The proceedings of the iConference (held in March-April 2026) have been published as a special issue of open access journal Information Research (volume 31 no. iconf(2026). There's lots about AI! Papers include:
- Beyond the loop: a research agenda towards a framework for critical AI literacy in the AI-assisted literature review by Dipesh Jalui, Mary Tate, Jocelyn Cranefield
- Disability misinformation on Facebook: a comparison of LLM-based fact-checking tools by Ian Prazak, Leah Padovani, Yool Lim, Julia (Hsin-Ping) Hsu, Myeong Lee
- Shared agency in information behaviour research: Human–Nonhuman interactions by Niloofar Solhjoo, Jia Tina Du, Yazdan Mansourian
- The role of misinformation in elder fraud: a conceptual framework by Jiangping Chen, Milo P. Ono
- Breaking the mold of knowledge imposition: reconstruct the digital literacy education model in academic libraries under the Scottish enlightenment by ZhenJia Fan, YiMei He
- Reframing creative learning: a conceptual framework for design literacy in the GenAI era by Asif H Zeshan, Xiao Hu
- Dimensions of information search strategies: a study of blind and visually impaired users in mobile digital library environments by Iris Xie, Wonchan Choi, Hyun Seung Lee, Ning Chiao Wang, Bo Hyun Hong
- Seeking the mission and opportunities for LIS in the AI era: a systematic review of empirical research on teenagers' artificial intelligence literacy (TAIL) by Jing Liu, Jiajing Ma, Guoye Sun, Shu Fan
- Inclusive media and information literacy (IMIL): Building a framework for an age of preparedness and responsibilisation by Hanna Carlsson, Lisa Engström, Lisa Olsson Dahlquist
- Scaffolding resilience: the influence of an iSchool’s media and information literacy courses by Frey Aura Galario, Dan Anthony Dorado, Benedict Salazar Olgado
- ‘Ugh, it’s a difficult topic’: Positionality statements as information use in information and library science research by Alex H. Poole, Ashley Todd-Diaz
Go to https://publicera.kb.se/ir/issue/view/5744
Photo by Sheila Webber: cherry blossom cluster, April 2026
I and my ILIAD (Information Literacy is a Discipline) colleagues have put out a call for short (800-1000 word) papers for a special issue Information Literacy: A Discipline for the Future to appear in the ASIST (Association for Information Science & Technology) online magazine Information Matters. In this special issue of Information Matters we will explore how this discipline can develop in the future, and for the future.
The deadline for submissions is 8 June 2026.
My co-editors for this issue are: Professor John Budd, University of Missouri, United States; Dr. Karen Kaufmann, School of Information, University of South Florida, United States; Bill Johnston, Independent scholar, Scotland; Professor Clarence Maybee, Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies, United States.
We welcome contributions on topics such as:
- What issues should be prioritised in the research agenda for IL?
- Who can be involved in developing the discipline of IL?
- What populations would you target as learners in new information literacy programmes?
- How can the discipline of IL address specific current and future global challenges?
- What are the priorities for IL in different countries or regions of the world?
- How can IL support human rights and social justice?
The full call, and instructions for submission are at https://informationmatters.org/cfp-special-issue-on-information-literacy-a-discipline-for-the-future/ - email me (s.webber@sheffield.ac.uk) if you have any questions.
The American Library Association's Library History Round Table has selected the Information Literacy handbook: charting the discipline (due to be published on 7th May 2026: 550 pages!) as a foundational book in library services. It is the first book centrally focused on information literacy to be selected and the first to be selected for 2026.
The list is at https://lhrt.news/foundational-books-in-library-services/
There's a Spanish-language webinar on 28 April 2026 at 12 noon US Eastern time (10am Mexico time; 18h Madrid time; 17.00 BST) about a free Spanish-language information literacy tutorial (OER, or Open Educational Resource) created by an international group of librarians representing five institutions. The presenters (Irma Leticia Hernández García and María Lourdes Quiroa Herrera) and moderator (Anne C. Barnhart) represent three of the five partner institutions.
The organisers remind us that Zoom has a translation facility into many languages. This webinar is sponsored by the IFLA Library Services for Multicultural
Populations Section, the Information Literacy Section, the Academic
& Research Libraries Section, and IFLA-Latin America & the
Caribbean Regional Division.There is also an English version of the tutorial, but this webinar focuses on the Spanish version.
