It is National news literacy week in the USA 3-7 February 2025 sponsored by the News Literacy Project, The E.W. Scripps Company and USA Today (being pedantic, isn't that less than a week?) Anyway, the website has some resources worth a look, including lesson plans, videos and a couple of free webinars run during the week
Go to https://newslit.org/news-literacy-week/
Two webinars from the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO)
on Health Disinformation
Module 1: Understanding and addressing health disinformation
on 13 February 2025 11:00 - 13:00 CET (10.00-12.00 GMT). Speakers are:
Ravi Sreenath (Ripple Research) – The cross-sectoral impact of health disinformation and patterns and techniques misinfluencers use to spread misleading health narratives
Sara Beatriz Monteiro (Viral Check) – EMIF Natural project
Keith Kiely (BROD, Sofia University) – Theoretical Framework for Misinformation Neutralization
Link to registration at
https://edmo.eu/training/edmo-training-series-on-health-disinformation-module-1-understanding-and-addressing-health-related-disinformation/
Module 2: Public health 101 for disinformation experts on
27 February 2025 10:00 - 11:30 CET
"takes the perspective of public health, aiming to help understand how public health is affected by disinformation, explain how public health tools and actions differ from actions taken by disinformation investigators and identify how public health approaches might benefit disinformation investigations, and vice versa, and where the two approaches exclude each other. "
Leaders are Tina Purnat
(Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health) and Elisabeth Wilhelm (University of West Attica)
Link to registration at https://edmo.eu/training/edmo-training-series-on-health-disinformation-module-2-public-health-101-for-disinformation-experts/
A report on the UNESCO website about Media and Information Literacy (MIL) a initiative in Mongolia: the Press Institute of Mongolia (PIM), with UNESCO, has organised workshops in October and November 2024 working "to integrate Media and Information Literacy (MIL) into the Mongolian education system. " It involved civil servants and representatives of government organisations.
UNESCO. (2025, January 22). Advancing Media and Information Literacy in Mongolia: UNESCO-Supported Workshops for Curriculum Integration. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/advancing-media-and-information-literacy-mongolia-unesco-supported-workshops-curriculum-integration
Photo by Sheila Webber: late autumn sky, November 2024
A couple of items from open access journal Evidence Based Library and Information Practice
- Detlor, B., Serenko, A., La Rose, T., & Julien, H. (2024). A Survey of Public Library-Led Digital Literacy Training in Canada: Perceptions of Administrators and Instructors. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 19(3), 23–41. https://doi.org/10.18438/eblip30553
- Tilley, E., & Marshall, D. (2024). Shaping the Future: A Research Agenda for U.K. Libraries . Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 19(4), 71–107. https://doi.org/10.18438/eblip30577 and Tilley's reflections on carrying out the research are here
Photo by Sheila Webber: squirrel, November 2024
On 8 February 2025 08.00-15.00 US MT (which is e.g. 15.00-22.00 GMT), costing US$40, there is an online conference: Promoting Literacy and Critical Thinking in a Convoluted World.
"Hosted by the Boise State Writing Project and News Literacy Project this conference explores teaching our students how to differentiate fact from fiction, navigate society's divisions, solve complex problems, and support their own and others' well-being. Come to be inspired, share ideas, and network with educators across the country."
Register here https://commerce.cashnet.com/cashnetg/static/storefront/boisestateEnglishDepartment/catalog/BSWPCONF
The latest issue of portal: libraries and the academy (priced journal) is vol. 24 issue 4, 2024. Articles include:
- Baer, A. (2024). The Role of Librarian-Faculty Relations in
Academic Instruction Librarians' Conceptions and Experiences of Teacher
Agency. portal: Libraries and the Academy 24(4), 867-891. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/pla.2024.a938746
"This article reports on findings of an online survey about academic
instruction librarians' conceptions and experiences of teacher agency in
relation to their instructional work, and, more specifically, on the
role of librarian-faculty relationships in these conceptions and
experiences."
