower, May 2021

Young people's information behaviour re COVID19 #CovidUnder19 - family and traditional news are used

There are summarised results from a Life Under Coronavirus survey that received over 26,000 responses in 137 countries from people aged 8-17 (the survey was in 27 languages). I couldn't find very detailed results anywhere, but you can download summaries on different aspects of life, as very short individual documents https://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/CentreforChildrensRights/Projects/ (scroll down to the project #CovidUnder19 Global survey...)and all the summary results in one document at https://www.tdh.ch/en/media-library/documents/covidunder19-results The main points regarding the people's use of information were

"Family members (62%) and traditional news outlets (59%) are the preferred sources of information on the coronavirus. Children showed scepticism to information given by friends or in social media; 83% and 75% (respectively) of children said they didn't use these sources. Using and sharing reliable info on social media and creating child-friendly sources of information were important concerns"
"Across all regions, a large proportion of children reported that they would go to family for reliable information on Coronavirus. Compared to all other regions (Africa = 60%; Asia-Pacific group (AP)= 56%; Eastern European group (EE) = 67%; Latin America and Caribbean group (LAC) = 64%), more children from Western Europe and Others group (WEOG) (73%) selected family. ... Accessing information using the internet varied across each of the UN regions. Notably, a larger proportion (45%) of those from Africa reported that they were ‘Never’ able to access the internet when they want or need to, compared to, for example, 1% of those from EE"
Photo by Sheila Webber: pansies and fallen cherry blossom, April 2021

Wissenschaft(lichkeits)skompetenz als Metakompetenz: and a reflection on language

Thomas Hapke picked up a blog post in which I mentioned an article about science literacy and wrote his own interesting post (in German) referring to his own articles in which he discusses information literacy (Informationskompetenz) and e.g. this one in which he outlines his own concept of Wissenschaftlichkeitskompetenz. Wissenschaft can't be exactly translated into English (as Hapke also explains) - sometimes it gets translated as "Science", but it isn't confined to the "sciences" but could also be translated more broadly as "knowledge" or "scholarship". This is Hapke's blog post https://blog.hapke.de/information-literacy/wissenschaftlichkeitsskompetenz-als-metakompetenz/. 

With the wonders of Google translate you can get a good idea of what he says, even if you don't read German (I do understand German and just checked). However, looking at the Google translation also raises the important issue of how language and meaning are obviously intertwined. Google has evidently been taught that "Informationskompetenz" should be translated as "Information Literacy", but translates "Wissenschaft(lichkeits)skompetenz" more literally as "Science competence". "Kompetenz" is literally "competence", rather than "literacy" (2 words with different meanings in English) and the fact that the german word is "Informationskompetenz" is bound to have an impact on how that concept gets interpreted, just as English's lack of a word to match the very useful concept of "Wissenschaften" may end up with us using the word "sciences" (and thus emphasising the status of "sciences") to cover the concept of "disciplinary or knowledge areas which have a foundation in research and scholarship").

Photo by Sheila Webber: lovely tulips, April 2021

Online course: Interactive Tools for Online Presentations and Teaching

UK electronic information Group (UKeiG) is running, on 10 June 2021, a half-day online course on Interactive Tools for Online Presentations and Teaching. Cost: UKeiG/CILIP members £50 + VAT; Non-members £75 + VAT. "The pandemic may have caused a permanent shift towards doing at least a proportion of our presentations and teaching online. As we shift to using Zoom and similar platforms, how do we truly engage our audience? There are plenty of freely available tools which allow more interaction from your audience, which can be used either instead of - or alongside - traditional presentation tools like PowerPoint. This online course will explain how, when and why to use these tools, and give you a chance to try them out." Course leader is Ned Potter
Details at https://www.cilip.org.uk/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1522097&group=201314
Photo by Sheila Webber: tulip, April 2021

New articles: fake news in Nigeria; anxiety management; social media use in COVID; personal librarians; reference desk