Register at: https://tinyurl.com/MCULTPwebinario1
Photo by Sheila Webber: fallen cherry blossom, April 2026
The IFLA Reference and Information Services (RISS) section is seeking proposals for Ignite (7 minute) talks to be presented, in person, at a session for the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Busan, South Korea, 10-13 August 2026. The talks must address the theme Rethinking Reference in the AI Era: Empowering Transformation in Libraries. The deadline for submissionsis 11 May 2026. [I couldn't find the full call on the IFLA website, so it is reproduced here]
"Introduction: Libraries are central to information transformation, particularly as the information landscape undergoes rapid digital and technological change. As knowledge practices change and trust is renegotiated in light of evolving technologies, empowering transformation is critically important. We need to equip our communities and researchers with the knowledge, tools, and skills necessary to navigate an increasingly complex information landscape. Reference librarians and library workers play a critical role in this mission by connecting users to appropriate resources, strengthening research competencies, and supporting critical knowledge skills."
"The nature of reference work is evolving. In many cases, users’ first point of engagement is no longer a human interaction but a digital interface. The rise of artificial intelligence tools has shifted not only how information is accessed but also the types of questions users ask. Increasingly, inquiries focus on how to use AI tools responsibly in the research process, how to cite AI-generated content, how to evaluate outputs, and how to use digital images and other materials ethically. These emerging needs require librarians and library workers to expand their expertise beyond traditional resource navigation to include digital literacy, AI literacy, and ethical guidance. This program will explore the transformation of reference services in all types of libraries from the librarian’s perspective and will also examine regional variations in these challenges, recognizing that educational environments and technological adoption differ across libraries and geographic contexts."
"Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:
- How has providing reference changed in the AI era?
- What new competencies are required for reference?
- How must library workers adapt their daily practices to remain effective?
- Has the role of the reference librarian shifted from information provider to critical thinking facilitator?
- How can we mitigate the fear factor, what makes us uncomfortable, as service providers?
- What steps can reference librarians take to move forward boldly in an era of transformation?"
Important dates and deadlines:
11 May 2026 Deadline for submission of proposals/abstracts
20 May: Notification to authors about the status of a submission
20 July: Submission of accompanying PowerPoint slides for presentation
"Proposals should include:
Title of proposed presentation;
Abstract of proposed presentation (no more than 200 words);
Name of presenter(s) plus position(s) and/or title(s);
Employer / affiliated institution;
Contact information including email address, telephone number;
Short biographical statement of presenter."
"Please send your proposals to Robin Kear, Secretary, RISS (rlk25@pitt.edu) and to Marydee Ojala, Chair, RISS (marydee@xmission.com) by 11/05/2026.
"
" Please note:
- At least one of the submission authors must be physically present to provide the ignite talk during the program in Busan. Abstracts are to be submitted only with the understanding that the expenses of attending the conference will be the responsibility of the author(s)/presenter(s) of accepted talks.
- The language of the session is expected to be English.
- All presentations and papers presented at the WLIC 2026 will be available online under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
- All presentations and papers must be unpublished and not previously presented.
- Authors must disclose whether they have submitted or plan to submit this proposal to another WLIC 2026 session.
- Authors of accepted presentations must complete the IFLA Authors’ Permission Form.
- Authors and presenters must adhere to the Presenter guidelines, provided when your Ignite talk is accepted.
- All expenses, including registration for the conference, travel, accommodation, etc., are the responsibility of the authors/presenters. IFLA does not provide any financial support.
"
Photo by Sheila Webber: Sheffield town centre, March 2026
This page from the useful Canadian online education site Teachonline.ca has descriptions of AI tools relevant to education (15 so far) saying what it is and why it's useful
Go to https://teachonline.ca/tool-spotlights/
Photo by Sheila Webber: white cherry, April 2026
The IFLA Information Literacy Section (ILS) and Environmental Sustainability and Libraries Section (ENSULIB) are organising a session within the World Library and Information Congress (talking place in Busan, South Korea, 10-13 August 2026): Climate Literacy for Sustainable Futures: Libraries Empowering Communities to Act.
There is a call for papers (at least one author has to present in person) and the deadline is 27 April 2026.
The focus is on "how libraries of all kinds can play a role in tackling mis/disinformation about climate change and support their communities to live more sustainably."