- Buckley, C.E., Scott, R.E., Shelley, A., Thayer-Styes, C., &
Murphy, J.A. (2024). Disciplinary Differences and Scholarly Literature:
Faculty Experiences with Discovery, Browsing, and Formats. portal: Libraries and the Academy 24(4), 737-763. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/pla.2024.a938741
"The findings detail several ways in which disciplinary and personal
experiences shape scholars' practices. The authors discuss the perceived
disconnect between browsability, discovery, and access of scholarly
literature and explore solutions that make the library central to
discovery and browsing."
- Davis, L., Albro, M., Mack, T., & Royse, M. (2024). Authentic Connection: Engaging with Students through Empathy. portal: Libraries and the Academy 24(4), 689-703. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/pla.2024.a938738.
- Young, L.M. (2024). Digital Badging for Information Literacy Instruction: Diffusion of Innovations Analysis and Case Study. portal: Libraries and the Academy 24(4), 705-723. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/pla.2024.a938739
"This paper offers an analysis of badging in higher education and
considers the strengths and weaknesses of digital badging for
asynchronous information literacy instruction by employing Dr. Everett
Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations theoretical lens"
Photo by Sheila Webber: lost item series, 2024
ALA's Library Research Round Table is hosting a webinar on 21 February 2025 at 13.00 US Central time (which is, e.g., 19.00 GMT) Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity (AI & AI): The Research Process and Prognosis for Student and Faculty Perceptions of AI Ethics. The speaker is Dr Brady D. Lund (assistant professor of information science at the University of North Texas).
"The purpose of this presentation is twofold: First, to document various approaches used by the presenter and his collaborators to study student and faculty understandings and perceptions of academic integrity in the age of artificial intelligence, including a variety of research methodologies employed as well as avenues to disseminate findings of this research; second, to present the results of presenter's research on these topics and discuss how they may apply to the audience's own institutions. This presentation will be useful both for researchers interested in studying these and related topics, as well as practitioners interested in employing the findings of this research within their organization."
Register at https://ala-events.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WTMkt-y3RnyUI5CEwpvJzg#/registration
Image generated by Sheila Webber using Midjourney AI
Belatedly, I congratulate Karen Blakeman as the worthy winner of the UK electronic information Group (UKeiG)'s international Jason Farradane Award for 2024 (it was announced in December).
The Jason Farradane Award is presented in recognition of an outstanding, creative and enterprising contribution to the library, information and knowledge profession. The award is named for Dr Jason Farradane, who was a key founding figure in Information Science in the United Kingdom. Karen's nominators said that "Her influence through consultancy and professional development has been
invaluable in the rapidly changing world of information retrieval and
research skills. She is indisputably a distinguished, influential and
inspirational figure, facilitating the effective use of information
resources in a digital world." There is more information at https://www.cilip.org.uk/members/group_content_view.asp?group=201314&id=752351
Photo: Karen Blakeman (2011, March 30) Newcastle Royal Station Hotel Chandel(6). https://flic.kr/p/9uFFah CC BY-NC 2.0
Health Information Week in the UK takes place 20-26 January in 2025. It is a "a national, multi-sector campaign to promote high quality information". Main sponsors are the NHS and the Patient Information Forum. The website is here https://healthinfoweek.wixsite.com/healthinfoweek
Today the theme is Winter health and there is a resource list (MS Word doc) here.
A few interesting posts from the ACRL blog:
(1) Calomino, B. (2024, Decemeber 20). Liaison Librarianship: A Trial By Fire (and 5 Takeaways) https://acrlog.org/2024/12/20/liaison-librarianship-a-trial-by-fire-and-5-takeaways/
(2). Mitola, R. & Bowles-Terry, M. (2025, January 15). Immersion at UNLV: Revising and Reviving an ACRL Program. https://acrlog.org/2025/01/15/immersion-at-unlv-revising-and-reviving-an-acrl-program/
(2) Rowe, |J. (2024, November 20). The trap of knowing. https://acrlog.org/2024/11/20/the-trap-of-knowing/ (life lesson - It’s okay not to know!)
Image created by Sheila Webber using Midjourney AI
The January 2025 issue of College & Research Libraries News (volume 86, no. 1) includes:
- Emily Jaeger-McEnroe. Rethinking Authority and Bias: Modifying the CRAAP Test to Promote Critical Thinking about Marginalized Information.
