There was a webinar on Prompt engineering in libraries: some early observations
on12 June 2024, in which Liam Bullingham, Oona Ylinen, and Beth Burnet from the University of Essex, UK, shared some reflections on engineering prompts for generative AI in libraries. The recording is here https://youtu.be/JUEUkMz_ibo?si=WKoglGTMnXB2SjbM
Photo by Sheila Webber: white climbing roses, May 2024.
There is a call from the International Journal of Communication on "the intersection of Generative AI and disinformation. As AI technologies advance, so do the capabilities of those seeking to misuse them for synthesising and spreading disinformation. ... Contributions to this Special Section may cover a diverse array of disciplinary perspectives, including but not limited to communication science, computational social science, computer science, psychology, sociology and political science. Authors are encouraged to adopt interdisciplinary approaches that bridge the gap between technical understanding and societal impact. Submissions may range from empirical studies and theoretical frameworks to case analyses and policy recommendations, providing a comprehensive examination of the challenges and opportunities arising from the convergence of generative AI and disinformation. Special focus will be on questions relating to elections, electoral integrity, democracy, and journalism. We would welcome in particular research with a cross-platform approach, cases from the Global South as well as investigations with a multi-modal focus."
Deadline for submissions of full articles is 31 December 2024.
More information at https://edmo.eu/edmo-news/call-for-papers-generative-ai-and-disinformation-ijoc-special-section/
To celebrate 20 years of the LILAC (UK information literacy) conference there has been a research project LILAC Stories "aiming to evidence and illustrate the
impact of conference participation on individuals, services and the wider
profession" The deadline for contributions is 28 June 2024, so if you have been meaning to contribute, now is the time!
"The researchers would like to hear stories from delegates on what they have
learned or experienced at any LILAC Conference over the 20 years it has
been running. We are hoping these stories will add to our understanding of
the value of the conference. We are looking to capture stories from a wide
range of delegates, including delegates who have not presented or been
otherwise involved in the conference planning."
More information at https://www.lilacconference.com/lilac-stories
Available in Spanish and English, Mapping of media and information literacy initiatives in Ibero-America - 2023 (by the Plataforma de Reguladores del Sector Audiovisual de Iberoamérica and published by UNESCO) is just published. It includes Mapping of MIL initiatives in Ibero-Americ; Perspectives on the adaptability of MIL promotion and dissemination practices in Ibero-America; and Recommendations for the Promotion and Dissemination of MIL in Ibero-America
Espanol: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000390030
English: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000390030_eng
The journal Information and Learning Sciences (hybrid as regards open access) has two special issues focusing on Perspectives on Data Literacies Volume 125 Issue 3/4 (2024) includes
- Promoting students’ informal inferential reasoning through arts-integrated data literacy education by Camillia Matuk et al.
- Exploring alternative discourses about datafication in a speculative youth participatory action research curriculum by Ezequiel Aleman
- Using network visualizations to engage elementary students in locally relevant data literacy by Mengxi Zhou et al
- Community college students’ self-assessment of data literacy: exploring differences amongst demographic, academic, and career characteristics by Sarah Amber Evans et al.
- Teen-adult interactions during the co-design of data literacy activities for the public library: insights from a natural language processing analysis of linguistic patterns by Leanne Bowler et al.
- Critical datafication literacy: a framework for educating about datafication by Ina Sander
Go to https://www.emerald.com/insight/publication/issn/2398-5348/vol/125/iss/3/4
Volume 125 Issue 5/6 (2024) includes
- A critical (theory) data literacy: tales from the field by Annette Markham and Riccardo Pronzato
- Teaching data storytelling as data literacy by Kate McDowell and Matthew J. Turk
- Orienting privacy literacy toward social change by Priya C. Kumar
- In my opinion, the TOS… Situating personal data literacy interventions by Juliana Elisa Raffaghelli et al
- Data literacy education through university-industry collaboration by Eylem Taş
- Data literacy in the new EU DigComp 2.2 framework how DigComp defines competences on artificial intelligence, internet of things and data by Leo Van Audenhove et al.