"We welcome contributions that share original research, case studies, or practical initiatives from any library setting or region. Proposals might address strategies for tackling climate mis/disinformation, partnerships that advance climate literacy, innovative programs that empower users to live more sustainably, or professional development approaches that build the skills and confidence of library workers in this area. Submissions from diverse geographic and community contexts are strongly encouraged. In addition: Papers should reflect the WLIC’s theme, Libraries Powering Transformation".
More information, including submission guidance, at https://2026.ifla.org/ils-ensulib/
Photo by Sheila Webber: cherry blossom, March 2026.
The UK government plans to lower the voting age to 16 (you can already vote in Scottish and Welsh parliamentary and local elections at 16 if you are qualified to vote in Scotland/ Wales) so there is interest in how this younger cohort of voters might engage with information relevant to voting decisions.
Earlier in the year a report was published by Internet Matters and Full Fact. Internet matters is a not-for-profit that works "collaboratively with our partners to support our joint vision of a safer, happier connected world for children and young people" (partners include Tiktok, Amazon Kids, Sky). Full Fact is the fact checking organisation.
The report uses "November 2025 data from Internet Matters Pulse ... based on a survey of 573 children aged 13-17 and 801 parents of children aged 13-17 based in the UK") and also previous Internet Matters research.
The report identifies that this age group encounters political information online, their confidence that they can evaluate it is in the 50%s and when asked about their peers' confidence, that is rated even lower. A small majority are concerened about the veracity of what politicians say and about the impact on misinformation on election results. A large majority of young people think that schools, parents / carers, Government, and social media companies all have responsibility to support them in being more informed voters (they were not asked whether they felt they had a responsibility to develop themselves). The report makes recommendations for various stakeholders, including about media and digital literacy. Sadly, librarians/ libraries are not mentioned.
Internet Matters. (2026, February 8). Preparing young voters in a complex, attention-driven information environment. https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/research/preparing-young-people-to-vote-in-a-complex-attention-driven-environment/
Photo by Sheila Webber: spring branches, April 2026
There is a call for contributions for an in-person teachmeet at Sheffield Hallam University (Sheffield, UK) Library and Skills Centre Teachmeet on 4 June 2026 9.30 - 16.00 BST. The deadline is 17 April, 16.00. Presentations will be 10 mins each, with time after each presentation for questions.
"This free regional event will involve the sharing of ideas, experience, and innovative teaching practice through presentations, activities and discussions. The Teachmeet is aimed at higher and further education library staff and academic study skills practitioners working in the North and the Midlands [of England]." More details at https://www.tickettailor.com/events/academiclibrariesnorth/2113039
Photo by Sheila Webber: Sheffield Botanic Garcdens, March 2026
The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) has launched a self-paced online course Improving the digital competencies of literacy educators. You have to register as a member of the UIL Learning Hub (free) in order to access. The estimated duration is 2 and a half hours.
The course is described at https://www.uil.unesco.org/en/articles/uil-launches-new-multilingual-course-boost-digital-skills-literacy-educators?hub=90
The registration page for the English language version https://learninghub.uil.unesco.org/enrol/index.php?id=78
Photo by Sheila Webber: cherry blossom, March 2026
An interesting (I think) take on AI and its use in creative work, from the author John Scalzi. As he says, he can "write better than “AI” can or ever will, and I can do it with far less energy draw. I don’t need to destroy a watershed to write a novel. I can write a novel with Coke Zero and snacks." He also, e.g., makes useful comments about marketing, and the way AI is actually packed into almost everything already.
Scalzi, J. (2026, February 14). 10 Thoughts On “AI,” February 2026 Edition. https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/02/14/10-thoughts-on-ai-february-2026-edition/
Photo by Sheila Webber: camellia, March 2026
The latest issue of open access College & Research Libraries (volume 87 issue 2) includes:
- Survey on Undergraduate Student Use of Generative AI: Implications for Information Literacy in Academic Libraries by Megan Margino Marchese, Andrew Marchese
- Generative AI and Libraries: Claiming Our Place in the Center of a Shared Future by Terese Scheiderich
- Python for All: A Library Workshop for Bridging AI Literacy and Coding Skills
Kristen L. Scotti, Lencia McKee
Go to https://crl.acrl.org/index.php/crl/issue/view/1693/showToc
Photo by Sheila Webber: daffodil, March 2026
There is a webinar organised by the ACRL Contemplative Pedagogy Interest Group on 29 April 2026 at 14.00 US Eastern time, 19.00 BST: Attention in LIS
(Library and Information Science). The speaker is Hugh Samson (Ph.D. student in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at Western University in Canada).