- Kevin Adams. Surveillance and Privacy: How Can the Framework Support Privacy Literacy? (that's the ACRL IL Framework)
Go to https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/issue/view/1671/showToc
Photo by Sheila Webber: discarded Christmas trees, January 2025
The Information Literacy Group has published the recording of the webinar Information Literacy as a Discipline: What's the Difference? in which I was one of the panellists last October. The event was co-organised by the CILIP Information Literacy Group, the Purdue University Institute for Information Literacy, USA, and the University of Sheffield Information School, Libraries and Information Society Research Group. UK.
The panellists were Dr. Karen Kaufmann (Assistant professor, School of Information, University of South Florida, USA), Bill Johnston (activist and retired academic, Scotland), Dr Clarence Maybee (Associate Dean for Learning and the W. Wayne Booker Endowed Chair in Information Literacy at Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies, USA), Dr Syeda Shahid (Assistant Professor, Towson University, USA) and me (Sheila Webber, Senior Lecturer, University of Sheffield Information School, UK).
We are members of the international group of researchers and practitioners, ILIAD: Information Literacy Is A Discipline "advancing scholarly conversation around the idea that information literacy is a maturing discipline (Webber & Johnston, 2017). Since 2022 they have been developing wider debate via panel sessions (Maybee et al., 2023), and forthcoming from Facet Publishing in 2025 is an edited volume with contributors from 20 countries, Information Literacy Handbook: Charting the Discipline."
Here's the recording https://youtu.be/CKLX4a-BWUY?feature=shared
Dr Jenna Hartel has created a new video about information. It is the 12th episode in her What Makes This Paper Great? series. She presents Surfacing the ‘Silent Foundation’: Which Information Behaviour Theories are Relevant to Public Library Reference Service? by VanScoy et al. (2024). The 12 minute video is here https://youtu.be/QfcMHv3rI7Y?si=6T--9VNFpUfvackw Additionally she has created a colouring book with pages for each of the theories, which is here
On 13 January 10.00-15.30 US EST (which is, e.g., 15.00-20.30 GMT) the SUNYLA (State University of New York Librarians Association) Information Literacy Committee hold their annual Instruction Showcase online.
You can see the programme here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JzgOBoGBkdy-2KYP9Oze6XgNJqAJi9b1Ma7QfQogOxY/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.fo48wfk0h5oo
It is free, but registration is required - go to https://oswego-edu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMofumvrjsiH9KoKDTfKdQfe7gYk7oJSKoH
Photo by Sheila Webber: Christmas tree out for collection by the council (on the 30th December, that seemed early)
The latest issue of open access journal College and Research Libraries (Vol 86 Issue 1 2025) includes:
- Sarah LeMire, Zhihong Xu, and Doug Hahn. First-Year and First-Gen: Assessing the Information Literacy Skills of First-Year, First-Generation College Students.
- Matthew Weirick Johnson. Job Control, Library Instruction, and Burnout: A Quantitative Analysis of Academic Instruction Librarians’ Experiences of Job Control While Teaching.
- Catherine Boden, Susan Bolton, and Angie Gerrard. Health Sciences and Beyond: An Investigation into Canadian Librarian Participation in Systematic Reviews Across Disciplines.
- Anne Grant, Kyle Feenstra, and Mills Kelly. Why Does SoTL [Scholarship of Teaching & Learning] Happen in a Librarian-Free Zone?
Go to https://crl.acrl.org/index.php/crl/issue/view/1670/showTocPhoto by Sheila Webber: snow in November 2024. The snow is still on the ground now, but less picturesque
Wilson, T.D. & Maceviciute, E. (2025). Information seeking in a time of war: coping with stress in Lithuania during the Russia/Ukraine war. Journal of Documentation 81(7), 31-62. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-06-2024-0156 ; "A majority of participants experienced moderate to high levels of stress associated with the war in Ukraine. Information seeking and discussing information found with family members and friends played a significant role in helping to moderate stress. Most of the participants understood more than one language and, consequently, were able to compare local information sources with international sources. Only five participants were active users of social media, the rest were critical of these sources. All participants valued those sources they believed to be reliable and truthful."
