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Tuesday, October 10, 2023

#ECIL2023 An Archipelago of Library and Information Science - Jenna Hartel

Pam McKinney here live blogging from day 2of the ECIL conference [apologies, we're having wifi problems, so are liveblogging, but not necessarily live posting!] Professor Jenna Hartel from the University of Toronto is leading the keynote this morning. Jenna began by reflecting on her role to extend love, present her authentic self and be outrageous. Metaphorically our field has a core island of information retrieval, information behaviour and information literacy, but just off shore is an archipelago of new and emerging fields.
Archipelagos form though volcanic activity and represent dynamism and fertility. An archipelago of library and information science is represented here at the ECIL conference, and Jenna is going to take us on a tour today - have your passport ready! Jenna has been making videos about LIS for a number of years, and is going to present some of these this morning.
The first island is Embodiment, recognises that information literacy substantially involves the body, and this was first popularised by Annemaree Lloyd with her research into embodied information practices. Our bodies project information about ourselves to others. The information literate person is proficient in social, textual and embodied information. Other researchers such as Tim Gorichanaz (yesterday’s keynote) have investigated the bodily experience of information literacy.
Our next stop is the island of contemplation or deep reflective thought. There is a rich tradition of contemplation in many religions, and is also linked to mindfulness practices, which can help address mental health. A few minutes mindfulness of contemplative pedagogy can significantly improve the student experience. Dr David Levy is an advocate for the mindful librarian, and invites reflection on our experience of using technology, and become a digital craftsperson.  Contemplation can be placed on the higher levels of the data information and knowledge pyramid, and Jenna has often started her classes with a moment of contemplation. 

Next stop is a multi-species islet, representing the interconnectedness of humans and other species. A multi species approach replaces a human centric approach with a shared vision of humans and animals. Dr Marcia Bates’ theories of information involve reflecting on the information experience of animals. Niloofar Solhjoo’s work looks at the social interactions between humans and animals, and the role of animals (pet guardians) in our information worlds and experiences. Jenna says that she is constantly drawing inspiration from the animals in her life in her teaching and research, and uses animals to help her frame her teaching for students, and played a video that she created for her students to characterise the role of the reference book using antelopes.

Far from the mainland of LIS we have the islet of love. Jenna tries to make her classes spaces of love, where loving kindness is prized. Jenna created a multimedia love letter to LIS which can be found on you tube. Carol Kuhlthau’s  research speaks about the affective nature of information research, and Jenna said we all need self care and love.

Our final destination is the underwater sea mount of psychedelic information theory. Here James L Kent consolidates the scientific literature and his own psychedelic experiences using so called magic mushrooms that contain the drug psilocybin. These drugs have long been used by indigenous cultures, and Jenna invited us to consider the role of psychedelic drugs in understanding new information experiences. The information density in a psychedelic experience is rich and novel, and there is an important role for the shaken as a guide to this information experience. Jenna suggest that there is a similarity between the shamen and the librarian, as the librarian mediates the information world for users, just as the shamen mediates the psychedelic experience for their users. 

This was a beautiful key note characterised by colourful and engaging video presentations, it made me want to be a student in Jenna’s classes!

Embedded below is a video by Jenna that she wanted to play during the session but technical difficulties prevented

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