"This talk examines the concept of attention as an emerging concern in LIS. It proceeds through three guiding questions. First, What is attention? The talk briefly surveys accounts in which attention is understood as a selective orientation of consciousness and a mechanism that structures perception and cognition. Second, Why does it matter? In contemporary information environments characterised by abundance, attention functions as a limiting condition that shapes what information becomes visible, credible, and sustained. Finally, How might LIS examine it? The talk outlines possible lines of inquiry focusing on attentional infrastructures, literacies, and practices."
Register at https://ala-events.zoom.us/meeting/register/4tzumZcIT_eaMa_O_nktgg#/registration
Photo by Sheila Webber: cherry trees, Sheffield, March 2026
There are still tickets available for the Critical Approaches to Libraries Conference 2026, taking place online 12-14 May 2026, at the very reasonable price of £15.
Presentations include:
- Disinformation, platform governance, and critical information literacy: lessons from the Croatian Wikipedia case (Dijana Šobota).
- Honoring students' lived experiences through instruction: how a shift in pedagogical practice can impact student outcomes (Dr Heather F. Ball).
- Why are some ideas easy to believe on little evidence? (Dr Anna Stone).
You can purchase tickets here https://opencollective.com/calc/events/calc-conference-ae7f7475
The winners the Information Literacy Award 2026 (sponsored by the Information Literacy Group and the UCL Department of Information Studies) were announced during the LILAC conference on Monday. They were Siobhan Corrin and Katie Roper from Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust & Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust. They had been nominated for the Lancashire Health Hub: a collaborative approach to reliable health information.
Information about all the nominees is here https://www.lilacconference.com/awards/information-literacy-award
They are pictured with the judges: Dr Konstantina Martzoukou, Elizabeth Newell and Emma Brown.
This is Pam liveblogging Sheila Webber's keynote on day 2 of the LILAC conference in Sheffield. Sheila's slides are uploaded here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-3COpggFid2YoBGeWm-5dPBqhz6vINE-/view?usp=drive_link (and will also be available on the LILAC website). The title of the presentation was Reflecting on Information Literacy in a time of polycrisis and cherry blossom
Sheila began her keynote by distributing some information literacy definitions created by students on the information literacy module as one of the opening activities. Delegates are invited to keep these definitions as a souvenir of the session. Sheila chose the title because we are living in a time of crisis, and because she loves this time of year and finds joy in cherry blossoms. Sheila is convinced that information literacy is a "thing", and is an important standalone subject discipline. `the essence of information literacy is information, it really matters! The Institute of Information Scientists was an association that merged with CILIP: Sheila had been active in that association and also published an article discussing the nature of information science as a discipline, during which she uncovered definitions of information.
Sheila shared definitions from Bertie Brookes and Marcia Bates: "the pattern of organisation of matter and energy". Marcia Bates developed a typology of information: genetic information, experienced information, enacted information, expressed information and exocomatic information (i.e. information outside our bodies). Sheila showed some images of Ballerat in Australia, where a whole suite of information was produced to improve signage to prevent violence to staff. However, some people might experience all this information as overwhelming. Sheila then showed some images of the Wave (the location of the conference) and talked us through the information that is available to people as they enter the building, and how that differs for different people. We took part in a Wooclap activity where Sheila asked us to share the information that we have from the room we are currently in. There were a lot of people who thought the room was really cold! Sheila made the point that these physical experiences can affect learning. There is a huge amount of information in every space.
Sheila shared 3 examples of visual images of cherry blossom, and the way in which images are created affects how we engage with them. One was a picture of real cherry blossom from Sheffield, one was an AI picture created in midjourney and one was a picture of Sheila Yoshikawa in Second Life standing in front of a cherry tree. Sheila invited us to think about the information that is evoked by the different pictures. It's imporant for educators to think about what information means to them as well as to their learners.
Sheila introduced 7 ways of looking at information literacy: IL is contextual, it's a word/phrase, it exists in definitions, it is a discipline, it exists in frameworks or models drawn up by expert groups, it is models discovered through research and information literacy is also a practice. Sheila presented the definition of Il that she developed with Bill Johnston: "the adoption of appropriate information behaviour to identify, through whatever channel or medium, information well fitted to information needs, leading to wise and ethical use of information in society." "Appropriate" means appropriate to the context or need; it isn't a value judgement. There is a huge variety of ways in which we acquire information, and, and informatin seeking is prompted by a range of needs. Sheila showed a video of an installation in Second Life where she included a range of quotes from research participants and others to illustrate what information literacy means to them. The quotations from Dr Shahd Salha's research were particularly powerful and revealed the spiritual aspect to information literacy.