The latest issue of priced publication Reference Services Review is Volume 49 Issue 1. It includes:
- Information literacy competence in curtailing fake news about the COVID-19 pandemic among undergraduates in Nigeria by Magnus Osahon Igbinovia, Omorodion Okuonghae, John Oluwaseye Adebayo
- COVID-19 and library social media use by Alexandros Koulouris, Eftichia Vraimaki, Maria Koloniari
- Fulfilling information needs by classifying complex patron needs by Charles R. Senteio, Kaitlin E. Montague, Stacy Brody, Kristen B. Matteucci
- Communication-based approaches to library reference services: anxiety-uncertainty management as a model for communication breakdowns by Brady Lund
- Personal connections: one library’s history of personal librarian by Elise Ferer ("the “intent of a personal librarian program is to build long-term, one-on-one connections that allow students to have the confidence and resources to be successful in the skill sets that librarians particularly seek to instill in them”)
- Is the reference desk used for reference interviews by Idunn Bøyum, Katriina Byström, Nils Pharo
- Referring academic library chat reference patrons: how subject librarians decide by Paula R. Dempsey Go to https://www.emerald.com/insight/publication/issn/0090-7324/vol/49/iss/1

Photo by Sheila Webber: fallen cherry blossom  and bluebells, April 2021

Webinar: International Research in Library and Information Science

IFLA Library Theory and Research Section has organised, on 26 May 4pm-5.30pm UK time a webinar: International Research in Library and Information Science (Live AI Closed Captioning and transcription available) "This webinar will explore international and comparative research in Library and Information Science (LIS). Peter Lor (University of Pretoria, South Africa) ... will give an introductory talk to examine what is meant by international and comparative research in LIS, what can be learned from such research, and outline what special pitfalls and challenges are to be considered. The introduction will be followed by a panel of LIS journal editors discussing and evaluating the international and comparative LIS research submitted to their journals (Kendra Albright and Theo Bothma (Libri); Juan Daniel Machin Mastromatteo (Information Development); Steve Witt (IFLA Journal). The webinar will also include two presentations of international research by Anna Maria Tammaro (University of Parma, Italy) and Amy van Scoy (University at Buffalo, USA)." Registration: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RiZ4D19BQtG1kap1rKjdLA

Photo by Sheila Webber: Greenwich Park, April 2021

Misinformation Escape Room project

An interesting project run by researchers from the University of Washington’s TASCHA: Center for an Informed Public, the GAMER Group, and Puzzle Break: the Misinformation Escape Room. "This project designs and studies the impact of escape rooms as a mechanism for learning about and developing resilience towards misinformation." The project page is here https://tascha.uw.edu/projects/misinformation-escape-room/ and this post gives a brief report about libraries piloting the escape room https://tascha.uw.edu/2021/04/libraries-pilot-the-euphorigen-investigation-escape-room/

Photo by Sheila Webber: alien about to be crushed by giant wheeel! (no, that's misinformation, it is simply a Lost Item, probably dropped out of the car when people were getting out....)

Recent articles: Science literacy; Copyright literacy; Imposter syndrome; Students sharing info during COVID19

Howell, E.L., & Brossard, D. (2021) (Mis)informed about what? What it means to be a science-literate citizen in a digital world. PNAS, 118 (15) e1912436117. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1912436117 Another literacy - though "science literacy" has been a concept for a while. The authors say that these abilities include: "1) Understanding how science is produced, and what that means for how science relates to broader society, or “civic science literacy”; 2) understanding how science information appears and moves through media systems, or “digital media science literacy”; and 3) understanding how people interpret science information when they come across it, or “cognitive science literacy.”" 

