Find your inner activist #WLIC2016

The next talk I'll blog at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, USA is from Maura Marx (US IMLS) (shown in my photo) talked about increasing focus on equality issues and more library activism. She thought it was important to "claim our activism", to counter the dull stereotype, and raise awareness of how librarians are actually engaged nowadays. Marx took the IFLA trend items and focused on a few of them, stressing more activist aspects.
Looking at trend one ("New Technologies will both expand and limit who has access to information") she identified the problems about access to e-books (causing inequality). As a response she talked about the open e-book app; adults receive codes for the children they work with, and the code unlocks a library of e-books to children. There was no identiable personal information and there are accessibility features. However she noted that at the moment the books were not very multicultural: this was an equity issue that needed to be addressed.
Marx emphasised that this was building on library principles: she felt it was important to build library technology based in these principles (e.g. protecting identity, having accessibility). This meant getting involved in developing platforms, and this in turn involved library activism. This linked to IFLA Trend 3 ("boundaries of privacy and data will be redefined").
Another inititaive, connecting to IFLA Trend 4 ("Hyper-connected societies will listen to and empower new voices and groups"), funded by IMLS is Mukurtu, an open access platform that enabled indigenous communities to keep their cultural heritage safe and managed. It allows access, whilst honouring cultural protocols of who should be allowed to see particular images or works.
This led to a discussion about diversity, and the need to have a more diverse profession. That could also lead to more diverse collections and services. Marx then turned to another interpretation of contenet diversity, to talk about collection and management of digital material, such as social media. She mentioned the Documenting the Now project, Art+Feminism and also the archive A people's archive of police violence in Cleveland.
Marx finished by urging us to "find our inner activist", so libarians can be a greater social force than ever before.

Keeping the internet healthy #WLIC2016

Day 2 of the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, USA. I'm attending the IFLA President's session which is focused on the IFLA Trends report. It started with four talks and then there will be a discussion, but I won't liveblog blog it all. One of the talks was from Mark Surman (Executive Director, Mozilla Foundation - he's shown in my photo). He started by mapping the development of the Internet from being open and diverse, to being dominated and filtered. He cited some research that showed that many people using Facebook on their phones didn't realise they were using the Internet. He also highlighted that money-making apps were mostly produced in North America, certain parts of Europe and certain parts of Asia-Pacific. However the largest growth in mobile devices is in other regions such as Africa. In a striking phrase he said that now there is "a fight over what is imaginable and possible" on the Internet. He urged us to make the health of the Internet a mainstream issue everywhere. As part of this he emphasised the role of libraries and of digital (though not information) literacy. Finally he had a particular message about copyright and he talked about their copyright campaign.
I asked after his talk about talking about digital literacy rather than information literacy. He said that one of the reasons they chose digital literacy was because they wanted to emphasise that being literate with digital information was as important as traditional reading and writing. Mozilla Foundation have a slogan read, write and participate.
This is Mozilla's open policy and advocacy blog: https://blog.mozilla.org/netpolicy/

Reading Express; service for newcomers and refugees #WLIC2016

the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, USA. In a session on libraries and the UN 2030 goals, Ingrid Bon (Rijnbrink, Netherlands - she presented) and Karien van Buuren (Rijnbrink, Netherlands) had authored Reading Express; service for newcomers and refugees (full paper at http://library.ifla.org/1333/1/081-bon-en.pdf)
This was a project "Voorlees Express", in the Netherlands. It was about a reading programme, carried out in the home or shelter where the refugee families live. The aim is reading to children, with the parents/carers there, to get a reading culture. There are a lot of aspects which the library offering the programme has to deal with: PR, getting funding, recruiting families, recruiting and training reader volunteers and quality control.
They aim to have 250 "matches" (reader-family) per season, with readings in Spring and in Autumn. Although there are volunteers, this is not free of cost. The costs are seen as part of ongoing reading programme. It does take up staff time (including training, getting official documents). However, this programme is seen as very important: making new entrants to the country feel at home, improve language skills, start a reading culture, get connection to the library, improve school performance and last but not least it is important that it is fun.
Also there is a new initiative with young adults, to help them improve their pronunciation of Dutch (which is so important for learning and employment): the results of this have been fast and obvious. They have had a pilot, and hope now for extra funding. Again, do look at the paper which has more information (this was the last paper in the session, and the speaker very effectively shortened her talk to finish within time, but it meant I couldn't capture everything).
Photo by Sheila Webber: therapy dog, WLIC 2016