Sheila spoke about the relationship between AI, media & Information and digital literacy. She encouraged us to resist views of information that tidy librarians and information literacy into a little box. There are indicators of this kind of academic writing, for example, a citation to Shannon & Weaver (1964) and ignoring all the subsequent work that has been published in information science journals and books.
There may be a disjunct between your conception of IL and that of your employer, so it is worth reflecting regularly on your own conception of IL. Sheila made a brief plug for the forthcoming information literacy as a discipline. She introduced the roots of the development of her own conceptions of information literacy, including learning from all the PhD students she has supervised. Sheila spoke about the conference that took place in the late 1990s in Australia, that brought together researchers to address IL and lifelong learning.
Then she talked about the knowledge base of IL. There are various groups who contribute to IL research, some are full time e.g. academics, but there are a huge number of part-time researchers who are also practitioners, other disciplinary specialists, and national institutes and policy organisations. It's important to draw on all these researchers and this evidence base when thinking about IL. There is stronger growth if you are connected with your roots and, this helps us deal with the polycrises that we are faced with. The doomsday clock expresses how close we are the "midnight" (the end of the world) due to what we are doing to ourselves. The current social media landscape allows us to ignore war, as it doesn't feel real, and fits around other kinds of social media. Ways you can address this include developing a curriculum for an information literate lifecourse and helping others to do the same. In this way, Information Literacy can be seen as a discipline to enable life.
The penultimate session I'm attending (though there will be some currently-part-finished blogs that will go up later today or tomorrow) at the LILAC information literacy conference is Collective Conversations: Exploring Indigenous-Informed Pedagogy in Academic Library Instruction presented by Adair Harper (Simon Fraser University, Canada). The abstract is here
They started by introducing themselves, reflecting on their positionality and history, and acknowledging the traditional holders of the land on which Simon Fraser University stands, theese people's knowledge systems, and the impact of colonisation on education/ library practices.
They went on to identify key aspects of the Canadian contect, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Indigenous Matters Committee of the Canadian Federation of Library Associations (which had a report about responding to the TRC's calls to action) and the Simon Fraser University Aboriginal Reconciliation & Conciliation report. There is a Decolonising the Library Working Group in the university, formed in 2018, and a very small Indigenous Initiatives Team which is also developing the Indigenous Curriculum resource centre.
They went on to identify other decolonising initiatives from the library, including the WG for information literacy and instruction explicitly addressing decolonisation.
In summer 2025 they had reading circles reading a chapter form the book Wayi Wah, then in autumn/winter 2025-6 they started to apply First Peoples Principles of Learning and involve more people in implementing them, developing curriculum with the principles of indigenous learning, addressing biases cause by using colonialist approaches to education.
They started by all looking at teaching materials for a class Foundations for Academic Literacy (FAL), so they could discuss and compare ideas. This module aims to introduce undergraduates to academic research. The librarians worked through this by each focusing on some of the materials and bearing specific principles in mind. This is still progress, so these were reflections on what has emerged so far. They found that focusing on one principle at a time was helpful in avoiding overwhelm. The process also helped in understanding and incorporating the principles into their own practice. The people doing this work (librarians and library assistants) have different roles in learning and teaching.
Key principles that are emerging as areas of focus are "Learning involves patience and time" and "Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place)". There is a desire to bring more experiential and conversation-based learning into the classroom; to recognise learners' and teachers' experiences & knowledge; be an "imperfect friend" rather than a "perfect stranger".
They have been revising the teaching material for the FAL module, will have workshops in the summer for colleagues, pilot material and then run the updated module next academic year, and also aim as write a chapter.