Adams, K. (2021, February 10). Combatting Imposter Syndrome with Comradery and Critical Pedagogy [blog post]. https://acrlog.org/2021/02/10/combatting-imposter-syndrome-with-comradery-and-critical-pedagogy/

The latest issue of the open access IFLA journal (Volume 47 Number 1 March 2021) includes:
- Information-seeking behaviour of science and technology researchers in Nigeria: A survey of the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi by Olayinka Babayemi Makinde, Glenrose Velile Jiyane and Tinashe Mugwisi
- Copyright literacy of library and information science professionals in Bangladesh by Zakir Hossain ("The results of this study suggest that librarians overall are at least somewhat familiar with a wide range of copyright issues and topics. The findings suggest that in Bangladesh there is a need for improvement."
Download the whole-issue pdf at http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/hq/publications/ifla-journal/ifla-journal-47-1_2021.pdf

Hashim, L. et al. (2020). Students’ Intention to Share Information Via Social Media: A Case Study of Covid-19 Pandemic. Indonesian Journal of Science & Technology,  5(2), 236-245. https://ejournal.upi.edu/index.php/ijost/article/view/24586
Photo by Sheila Webber: hawthorn blossom, May 2021

Call for proposals: Information Science Research During #COVID19 and #Post-Pandemic Opportunities #IST21 @asist_ec

The ASIS&T European Chapter seeks abstracts for the online research and networking event (on June 9-11, 2021, 2pm-5pm UK time, which is, e.g. 9am-12 noon US Eastern time) on Information Science Research During COVID-19 and Post-Pandemic Opportunities. The Deadline for proposals is 28 May 2021 and proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis, as they are submitted. For each day we will have one keynote followed by short online talks and a student poster session. I'm saying "we" as I'm one of the organisers of this event ;-) The extended abstracts will be published at Zenodo, an online repository for research outputs (see here for abstracts from previous years). 

Topics may include, but are not limited to: Information behaviour/practices during a pandemic; Social informatics in a pandemic; Retrieval for pandemic information; Information ethics and society during lockdown; Data in a pandemic; Artificial intelligence (AI), a pandemic opportunity?; Online and remote data collection; Ethical concerns around online research; Research collaboration during a pandemic; Researchers' health and well-being during a pandemic; Funding challenges during COVID-19; Post-pandemic information science research; Research dissemination and discourse during a pandemic.

Contributions can be a presentation talk (15 min) or a poster presentation (10 min; for students only). All contribution submissions require an extended abstract (500-1,000 words, including references in APA format, and written in English). They should be submitted using this template by 28 May 2021 online to Easychair via this submission link: https://easychair.org/cfp/IST2021. All abstracts will be peer-reviewed. 

For the Student Posters, Information Science students (BA/BSc, MA/MSc, or PhD students within Information Science) are invited to submit posters about their research (i.e. it can be on a different theme to the main conference themes). All student posters will be entered in a Best Poster competition. You need to verify your status and name your supervisors.  

Registration (whether you are a presenter or a delegate) is free for members of ASIST&T (Association for Information Science and Technology: n.b. you need to login to the ASIS&T website to see the zero cost registration option); otherwise $10 for students and $25 for others. Registration is here: https://associationforinformationscienceandtechnologyasist.growthzoneapp.com/ap/Events/Register/xP2D478r?mode=Attendee

Webinar: Open Access, Infodemics and Libraries: Exploring the global equity of science #EmergingInternationalVoices

A free 2-hour webinar is organised by IFLA and Goethe-Institut in its #EmergingInternationalVoices series on 26 May at 3pm Central European Summer Time (which is, e.g., 2pm UK time): Open Access, Infodemics and Libraries, exploring the global equity of science. It is organised by young librarians from around the world, and it addresses the questions: How did the COVID-19 Pandemic affect access to Open Access research, including of course access to reliable and correct information about the Pandemic itself? How can libraries solve these problems? Registration at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FE0A6ec2TrGZ_TcgpgfEIQ