Go to https://www.emerald.com/insight/publication/issn/2398-5348/vol/125/iss/5/6
Not specifically information literacy, but if you are interested in the intersection between library and information science and fandom you will likely be interested in the recordings from the FanLIS one day conference held last month (with the theme Fandom, AI & the Immersive), masterminded by Ludi Price and Lyn Robinson https://blogs.city.ac.uk/fanlis/fanlis-2024/fanlis-2024-recordings/
Image created using Midjourney AI and the prompt Fandom, AI & the Immersive - I was feeling lazy
On 18 June 2024 at 13.00 US Eastern time (18.00 UK time) there is a webinar Preparing Future Librarians for Instruction and Advocacy: A Panel Discussion.
"The expectation for librarians to teach, including the types of content they are expected to teach, continues to expand. The ACRL's Roles and Strengths of Teaching Librarians (2017) outlines seven different roles, such as teacher, instructional designer, and advocate. Are LIS students prepared for the roles they will be expected to fulfill? This discussion will consider the role that LIS faculty and academic librarians do and do not play in preparing new and future librarians for the challenge of teaching and advocating for information literacy. What types of support do new librarians need for their teaching roles, and how is this best provided? How should LIS programs evolve to prepare librarians in teaching and advocating for information literacy?"
The event is hosted by The Ohio State University Libraries and is a follow-up to Celebrating 50 Years of Information Literacy: A Panel Discussion.
Panelists: Laura Saunders (Professor and Associate Dean of the School of Library and Information Sciences at Simmons University, USA); Mira Scarnecchia (OER Librarian at Columbus State Community College , USA); Merinda Kaye Hensley (Associate Professor in the University of Illinois Library and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Information Sciences, USA) and Eamon Tewell (Head of Research Support & Outreach at Columbia University and part-time faculty in the Department of Library & Information Science at Rutgers University, USA)
To register, go to http://osu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jvzuGrP1TVCTAnYp6Y6WtQ
Photo by Sheila Webber: trees in Stanley Park, Vancouver, May 2024
An opportunity only for people in countries in the European Union!
"A civic hackathon is organized in Italy [Perugia] from September 25 to 27, 2024 as part of the European project Gender-ED Coalition. The project focuses on educating the general public on the issues of gender education in the context of disinformation. It focuses on media and information literacy and gender equality, with the aim of highlighting the phenomenon of sexist disinformation and violence in social media.
"The hackathon is aimed at MIL [media and information literacy] stakeholders, artists, activists, designers, content creators, teachers, sensitive to gender and disinformation issues. Those selected must come from a European country [the application form stipulates EU] and be fluent in English."
The registration form is here and this is the project website https://www.genderedcoalition.net/
Image is Midjourney AI's idea of Perugia
There is an interesting conversation around what is commonly known as the WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty: changes to the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR). Started in 2021 "The main goal of this treaty would be to foster an all of government and all of society approach, strengthening national, regional and global capacities and resilience to future pandemics. This includes greatly enhancing international co-operation to improve, for example, alert systems, data-sharing, research and local, regional and global production and distribution of medical and public health counter-measures such as vaccines, medicines, diagnostics and personal protective equipment."
I think this is the latest draft.(at least, it is a late draft), and the the opening peroration mentions that signatories are
"Recognizing the importance of building trust and ensuring the timely sharing of information to
prevent misinformation, disinformation and stigmatization,"
It was hoped that it would have been finalised in time for a high level conference at the end of May 2024. Then it was agreed at the start of the conference that there would be a statement at the end of the conference (here) with agreement to finalise things in 2025 at the latest. Part of the problem is reaching agreement over information sharing.
My attention was drawn to it by this article, which clains that the process has been delayed by the spread of disinformation: https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/safeguarding-pandemic-agreement-disinformation
There is a useful summary on the UK Government website https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9550/ It seems like a former UK Prime Minister was an early signatory, but last month the UK Government said it wouldn't sign it but "did not explicitly state the reasons for this". The implication seems to be that it has believed some of the misinformation that was spread....