Photo by Sheila Webber: in Sheffield Botanical Gardens, March 2026
Laura Williams is a PhD student in the School of Information Journalism and Communication, but this presentation was not about her PhD topic; instead, this was a topic of personal interest to her. Laura created a Zine as a way to cope with semester 1 library teaching, and this stimulated the presentation today. This is a conceptual paper, that isn't based on research other than reading lots of literatyre about mushroom hobbyists, and Laura's growing interest in mushroom foraging. This is an information-rich hobby: enthusiasts learn about mushrooms, they spot mushrooms and photograph them, go to mushroom social events. Is hobbyist mycology a risky hobby? Yes even the most experienced mycologiest need to continually update their knowledge of mushrooms to avoid dangerous encounters. Laura reviewed the current literature on hobbyist mycology to identify the information aspects to this. Laura dtaws on Lloyd's work to define Il as a socially enacted practice, and Hicks' book on risk in information literacy. Risk-informed information practice focuses on everyday information literacy, but Laura wants to apply these ideas to a leisure context, as much information science literature about leisure hobbies focuses on the joy of the hobby and sharing information.
There hasn't been much research on fungi from an information perspective. There is a growing body of literature on multispecies information literacy, and fungi are mentioned as a fascinating area to look at as they are neither animals or plants. There is a body of literature on risky leisure practices, but information literacy isn't mentioned often or drawn on, even though information is a theme explored in the research. Risk is conceptualised as a balance between potential harm and the desired benefits. Information literacy: the mushroom itself is a source of information (drawing on Bates ideas of what is information). Laura has identified 6 ways that information literacy is enacted to manage risk
Rules of thumb: quick and personal rules to assist decision-making, e.g. "never munch on a hunch". But the problem with these is that they take time to develop and are difficult to share with others, and can be affected by complacency.
Folkways: folk knowledge of mycology and folk practices such as hunting and foraging. The common names of mushrooms are linked to folklore. Some folk knowledge fuels mycophobia and can perpetuate misinformation.
Documentary sources are a critical information source; they contain authoritative information. However, documented knowledge can become outdated. In the UK, mushroom guides might identify a mushroom as poisonous, but a guide in another country might say that a mushroom isn't dangerous as long as it's prepared in the right way.
The body & sensory information. This is incredibly important. Foraging is a physical practice that forces the forager to use all their sensory information: touch, taste and smell are very important. Sensory information must be used alongside other forms of knowledge. Mushroom books contain vivid descriptions of the sensory impact of mushrooms.
Participating in communities: there is a long history of fungi groups, on and offline e.g. facebook groups. Some are only for the scientific identification of mushrooms, others are about foraging and eating mushrooms. There is always the potential that these groups can share poor-quality information. Groups have very specific rule that many photos of a mushroom must be shared in order to invite others to identify a mushroom.
Technologies: AI and social media are affecting the information landscape of mushrooms, e.g. AI image tools to identify mushrooms. AI tools can't engage in sensory information, so they tend to be very bad at identifying mushrooms. Content creators are active on social media to share mycology.
Each of these 6 dimensions could be explored further to investigate aspects of risk in mycology, and could be a rich site of information literacy research.
Pam McKinney here live-blogging from the final day of the LILAC conference in Sheffield. The presenters from Canada have blended roles that involve teaching and library roles. There is a lot of focus on decolonial practice in Canada, and the presenters wanted to enact knowledge justice in their information literacy programme. We are all equal, and have equal capacity to be knowers, but sometimes certain people are privileged as "knowers", and knowledge justice seeks to embed equality. They were unsure about how to do this in their teaching, so this panel is about exploring how they managed to find their way. There are 25 people in the partnership, but only 3 people are presenting. The first question they explored was why collaboration is necessary to address knowledge justice. Lea said that there has to be ways of recognising multiple ways of knowing, so collaboration is essential to bring different perspectives and different ways of knowing in the team. Everyone brings something to the team. They have all had moments of imposter syndrome, but the group can provide support and reinforce that everyone has something to contribute. Ashley spoke about how knowledge justice is very much grounded in indigenous knowledge systems, and expressed a feeling of loneliness and thought she had very different ways of approaching her nursing course. Collaboration was important to keep on her journey, and support her interaction with students who come from indigenous communities and become nurses. The collaborative approaoch supported the whole group to decolonise their teaching and decolonise their minds. Its importa t to trust in the collective, go to communities of practice and read important texts. Knowledge justice has felt overwhelming, but it must be done. The trick was to find collaborators from outside their own white identities.