Webinar: Open Educational Practices Showcase

ACRL SLILC has organised a free Open Educational Practices Showcase on 25 May 25 2021 at 3pm USA Central Time (which is, e.g., 9pm UK time). The presentations are:
- Open Textbook Writing as a Tool of Instruction in Information Literacy Courses: Yang Wu, Anne Grant, and Megan Palmer (Clemson University)
- WikiEdu: Open Educational Practice Overload?: Brandon Adler (University of New Orleans)
- OEP Collaborations and the Open Pedagogy Project Roadmap: Considerations for Planning, Implementing, Sharing, and Sustaining Open Pedagogy Projects: Bryan McGeary and Christina Riehman-Murphy (Pennsylvania State University).
Register at https://ala-events.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DfTesTApQ4aNUWmdNd5ZtQ
Photo by Sheila Webber: lilac and the sky, May 2021

#ukmedlibs chat on Health Information Week

The next #ukmedlibs Twitter chat will be on Tuesday 18 May 2021 from 12.30 UK time. The topic for the chat will be Health Information Week, which takes place 5 to 11 July 2021. Questions for discussion: Is this your first time celebrating Health Information Week? Which of the daily themes appeals to you the most? Who will you be promoting this to? What do you have planned for the week in terms of promotion? What do you think of this years publicity? What else would you like to see? What would you like to see for Health Information Week 2022?
Links to transcripts and analytics of previous chats are available here. https://ukmedlibs.wordpress.com/
Photo by Sheila Webber: peony, May 2021

Call for proposals: Librarians on the Front Lines: Combatting Misinformation, Disinformation, Malinformation and Fake News

Presenters are sought for the IFLA Reference and Information Services Section (RISS) session at WLIC (World Library & Information Congress) 2021 (taking place in August), Librarians on the Front Lines: Combatting Misinformation, Disinformation, Malinformation and Fake News. The deadline for proposals is 17 May 2021
They "seek provocateur speakers who can speak for no more than 10 minutes on what they and their libraries have done to be in the forefront of the conversation about misinformation and disinformation. Have you done something beyond creating a LibGuide? Have you created an innovative program about the threats of misinformation? Have you collaborated with another agency to educate about the perils of disinformation? How are you working together with your community toward the common goal of eradicating malinformation? We want specific examples of activities your library has, and is, taking that will inspire, engage, empower, and challenge your colleagues."
Send proposals of no more than 200 words, together with your name, title, affiliation, and contact information (and with the subject line RISS Provocateur) to Marydee Ojala, RISS Secretary, marydee@xmission.com and to Kimberley Bugg, RISS Chair, kimberleybugg@gmail.com
Photo by Sheila Webber: pink cherry blossom, April 2021

Reading in the Age of Distrust

Last month (7 April 2021) the 2nd in the Project Information Literacy Provocations series was published: Alison Head on Reading in the Age of Distrust. Head discusses the importance of different types of reading at university level, and the importance of supporting students in learning to read critically, and for understanding. Go to  https://projectinfolit.org/pubs/provocation-series/essays/reading-in-the-age-of-distrust.html.
Photo by Sheila Webber, taken in the 3D virtual world, Second Life, May 2021

Recording: Hosting successful online training

A 30 minute recording of a session held on 23 April 2021 provides some useful advice: Hosting successful online training: experiences and tips was delivered by Katie Edwards, NHS Education for Scotland, in collaboration with CILIP Scotland. It aimed "to share experiences of delivering remote learning and offer various tips for doing this" https://vimeo.com/540730265/26b5fef6ec

Photo by Sheila Webber: crab apple, Apple 2021

Registration for #WILU21 open

Registration for the WILU 2021 (Canadian information literacy) conference (taking place online 21-25 June 2021) is open. The registration form is available on the conference website: https://wilu-conference.github.io/register/.  The conference is co-organised by Dalhousie, Mount Saint Vincent and Saint Mary's Universities, Canada. This year's theme is Visions of the Possible, and keynote speakers are Kim Brooks (Professor of Law and Dean of the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University and Veronica Arellano Douglas (Instruction Coordinator at the University of Houston Libraries). For more information go to https://wilu-conference.github.io/

