UNESCO is running a series of free international webinars related to lifelong learning, on the first and third Wednesday of each month. For example on 2 July 2025 Skills that count: Financial literacy for youth and adults.
For more info and registration go to https://www.uil.unesco.org/en/uil-webinar-series
Photo by Sheila Webber: fern on the wall, June 2025
A new compact open-access information literacy publication, Information Literacy Collab, which arises from Syracuse University's (USA) Information Literacy Scholars program.
Vol 1 issue 1 includes a reflection on producing the issue, another from a graduate student who is a new information literacy educator, and interviews with three librarians which include askingthem about their perspectove on IL, teaching it, and the place of IL in their daily lives.
Go to: https://surface.syr.edu/ilcollab/ for the issue and there is a post introducing it here.
Ohio State University Libraries is presenting a webinar on 30 June 2025 at 13.00 US Eastern time (18.00 BST/UK time) IL Disciplinarity and Values. Presenters are Clarence Maybee (Associate Dean of Learning, Professor and W. Wayne Booker Endowed Chair in Information Literacy, Purdue University, USA) and Karen F. Kaufmann (Assistant Professor of Instruction, School of Information, University of South Florida, USA).
"The recognition of IL as a discipline continues to be a topic of discussion in the IL community. As such, a conversation around the values of the IL discipline may be useful to further our collective thinking and more explicitly identify what the IL community views as the values of the discipline. Some key questions include: How do our values shape our discipline? What are the key values identified by other disciplines, such as psychology or geography or other social science/soft disciplines and can they inform how we think about the values of IL?"
Register at https://osu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_h3u-D-lyThavUA4SrYaaag#/registration
On the UNESCO website (publication date 4 June 2025) is Safeguarding the Future: How Media and Information Literacy Can Curb Online Harm in South Sudan, an interview with
George Kenyi Wilson (headmaster at Juba Day Secondary School in South Sudan) about the value of Media and Information Literacy.
https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/safeguarding-future-how-media-and-information-literacy-can-curb-online-harm-south-sudanv
Photo by Sheila Webber: Multi-cut Column by David Nash, in Cardiff art gallery.
The latest issue of the open access journal Communications in Information Literacy (Volume 19, Issue 1, 2025) includes the following tasty reading
- From Novice to Expert: Exploring the Relationship between Information Literacy Threshold Concepts and Epistemological Development by Amanda L. Folk
- "Some Level of Skill for Life": Secondary Teacher Librarians Supporting Student Information Literacy Skill Transfer Beyond Secondary School by Kasey L. Garrison and Kay Oddone
- What Language Are We Speaking?: Marketing Information Literacy on University Library Websites by Aleksandar Golijanin
- From Cynicism to Trust: Strategies for Teaching Students Source Evaluation Skills by Mandi Goodsett and Melanie Gagich
- Visual Literacy Instruction at Scale: Developing Asynchronous Learning Objects for First-Year Art and Design Students by Jacqueline Huddle and Sarah Carter
- Generative AI for College Students: A Collaboratively Developed Online Microcourse on GenAI in the College Classroom by Amber Willenborg and Tessa Withorn
- Exploring Positional Knowledge: Using Theory To Teach Bias by Thomas C. Weeks and Melissa Johnson
Go to https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/comminfolit/vol19/iss1/
Photo by Sheila Webber: June roses, 2025
Yim, I.H.Y., Su, J. (2025). Artificial intelligence literacy education in primary schools: a review. International Journal of Technology and Design Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-025-09979-w (open access)
"Twenty-five
empirical studies focusing on the primary school context were selected.
The review revealed that (1) AI literacy encompasses a fluid conceptual
understanding of digital literacy in terms of interacting and
collaborating with AI, computational thinking, critical data literacy,
and AI ethics; (2) constructionism, the constructivist theoretical
framework, and the ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and
Satisfaction) model of instructional design were the dominant means of
constructing the research design of the selected studies; (3)
constructivist methodologies, project-based learning, programming, and
human-agent interaction were commonly used by the selected studies, and
AI learning tools, particularly intelligent agents, were often adopted
in AI literacy teaching and learning research; (4) mixed-research
methods were the most common, with surveys, interviews, and artifacts
being employed to evaluate students’ learning outcomes; and (5) there
were positive academic, affective, and behavioral educational outcomes,
as well as course satisfaction. "
Hao-Ping (Hank) Lee, Advait Sarkar, Lev Tankelevitch, Ian Drosos, Sean Rintel, Richard Banks, and Nicholas Wilson. (2025). The Impact of Generative AI on Critical Thinking: Self-Reported Reductions in Cognitive Effort and Confidence Effects From a Survey of Knowledge Workers. In CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’25), April 26–May 01, 2025, Yokohama, Japan. ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3713778 1
Wong, E. K. C., & Chiu, D. K. W. (2025). AI literacy instruction program in international school libraries: A qualitative study under the lens of the Big Six Information Literacy model. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006251331977 (not open access) "Eight ESF Year 12 students (five males and three females) studying IBDP were selected for interviews to learn about their perceptions, needs, and challenges in using GenAI, including their understanding of the ethical application of using GenAI at ESF King George V School. Two ESF secondary school librarians were interviewed at ESF Sha Tin College and ESF King George V School to seek their ideas and experiences in instructing students on AI literacies or competencies."
Barber, S. T. (2025). A 2010s-Era MLS Library Reference Assignment Meets 2025-Era AI: An Assessment of the Suitability of AI Tools to Support Scholarly Research. Internet Reference Services Quarterly, 1–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/10875301.2025.2490489 (not open access)
Photo by Sheila Webber: memories of early spring, March 2025.
There is a recording of a webinar hosted by the International Association for Media Education in March 2025, Beyond easy answers: media literacy and information disorder.