What does collaboration focus on knowledge justice look like? Lea spoke about collaborating with instructors and other librarians. She is focused on relationship building in her new institution and is bringing the knowledge justice perspective with her. Heather spoke about the timeline of the partnership, and the points at which she's worked with students and the points at which they've worked with faculty. There are different types of collaboration that they have engaged with, including faculty administrative staff, and the centre for teaching and learning. She is leading decolonising initiatives that come through the teaching development team. They did some experimentation in Ashley's class and created some open educational resources. Ashley spoke about the approaoch to partnership and collaboration that is strength-based, so that collectively they can identify work that corresponds to people's strengths. Teaching knowledge justice to students has led to conversations between students and faculty that have led to a gradual dissemination of the knowledge justice in the university. It is important that individual academics decolonise their teaching, but this doesn't lead to systemic change.
What has only be posisble due to collaboration? Teaching and learning librarians have to be invited into sessions by faculty. So the only way that they can enact a knowledge justice approach is in negotiation with faculty. So it's about identifying particular aspects of the content or particular assessments that suit a knowledge justice. Heather tries to make sure that she goes to university committees to spread a knowledge justice approach and tries to support meaningful change. Students who have experienced knowledge justice in the curriculum are able to go into the workplace to spread this approach, but they need support for this as new professionals. It's challenging because as a librarian doing Information literacy teaching, they only impact a small number of people, but raising awareness of knowledge justice can have lasting and profound effects on those people. They spoke about the need to record the meetings they go to and the other teaching activities as "library instruction" even though the audience and the mode is really different.
First blog of the 3rd day from me (Sheila) of LILAC information literacy conference is Publish and Prosper: Self-Reflection and Survey Results from a Research Program for Librarians presented by Helen Power, Rhiannon Jones and Ethel Gamache (Canada). The abstract is here
They explained that they tried a prototype in 2023 using Belcher's Writing your journal article. Then they wanted to find out what the impact of the programme, so they decided to do some research, getting ethics approval. Therefore they ran the programme again, making use of a research accelerator programme that was designed to support librarians doing research (6 weeks online of 1.5 hour session), also supported by CAPAL so it could give a certificate (if you attended 5 out of 6 sessions). It was based on works by Belcher & on Cresswell, adapted for Canadian librarians - this included language, where to publish etc. This was run in summer 2025. There were 35 librarians taking part. There was a Discord, aiming to help create a community of practice.
The first sesssion was introduction, the 2nd on designing research (talking about picking a topic you know, different kinds of research approach, ethics etc.), the 3rd about working on writing, the 4th on developing evidence and interpretation (it was mentioned Belcher here was useful here, also they discussed knowledge justice), the 5th on strengthening our structure, and 6th on preparing for publishing (including dealing with responding to reviewers). They mentioned that on Zoom they used breakouts, whiteboard activities (e.g. where would you publish this title?) etc. Looking at the participants' profiles, on average research wasn't an expected part of their job, had taken a research methods course and published (but it varied).
The presenters then introduced the ACRL Framework for IL in Higher Education and their definition of Information Literacy (I've covered this framework a lot in this blog so I won't describe it here!). Then they they pulled out the elements of the Framework which they found particularly useful for this programme (e.g. that research is iterative, that questions lead to more questions but you also need to know when to stop) and gave examples of how they were used in the programme. As examples (they showed all 6 weeks but I can't type that fast!) they used Information Creation as Process and Scholarship as a conversation (including giving and receiving feedback) in week one. In week 3 the learning outcomes were: discussing approaches to writing literature reviews and articulating claims for significance ("so what?"), and the ACRL Frames were authority is constructed and contextual and searching as strategic exploration. In week 4 the learning outcomes were differentiating between different kinds of article structure and also optimising different strategies for editing documents for comprehensiveness and clarity - the ACRL Frames used here were on Information creation as a process and Searching as strategic exploration. I'll also mention that in week 6 they covered wellness and emotions, when looking at the reasons why papers get rejected, and there was a discussion about predatory journals and how to spot them.
There research of the programme consisted a pre programme survey, mid point survey, immediate post session survey and 6 month follow up. Also they qualitatively analysed the chat and activities (if people did not want to be included in this analysis they were excluded).
In terms of which session was most helpful, this was spread across sessions 2-5, and what emerged was it was the session most useful at the point of individual need. In terms of least helpful, it was again mostly related to the stage they were at in their research/ writing. In terms of the participants' reported skill levels, this showed improvement through the programme and in fact it was strongest in the 6 month follow up. Also they had quotes about confidence going up and benefiting from interacting with peers. Of respondents to the questionnaire 8 had completed a draft of their writing, 7 not, and the 6 month follow up showed that some had submitted and all at least intended to.