Vinyard, M., Morales, I & Helton, E. (2024). Information
seeking behavior of graduate business students: using a qualitative approach to
determine the role of the library. Journal of Business & Finance Librarianship. https://doi.org/10.1080/08963568.2024.2435758 "Librarians interviewed 15 graduate business students to understand their information-seeking behavior. Google emerged as
the primary research tool, though students encountered paywalls and credibility concerns. Their research skills were shaped
by prior work experience, and the depth of research expertise
varied according to their bachelor’s degrees. Students were more
likely to seek assistance from classmates and professors than
librarians. Faculty guidance and database usage varied significantly, impacting students’ use of library databases. Student’s
ability to interpret financial and economic data was a significant
issue."
Photo by Sheila Webber: another snowy scene from November 2024.
SMIDGE is a Horizon Europe research project (funded by the European Union) focused on extremist narratives (including spread of conspiracy theories and misinformation) and people aged 45-65. The partner institutions are in Denmark, the UK, Austria, Italy, Belgium, Kosovo and Cyprus. They point out that this is an under researched group (with most attention going to younger people), and the project's activities include podcasts, webinars, conference presentations and an online survey (at time of writing I can see a document outlining the methods, but they hadn't posted results yet). Their latest newsletter is here: https://shoutout.wix.com/so/16P6uI8ur?languageTag=en&cid=301b3122-0a42-4ea6-ac43-fdb7e0e03720
I was alerted to this by an article in The Conversation: Wilford, S. (2024, August 6). Middle-aged radicalisation: why are so many of Britain’s rioters in their 40s and 50s? https://theconversation.com/middle-aged-radicalisation-why-are-so-many-of-britains-rioters-in-their-40s-and-50s-236263
Photo by Sheila Webber: fragmented, November 2024
A useful blog post reporting on interesting research: Munoz, R. (2024, October 15). The Problem with “Perfect” Answers: GenAI and Academic Research Tools. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2024/10/the-problem-with-perfect-answers-genai-and-academic-research-tools
Librarian Roberta Muñoz talks about the problem when people get so used to search engines, AI etc. delivering the answers they expect, that people get frustrated and baffled when they are presented with information that isn't exactly tailored to their preferences. This is drawing on some research by Xu et al., namely:
Xu, R., Le, N., Park, R., Murray, L., Das, V., Kumar, D. & Goldberg, B. (2024). New contexts, old heuristics: How young people in India and the US trust online content in the age of generative AI. https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.02522
"We conducted in-person ethnography in India and the US to investigate how young people (18-24) trusted online content, just as generative AI (genAI) became mainstream. We found that when online, how participants determined what content to trust was shaped by emotional states, which we term "information modes." Our participants reflexively shifted between modes to maintain "emotional equilibrium," and eschewed engaging literacy skills in the more passive modes in which they spent the most time. We found participants imported trust heuristics from established online contexts into emerging ones (i.e., genAI). This led them to use ill-fitting trust heuristics, and exposed them to the risk of trusting false and misleading information. While many had reservations about AI, prioritizing efficiency, they used genAI and habitual heuristics to quickly achieve goals at the expense of accuracy. We conclude that literacy interventions designed to match users' distinct information modes will be most effective."
Also linked from Muñoz's blog post is a news report on Xu et al.'s research
Rogers, A. (2024, April 25). The secret digital behaviors of Gen Z. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-most-trusted-news-source-online-comment-sections-google-2024-6
Unfortunately, although I was able to read this free a couple of days ago, it is now asking me for money, so I'm relying on my memory for what was in it. I think the author of the research paper is quoted as saying that initially they were investigating information literacy, but then they discarded that idea because what the Gen Zers were doing wasn't information literacy. That seems a bit narrow, since it seems to me that what Xu et al. have done is Information Behavior research, which could be used to engage with the participants to develop ideas of context-appropriate IL (which wouldn't involve them totally changing their IB, but being more aware of what they are doing, which could bring shifts in behaviour).
Photo by Sheila Webber: Winter in the Botanic Gardens, December 2024