Photo by Sheila Webber: trees in Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada, May 2024
The UNESCO Media and Information Literacy podcast (videos) has 9 episodes, each of 8-9 minutes so far, covering topics such as
- Digital skills for safe navigation in digital spaces
- Media and Information Literacy to address hate speech and discrimination
- Tackling misinformation and disinformation through Media and Information Literacy competencies
Go to https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWuYED1WVJIOKXxgn99Zxwcw18IDKAeVY
Photo by Sheila Webber: chestnut tree in Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada, May 2024
- Vong, S. (2024). Incompatible with the Framework: State Laws Targeting DEI, LGBTQIA2s+, and CRT. College & Research Libraries News, 85(6), 247-253. https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.85.6.247
- Research Planning and Review Committee. (2024). 2024 Top Trends in Academic Libraries: A Review of the Trends and Issues. College & Research Libraries News, 85(6), 231-246. https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.85.6.231 (These include AI & AI Literacy and Open Pedagogy & Instructional Design)
- Lo, L., & Anderson, V. (2024). AI Reskilling in Libraries: When the Dean’s Assistant Gets an AI Assistant. College & Research Libraries News, 85(6), 258-262. https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.85.6.258 (A useful account of using AI as an administrative tool)
Image by Sheila Webber using Midjourney AI, the prompt AI, meetings, efficiency, impressionist style --v 6.0 --ar 16:9. With my first prompt "administrative assistant, AI, meetings, impressionist style" all the images were of attractive young women at a keyboard (so obviously all assistants are women) whereas "efficiency" brought up a majority of men.
There is a new episode of the Chatting Info Lit podcast produced by the CILIP Information Literacy Group New Professionals group. Hosted by Beth Morgan, Josh Rodda, and Ella Wharton, it looks at some of the history of Information Literacy with guests William Badke, Moira Bent, Debbi Boden-Angell, James Elmborg, Jane Secker, and Geoff Walton. "Sharing experiences, influences, and stories across a range of contexts, they discuss the definition of Information Literacy, the formation of the CILIP ILG, the need for librarians to be taken seriously as teachers, and the challenges posed by the rise of generative AI."
You can find it on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/6y3wySgEdARtcwvjquR8WL? on Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-8-il-50/id1673423506? and on Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/chatting-info-lit-podcast/episode-8-il-50?
For those of you educating in Higher Education, this weekly listing of events and resources is useful, compiled by Dr Mary Jacob (Aberystwyth University, Wales). Generative AI features as a topic at the moment. https://wordpress.aber.ac.uk/e-learning/category/weekly-resource-roundup/
Photo by Sheila Webber: spring leaves, May 2024
The American Library Association's Library Instruction Round Table (LIRT) has publsihed its list of Top 20 instruction articles for 2023. You can find the list, with annotations explaining why each item was chosen at https://www.ala.org/sites/default/files/2024-05/LIRT%20Top%2020%202023.pdf
On 20 June 2024 at 10.00-11.00 US EAstern time (which is 15.00-16.00 UK time) they have a free online webinar with authors from three of the articles:
- Bluemle, S. (2023). A close look at the concept of authority in information literacy. Journal of New Librarianship, 8(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.33011/newlibs/14/1
- Littletree, S., Andrews, N., & Loyer, J. (2023). Information as a relation: Defining Indigenous information literacy. Journal of Information Literacy, 17(2), 4–23. https://doi.org/10.11645/17.2.8
- White, A. (2023). Let 'No' be 'No': When librarians say 'no' to instruction opportunities. In the Library with the Lead Pipe. https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2023/let-no-be-no/
"The authors will share more about the inspiration for their research and how their work has impacted their own practice since publication."
Register at https://forms.gle/2dE6QCGHPG4K48Fq8
Photo by Sheila Webber: water feature, Vancouver, May 2024
Recordings of the UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Youth Debate Series that took place 29-31 May 2024 (theme: Youth Powering Media and Information Literacy Responses to the use of Generative AI) are available. They are each about 90 minutes long and each has international teams arguing for and against the proposation
- Debate May 29: Is equipping youth with media and Information literacy competencies the best way to help youth benefit from and reduce the risks they face when using Generative AI? https://www.youtube.com/live/t1PCnN6Jcj0?si=2ApTqEbsipBrL9nf
- Debate May 30: Is removing biases from Generative AI systems possible? https://www.youtube.com/live/Z8VETXSJAKo?si=fRK8cetI0dngE3bE
- Debate May 31: Should the governance of digital platforms and technology companies include implementing a ‘teenage mode’, to mitigate the negative impacts of technology on young people? https://www.youtube.com/live/GSt4BjRoj7Y?si=aVzFjntov_bo2EsO