In terms of the observations, participants engaged more fully as the weeks progressed (having been less active in information interaction initially). They observed some breakout rooms: dynamics varied between breakout rooms. They had the suggestion of having the same people in your breakout room every time - positives were that people might be more likely to talk & it saved time as you didn't have to introduce yourself each time, although there were downsides such as getting to know fewer people. Also there was a suggestion on having one on one breakouts, which also had positives and negatives.
Looking to the future they will use their findings to develop the programme and plan to run it every 2 years with (probably) rotation of facilitators. They also plan to write an article!
They also helpfully include material from their programme in a google folder with the slides from this presentation the link (added 2nd April) is https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ziiMh3_o-m4AZlth0pbck8olOQiGdcka.
Photo by Sheila Webber: Camellias in the Sheffield Botanic Gardens, March 2026
The last session I'm attending final session today at the LILAC information literacy conference is Reframing Information Literacy Instruction through a Lens of Knowledge Justice presented by Heather Campbell and Ashley McKeown (Western University, Canada). The abstract is here This is a liveblog, so this is just my rushed impression of this rich session.
The presenters started by recognising the traditional holders of the lands that their university stands on, and identifying themselves as white settlers in Canada, and they shared aspects of their identity and positionality. They talked about the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the responsibilities it brings for decolonisation. They cited "We must make space to balance generate and enable diverse knowledge systems to thrive". They talked about the work being done in the nursing profession (as Ashley is a nurse educator) to decolonise and critique figures such as Florence Nightingale. The coauthor Lea Sansom also introduced herself via video.
The went on to talk about how Ashley and Heather collaborated on teaching and learning, following on from Ashley discovering the university's Library Curriculum https://www.lib.uwo.ca/teaching/curriculum.html. This collaboration has resulted in the Knowledge Justice in the Helping Professions learning resource, currently an open resource, https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/epistemicjusticeoer/
They defined epistemic injustice [if I can find this definition in their book I will insert it later] and talked further on how there can be epistemic injustice even within that field of study, encouraging us to think about who we cite, who isn't being cited, whose voice is being promoted or supressed. When teaching undergraduates they use AI and social media as teaching tools, and they gave an example of 2 videos that show how gen AI is biased when prompted for images of people with autism. This leads into debates e.g. of where are people's stories being shared, what are the sources that are contributing to the bias within a specific discipline. The presenters then shared a clip from a video on Epistemic injustice in health and medicine. This video provides a stimulus for learners to share examples of epistemic injustice.
Following on from that, the presenters talked about the importance of questioning who conducts academic research, whose voices are represented in the academy (e.g. on editorial boards) and who has power in authorising knowledge and knowers.
Then they talked about how they do talk about the words epistemology, ontology and axiology (particularly with faculty). Heather said that she spends more of her time teaching faculty, in addition to teaching students. Prompt questions for faculty include - what is the origin of your discipline, what does knowledge mean in your discipline, who is seen in the field. The presenters showed a list of types of knowledge (including ancestral knowledge, letters, ceremony, plants, water, as well as journals etc.) and ask people to reflect on which type of knowledge is acknowledged in their field. This leads on to asking people to reflect on the edges of their discipline's knowledge and their relationship with multiple ways of knowing and knowledge justice. The presenters also teach people about approaching knowledge seeking with humility.
Ashley talked about how she asks her students to interrogate what is meant by "best evidence" (troubling both words - best and evidence), and use case studies (each of which has an ethical conundrum). For an assignment she asks students to pick a case study and then generate a diverse list of references that could guide practice for this case. They encourage people to look for "voices" not "sources", focusing on (in their search) balancing lived experience, academic research and "arms length observers".
Something there wasn't time for in the presentation was talking about searching (e.g. adjusting your language to find a wider range of voices). Then they played a clip from a video from Lea about evaluating material critically using a knowledge justice lens, using a "framework of harms" (do they have potential for harm embedded in them). This is applied to all types of information. Lea also gave an example of when a faculty member had said she didn't want Lea to take a knowledge justice approach in a teaching session. However, Lea was still was able to introduce relevant questions into the teaching and bring in discussion of the different types of online harm. She noted that the students were in this case prepared for this type of discussion (e.g. they felt safe to share thoughts), which might not always be the case, also the faculty member felt that the teaching goals had been met.
The presenters finished by presenting some of the feedback from learners.
Photo by Sheila Webber: magnolia tree, Sheffield Botanic Gardens, March 2026