Library services for immigrants and refugees #WLIC2016

Next I'm liveblogging, at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, USA in a session on libraries and the UN 2030 goals, Jack Hang-tat Leong (Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library, University of Toronto, Canada) talked about Library services for immigrants and refugees: actions and principles from a global perspective (full paper at http://library.ifla.org/1334/1/081-leong-en.pdf)
He started by highlighting that in 2015 244 million people lived outside their original countries. The multicultural library manifesto has been endorsed by IFLA and UNESCO. This is at http://www.ifla.org/node/8976 and Leong highlighted some of its principles. Libraries are asked to pay special attention to groups that are often marginalised. Services should be an integral part of library services, not an add on.
There are challenges, for example lack of material in targeted languages, lack of demand in fact indicating inadequate services, and special needs of the highly educated migrants.
Staff need good language and communication skills; there need to be regular community analysis; connecting with the life and activities of the various communities is valuable. Some examples he gave were the Arizona Public Libraries serving Spanish-speaking patrons, http://Mylanguage.gov.au, and Libraries without borders (idea boxes for refugee camps). You can find more detail and more examples in his paper (linked above).
Photo by Sheila Webber: conference bags, WLIC 2016

Libraries contribution to a sustainable future supporting people experiencing homelessness #WLIC2016

Next at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, USA, still in a session on libraries taking action for the UN 2030 development agenda
Sanja Bunić (Zagreb City Libraries, Croatia) talked about On the front line: Libraries contribution to a sustainable future supporting people experiencing homelessness (the full paper is at http://library.ifla.org/1315/1/081-bunic-en.pdf)
Bunić identified homelessness (citing Leilani Farha) as a result of inequality and poverty on a global scale. She noted the various stereotypes of the homeless persons, and the facts that few people chose to be homeless and when they become homeless their rights may be violated. There are social groups at risk of homelessness e.g. people with disabilities, families on the move and indigenous people. This issue is directly related to the Sustainable Development goal 1 "end poverty in all its forms everywhere".
They are drawing up guidelines for libraries in supporting the homeless. The speaker gave 3 examples of library work. The first is at Denver Public Library, USA. They have a Homeless Service Action Committee, which now has support from the Mayor and their Director, resulting in some funds. They now have a full time Community Resource Specialist, a social worker, who can explain the needs of homeless people to libraries etc. and initiates diverse services (e.g. meditation, connection to medical care). This example shows the importance of collaboration within the community.
The second example is Waverley Library in Australia. This example shows that even when they don't have support from the community, librarians can still take action. They have an online toolkit, donate books to a special library, train in mental health awareness, participate in relevant events etc.
The third example is a day centre supported by Riga Central Library, Latvia, and other Riga Council units. Ist floor is basic needs, 2nd floor relaxation and studies, 3rd floor library. 40% of users have managed to change their status, finding homes.

Supporting development and access through literacy #WLIC2016

Liveblogging from the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, USA, in a session on libraries taking action for the UN 20130 goals, Annie Everall (Authors Aloud UK, United Kingdom) talked about Literacy Matters: Supporting Access and Development through Literacy and Reading Initiatives in Libraries
She talked about 2 library initiatives: Big Book Bash for Children in Care (UK) and Better beginnings/ Reparation through Reading in Western Australia. The latter is a collaborative approach to adult literacy and family history. It is a family literacy programme, using established networks of libraries, coommunity health etc. to work with families at risk. It is a joint initiative with WA Corrective Services and prison-based services. They learn ways of improving young children's literacy and this also changes parent behaviours as the prisoners' confidence in reading improving and they can enjoy sharing and supporting their children's reading. Some research undertaken by Edith Cowan University showed improvement in reading, books in the home etc. There was a paper about this at IFLA in 2014 http://library.ifla.org/893/1/169-jones-en.pdf
Big Book Bash for Children in Care targets a group that has lower literacy levels (those in local authority care or in foster homes). The initiative is in Derbyshire, UK, where there are 620 children in care. It is a one day reading festival for children and their carers (plus birth children of foster carers). It is annual and the last one was the 13th book bash. They aim to promote enjoyment in reading, and bring authors/artists in contact with children in care and to raise awareness of library services. The steering group for the event has representatives of many stakeholders including children and parents. The day includes a reading relay, free books, meetings with authors etc. In 2016 there were 500 children, 40% said they visit libraries more, over 90% said they are sharing and reading books more.They are on Twitter @BigBookBash
Photo by Sheila Webber: registration, WLIC 2016

