Latest in the Tips and Trends series from ACRL is Tips and Trends: Optimize Your Guides: Creating and Maintaining User-Friendly LibGuides As usual this is a a short publication of a few pages, which concisely explains what Libguides are, current uses in libraries and Higher Education, and potential problems. There are links to articles and a couple of other resources at the end.
The web version is here and the pdf is here.
Photo by Sheila Webber: autumn leaf on car, 2, November 2024
Emporia State University presents a free webinar, Health Literacy and Young Adults, on 19 November 2024 at 13.00 US Central time (which is 19.00 UK time). Speakers are: Lesley Farmer, Jill R. Kavanaugh, Shawn Steidinger, Deborah H. Charbonneau and Emily Vardell.
"This webinar will explore opportunities for public and school librarians to support the health literacy of young adults. A panel of experts will seek to equip librarians with the information and tools they need to be responsive to the varied health information needs and literacy levels of individuals in their communities. By understanding the health information needs and behaviors of adolescents and young adults (AYA), librarians can be more effective in supporting AYA’s health. Librarians are uniquely positioned to advocate for easy-to-read materials, design and deliver information literacy instruction about combating online misinformation, and optimize their effectiveness by partnering with community experts to provide appropriate health-related resources, services, and programs. The evidence-based, practical approaches discussed in this webinar are designed to help build capacity for health literacy work in public libraries, with a focus on supporting young adults’ health information needs."
Register at: https://emporiastate.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcpcO6rpjIsHdIQaU4slI37HipzwDiway8N#/registration
This conference, taking place online 18-19 November 2024 is free, but you need to register as there is an attendance cap of 300 people per day. You need to register for both days, if you want to attend both days. The Institute for Research Design in Librarianship Online Research Conference is at 9.00-14.00 (US Pacific time) which is e.g. 17.00-midnight GMT (UK time).
"The conference is the first research methods-focused conference of its
kind in the United States and will offer a friendly and inclusive
environment to increase participants' understanding of methodologies and
research in practice. During an engaging two days, participants will
have opportunities to share their current research, reflect on research
challenges and enjoy a variety of seminars and hands on practice
sessions with some of the most inventive researchers in the field."
Day 1: https://lmula.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIqceiupjwoGtLwLclf0EzOEYWsR5xv3AbR
Day 2: https://lmula.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwucOyrpzkqHtRXXvvAq5oWUGyNrHTaKICn
The conference website with the full programme is here: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/irdlconference/2024/
Photo by Sheila Webber: remembering Halloween, November 2024
Applications are open for bursaries for the LILAC 2025 (information literacy) conference taking place in-person 14–16 April 2025 at Cardiff University, Wales. To apply for a bursary, you must be a librarian, volunteer, or information professional working in the UK. Applications close on 22 November 2024 at 17.00 GMT. There are two kinds of bursary.
- LILAC Bursaries. There are 5 free places for people in the following under-represented groups in the
UK: Ethnic minority backgrounds; School libraries; Further Education; Public libraries; Health libraries (e.g. NHS – please note; librarians working in Higher
Education who support health subjects are not eligible to apply). The bursary includes three days at the conference and
social events. They also include up to £250 in expenses for reasonable
travel and accommodation.
- Local to LILAC Bursaries. There are 6 bursaries. "These bursaries are day delegate places, and we are offering two places for
each day of the three-day conference. ... intended for people who live or work near to the LILAC venue, to have the
chance to attend a day at LILAC and experience what the conference offers.
Each of the six bursaries will involve a free day place to one day of the
conference and £50 for reasonable travel expenses. " They include food/refreshments on the day, but not social events.
For more details go to https://www.lilacconference.com/lilac-2025/bursaries-1
The Meaningful Inquiry team at Ohio State, USA has organised a free webinar Reconstructing the Academy: Transforming Our Teaching and Research Practices through Epistemic Justice
on 7 November 2024, at 12:00-1:00 pm (US Eastern time, which is e.g. 17.00-18.00 UK time GMT).
Speakers are: Heather Campbell and Ashley McKeown. "This workshop invites faculty and librarians to explore the concept of
epistemic justice, a practice that demands equal respect for diverse
knowledge systems, decentering Euro-westernized academic research. While
many diversity and inclusion initiatives focus on representation,
epistemic justice goes deeper, asking us to rethink who we consider
knowledgeable and why. Together, we will explore pragmatic tools for
embedding an epistemic justice lens into undergraduate and graduate
curricula, and how we might redefine approaches to knowledge creation."
To register & to get more details on speakers: https://go.osu.edu/miepistemicjustice
Photo by Sheila Webber: Autumn colours in the Botanic Gardens, October 2024
The Global Media and Information Literacy week feature conference, which took place in Jordam 30-31 October 2024, produced the Amman declaration on strengthening media and information literacy to advance public-interest information in the digital age which claims to be currently available in Arabic and English, but at the moment both links lead to the English version. The English version is here. The page with the links is here, and hopefully the faulty Arabic link will be corrected shortly.
After a 2 page preamble there are commitments and recommendations for governments, for UNESCO and other intergovernmental organizations, for Digital platforms and technology companies, and for Civil society, media, youth, academic institutions and researchers.
The recommendations for governments include "ENACT robust national and regional media and information literacy policies and
strategies to sustain media and information literacy for all; allocate resources to
advance implementation, ensuring inclusive and multistakeholder engagement; and
integrate media and information literacy in upskilling programmes, national
development priorities, governance processes;" "SUPPORT the integration of media and information literacy into formal and non-formal
education systems and life-long learning, empowering learners and educators to
critically assess digital content;"
The recommendations for UNESCO etc. include "PROMOTE cooperation on media and information literacy among United Nations
Agencies/Funds/Programmes and regional and international intergovernmental bodies
in line with Para 35 of the Global Digital Compact of the Pact for the Future;"
The recommendations for digital platforms include: "PROVIDE users and content creators with tools and resources, developed in
partnership with multistakeholder groups and based on established standards, to
enhance media and information literacy as critical thinking skills, including flagging AIgenerated
content, and implementing content moderation systems that are inclusive
and free from bias;"
The recommendations for Civil Society organisations include "LAUNCH initiatives that promote media and information literacy beyond formal
education systems, and specifically among youth, marginalized communities and
elderly persons, empowering them with the skills to be informed creators and
discerning consumers of digital content"
There are also recommendations specifically to do with MIL in crisis situations, as well as ones to do with MIL cities.