Leading Light FestivIL 2021 award: nominations open #FestivIL

The LILAC Committee have opened nominations for the Leading Light FestivIL 2021 award, sponsored by the University of Sheffield Information School (my department!): the deadline for nominations is 25 May 2021. "This award is for a member of the IL [Information Literacy] community who has been a local hero supporting, leading or inspiring colleagues or library users in information literacy during the last 12 months. Nominations are invited for people or teams who have: Supported, mentored or coached others in any aspect of information literacy; Led or inspired colleagues or library users or have gone 'above and beyond' with information literacy initiatives; Created innovative information literacy teaching or services"
Full details of the award and the nomination form can be found on the FestivIL by LILAC website https://medium.com/festivil-by-lilac/awards-940c5b3e3700.
Photo by Sheila Webber: tulips, April 2021

Notes from: Media and Information Literacy for Government Officials and Policy-makers #MILCLICKS

I attended the WSIS forum webinar that I advertised earlier today, which had an impressive list of panellists (see my previous blog post). It started by publicising the MOOC (free online course) that is being developed by the United Nations University: Media, Information and Literacy (MIL) MOOC for Government Officials and Policy-makers (see https://egov.unu.edu/research/media-information-and-literacy-mil-mooc-for-government-officials-and-policy-makers.html#outline) which will launch in a few months. At the start of the webinar they outlined that there will be 4 modules in the course (An invitation to MIL; MIL policies and strategies; Mainstreaming MIL in general policy development; Practice & experience).
There was also broader discussion about related Media and Information Literacy issues. Points that were made included: that in some regions of the world governments would be unwilling to support MIL, because critical and independent thinking is thought of as disrespectful and not something to be developed; that involving citizens in developing MIL was essential (and not just involving media companies etc.) - the link to the SDG about "leaving noone behind" was mentioned; that fact-checking is not enough - for example, critical thinking is vital; the need for all stakeholders to collaborate to move forward, and for it to be transdisciplinary; the need for a multilevel approach (from local grassroots, through national, to international policy), all joined up.
There is a recording of the webinar on Facebook https://fb.watch/5kVUgVaLUr/ and this was the agenda and panel biographies https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/forum/2021/Agenda/Session/399

Webinar *today* 12 noon UK time: Media and Information Literacy for Government Officials and Policy-makers

Only heard about it this morning: one hour webinar Media and Information Literacy for Government Officials and Policy-makers, part of the WSIS Forum 2021, register at https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/forum/2021/Agenda/Session/399. "This workshop proposal draws on the need and importance of MIL policies and strategies at the national level and is inscribed in a current project being jointly developed by UNESCO (https://en.unesco.org/themes/communication-and-information), UNU-EGOV (United Nations University Operating Unit on Policy-Driven Electronic Governance https://egov.unu.edu) and UAB (Autonomous University of Barcelona https://www.uab.cat/web/universitat-autonoma-de-barcelona-1345467954774.html) to design a MIL Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for Government Officials and Policy-makers."
The panellists are Barbara Lison (IFLA’s President-Elect and Governing Board member), Ramon R. Tuazon (Secretary General, Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC), Philippines), Dorcas Bowler (Director of Libraries, National Library and Information Services - Ministry of Education, Bahamas), Tomás Durán-Becerra (Head of Research, UNIMINUTO University, Colombia), Alton Grizzle (Programme Specialist in Communication and Information, UNESCO), Delfina Soares (Director of the United Nations University Operating Unit on Policy-Driven Electronic Governance, UNU-EGOV, Portugal), Laura Cervi (Serra Húnter Professor, Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Spain), Mariana Lameiras (Senior Academic Fellow, United Nations University Operating Unit on Policy-Driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV)