Jutta Haider and Olof Sundin, authors of the book The Paradoxes of Media and Information Literacy discussed "the role of media education in our decade and current information environment" with moderation by David Buckingham and Maria Leonida.
For an overview and the recording go to: https://iame.education/relive-our-webinar-beyond-easy-answers-media-literacy-and-information-disorer
Photo by Sheila Webber: a curb full of cherry blossom, April 2025
There is a call for papers for iConference 2026, taking place virtually 23-26 March 2026 and in person in Edinburgh, Scotland 29 March - 2 April 2026 [unfortunately clashing with LILAC 2026] with the theme Information Literacies, Authenticity and Use:
The Move Towards a Digitally Enlightened Society.
Deadline for proposals is 15 September or 20 October 2025, depending on the type of submission.
More information at https://www.ischools.org/iconference
Photo by Sheila Webber: witch hazel, May 2025
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A free webinar from the Institute for Information Literacy at Purdue University on 10 July 2025 at 16.00-17.00 US Eastern time (21.00-22.00 UK time/BST) Informed Research in Practice: Libraries Empowering Graduate Students and Early Career Researchers.
This is a presentation by Australian scholars Christine Bruce and Susan Gasson, "who will discuss their new model called the Faces of Informed Research, which outlines how graduate students and early career researchers experience using information when they conduct research. The model offers ideas for academic librarians on how we can better support the success of new researchers."
Register at https://purdue-edu.zoom.us/meeting/register/JBFJTUXZQ6a_Bt0IRRzicg#/registration
The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (the UK’s independent regulator for Data Protection and Freedom of Information) has produced "a [free] suite of school resources for teachers to use when discussing privacy issues and the value of personal data [with children]. The lesson plans cover what counts as personal data, why it’s valuable and how to keep it safe when using social media."
"The Children’s code is a set of rules designed to make the internet a safer place for children to learn explore and play. It requires organisations to put the best interests of the child first when they are designing and developing apps, games, connected toys and websites that are likely to be accessed by young people."
There are worksheets and lesson resources for primary and for secondary schools, separately for England, Wales (in Welsh and English), Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Go to https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/childrens-information/school-resources/
The American Library Association has organised a free event on 16 July 16 2025 at 1pm US Central time (which is 7pm BST/UK time): Information Literacy Mailbag!
"Over one breezy hour, six information literacy and management experts will team up to answer commonly asked and new questions for scholars and working librarians. Questions from webinar registrants for the experts should be submitted by e-mail to event host Ramon Robinson at rrobinson@ala.org by Monday, July 14th."
The panellists are authors of ALA-published books: Julie Hornick and Lauren Kehoe (Critical Information Literacy Applications for All Libraries); Laura A. Millar (A Matter of Facts: The Value of Evidence in an Information Age); Amanda Nichols Hess (Information Literacy and Critical Thinking: Using Perspective Transformation to Break Information Bubbles); Natalie Greene Taylor and Paul T. Jaeger (Foundations of Information Literacy).
Register at https://ala-events.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZxLsX-jBRKGrpdJK91b49Q#/registration
Thanks to Esther Grassian for alerting me to this event.
Photo by Sheila Webber: late spring in the park, May 2025
Some of the presentations and materials from the 2025 LOEX (US information literacy) conference are available. It was held 15-17 May 2025 and the theme was Crafting a Future for Information Literacy. The presentations are listed alphabetically by title and you can see which ones have links to material. Numerous interesting items, I will just pick out 4 that caught my eye:
- The Lost Art of Skilled Belief: Rebalancing Our Approach to Information Literacy from Kate Wimer (George Fox University, USA) (Presentation, Activity materials, Further reading)
- Assessing the Quality of the Primo AI Research Assistant for Use in Library Instruction and Research Consultations from Crystal Goldman and Dominique Turnbow (UC San Diego, USA) (Presentation)
- Who's Afraid of Little Old AI? Using an AI Literacy Framework to Create an Instruction Session from Sandy Hervieux and Amanda Wheatley (McGill University, Canada) (Presentation, Handout, Template, Activity materials, Further reading)
- Creating a Necklace from a Pile of Beads: Crafting Impactful Library Instruction with Interpretive Communication by Elizabeth C. Bittner (University of Texas at Arlington, USA) (presentation)
Go to https://loexconference.org/breakout-session-materials/
Photo by Sheila Webber: wisteria in bloom, and chimney detail, May 2025
The UK's Media and Information Literacy Alliance (MILA) has coordinated a response to the UK government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review interim report. "The coalition argues that MIL – the ability to engage critically with media and information in daily life – should have “the same status and attention as reading and writing.”" https://mila.org.uk/curriculum-joint-statement/
Photo by Sheila Webber: cherry trees, Cardiff, April 2025
The ACRL Student Learning and Information Literacy Committee Publications Group runs a free webinar Getting Started with Researching & Writing in Academic Librarianship on 16 June 2025 at 14.00 US Eastern time (which is 19.00 BST/UK time).
"You’ll hear from academic librarians as they discuss their experiences publishing their research from developing ideas and tips for academic writing to navigating the publication process. Whether you’re new to publishing or looking to refine your craft, this session will provide practical advice and insights to help you succeed in contributing to the field of academic librarianship."
Register at https://ala-events.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EDh0BJ2LSruHgwuxaeomRA#/registration
Photo by Sheila Webber: cherry blossom, April 2025
The fifth and latest season in the Maddie is Online cartoon series which aims to develop children's understanding of online information focuses on generative AI. The school has a new teacher - a gen AI teacher called Echo Hey-Aye ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdWcM5r88vw&list=PLlUx8jQ1MCcRtHt888BoOyQP54HWH6UqC The series is created by created by Dr Konstantina Martzoukou and there is a project overview video here.