New articles: contra one-shots; transactional distance

The latest issue of open-access College and Research Libraries (vol 82 no 3)includes:
- Pagowsky, N. (2021). The Contested One-Shot: Deconstructing Power Structures to Imagine New Futures. College & Research Libraries, 82(3), 300. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.82.3.300 "This guest editorial will discuss one-shots in the context of effective teaching practices; assessment; and power structures related to care-work and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)."
- Charles, L., & DeFabiis, W. (2021). Closing the Transactional Distance in an Online Graduate Course through the Practice of Embedded Librarianship. College & Research Libraries, 82(3), 370. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.82.3.370 (abstract) "Using the practice of embedded librarianship, a professor from the Graduate School of Education and the Education Librarian at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey collaborated to investigate its impact on the inherent transactional distance that exists in an online graduate course. Using Michael G. Moore’s three relational distances existing in the online environment—“teacher-student,” “student-student,” “student-course content”—the authors added two areas—”instructor-librarian” and “student-librarian”—that can close the transactional distance in online courses. Through course activities, structure, and access to the embedded librarian and specific library resources, students had increased opportunities for engagement, thereby reducing transactional distance."
- A book review by Natasha Jenkins of: Mallon, M. (2020). Partners in Teaching and Learning: Coordinating a Successful Academic Library Instruction Program. Lanham, MD: Rowan & Littlefield. (ISBN 978-1-5381-1884-9). Review at https://crl.acrl.org/index.php/crl/article/view/24923
Photo by Sheila Webber: ornamental cherry, April 2021

Registration open for FestivIL by LILAC

FestivIL by LILAC, taking place onine on 6-8 July 2021, is open for booking - there are limited numbers, so book soon. Delegates can choose to attend all three half-days or choose a specific half-day: 6 July (1.00pm – 5.30pm BST (UK time); 7th July (9.00am – 1.30pm BST); 8th July (1.00pm – 5.30pm BST). The costs are: Full event £50 plus VAT; Per half day £20 plus VAT. More info including programme at https://medium.com/festivil-by-lilac and registration at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/festivil-by-lilac-tickets-145661115317

#LibrariesAreEssential to Tackling Misinformation

In the leadup to the Scottish elections taking place this Thursday, CILIP Scotland assembled some pages summarising evidence about the relevance of libraries to various issues, for people to bring to the attention to the political parties and their candidates. One such page is #LibrariesAreEssential to Tackling Misinformation, which has links both to reports detailing the problem of misinformation (without special reference to libraries) and to evidence that libraries have worked to tackle misinformation and the problems it causes. Go to https://www.cilips.org.uk/advocacy-campaigns/librariesareessential/librariesareessential-to-tackling-misinformation/. You can also see on this page (scroll down a little) the questions that CILIPS posed to all the Scottish political parties about their position on libraries, and the parties' responses (all the major ones have responded as of today).
Photo by Sheila Webber: A bright future? April 2021

ACRL Framework for Information Literacy Sandbox recording

On 27 April 2021 there was a 30 minute webinar on using the ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) Framework for Information Literacy Sandbox  Speakers Jane Hammons, Alicia Vaandering and Kari D. Weaver talked about contributing to the sandbox and searching it to find material you could use in your own information literacy teaching. The recording is at https://youtu.be/tM9OfxicIj8
Photo by Sheila Webber: tulips and hedges, April 2021

Interview with winners of 2021 Ilene F. Rockman publication Award

Alison J. Head, Barbara Fister, and Margy MacMillan won the 2021 Ilene F. Rockman Instruction Publication of the year Award for their report, Information Literacy in the Age of Algorithms: Student Experiences with News and Information, and the Need for Change. There is an interview with them here: https://acrl.ala.org/IS/2021-rockman-award-winner-interview-alison-j-head-barbara-fister-and-margy-macmillan/
Photo by Sheila Webber: first asparagus from the farmers' market, 2 weeks ago, another lovely bunch today.