Media today #WLIC2016

I'm attending the IFLA World Library and Information Congress, which this year is held in Columbus, Ohio, USA and I will be liveblogging a few sessions, wifi permitting. The first plenary is from Carol Luper on Current and future of media communications. Carol Luper is a veteran Columbus-based news reporter (there is a video here). My photo shows her (right) with the session chair Maria Carme Torras.
She started by welcoming us to the USA and Columbus. She has worked in radio and TV for about 40 years, retiring 3 years ago (but still in touch). She reflected on how news news reporting has changed. When she started out, grammar, complete sentences and so forth were important: now it is unformal, and influenced by text chat. When she started there were three local TV networks, and three local radio stations. There wasn't the same prominence of sponsorhip, and radios had more local news. Now the TV news is advertiser-driven. Then, the reporter and cameraman would gather information, and she would review the material and put together the story for broadcast. She was able to choose who to feature on her news show.
Now there are "one man bands" - people who do the lot, and may be broadcasting direct from their phones, as well as using citizens' own phone videos. No longer does the reporter have to be on the scene, if there is a citizen on the spot with a phone broadcasting. "It's not professional but it's what people want because it's what's happening now".
Luper talked about how now more people are using social media for news, than conventional news stories. She held up the local paper and noted how it had shrunk over time. When she sits down to read the paper in the morning she has actually seen a lot of it already. She talked about how the role of the library has expanded, including a drive-by service at the Columbus public library.
She finished with questions: With so many sources of news are we better informed today? Do we look more deeply before making judgements? How do we decide who to believe? Do we believe the news anchors and reporters? Do we think they are balanced? Do we just look for our own views in the newspapers?
There was an interesting discussion after this, with thoughtful questions and answers. Just to pick out some of this: One of the audience asked her "If you could ask Donald Trump one question, what would it be?" and her answer was "Do YOU believe what you say?". Another question was, how can librarians get as much media coverage as Donald Trump. She gave a plug to the person who does media coverage of Columbus Metropolitan libraries, who was able to get regular coverage. She pointed out how he has good relationships with the media, building up connections, and is able to bring in a news hook (linking to local or seasonal events, human interest etc.) You have to be able to grab first of all the attention of the newsperson and then of the public.
Another questioner asked whether the abolition of the fairness doctrine had affected the news adversely, and whether the issue of slanted reporting was a problem worldwide. Luper did think it was, although she pointed again to the way in which people tended to prefer media that reflected their own views. She said in response to another question that it was difficult to get people to broaden their outlook if they felt very comfortable with their current view on life. This is a difficult problem with no easy solution!
One service that was mentioned, that was against the trend of advertiser-driven news, was C-Span, which covers political and congressional matters in depth.

LILi: Lifelong Information Literacy 2016 Conference presentations

Thanks to Esther Grassian for telling me that the presentations from the LIL: Lifelong Information Literacy 2016 Conference, which took place on August 8 2016, are now available at http://libguides.sandiego.edu/c.php?g=466332&p=3273746
They include:
- What would it look like if students had college-ready research skills? Strengthening the pipeline from high school to college with College-K12 collaborations - Allison Carr, Tricia Lantzy, Torie Quinonez, California State University San Marcos (CSUSM)
 - What Would it Look Like if Students Taught the One-Shot? Using ACRL Frames to Construct Information Literacy Competencies in a Learning Community - Yvonne Wilber, California Lutheran University
- Rethinking our Aims for Teaching the Evaluation of Information - Mark Lenker, University of Nevada Las Vegas

Infolit Journal Club: Inclusivity, Gestalt principles, and plain language in document design: 25 August 2016 #ILread

The next blog-post information literacy journal club is on 25 August 2016 at 3pm UK time, which is 10am US Eastern time, 7am US Pacific time. The article for discussion is:
Turner, J. and Schomberg, J. (2016) ‘Inclusivity, Gestalt principles, and plain language in document design’, In the Library with the Lead Pipe. http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2016/accessibility/

Helen Farrell (a Faculty Librarian for Social Sciences in Maynooth University, Ireland) proposed this paper, and she has written an introduction and posed some qustions on the Infolit journal club blog at
http://infolitjournalclub.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/inclusivity-gestalt-principles-and_7.html

Anyone can join this discussion! Participants aim to read at least some of the article in advance, then come along at 3pm BST and join in the discussion by adding comments to the blog post. You can see how this works by looking at previous discussions (just scroll down the blog for previous posts).
Photo by Sheila Webber: fair in the park, July 2016

cfp C.A.L.L.: Conference About Libraries & Literacy

There is a call for papers for the C.A.L.L.: Conference About Libraries & Literacy which will take place on 9 February 2017 in La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA with the theme If only they knew. They invite presentations on: successful collaborations which help develop information literacy skills in learners; innovative programmes or initiatives which promote information literacy; defining information literacy in a digital age. The deadline for proposals is October 17, 2016. Presentation formats are 5 minute talks, 30 minute presentations and panels. More info at https://callconferenceblog.wordpress.com/
Photo by Sheila Webber: curled cat, June 2016

Global MIL week call for papers and events #MILweek2016 #GAPMIL

Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) week will take place from 31 October to 5 November 2016. This is an event promoted by UNESCO. The key event of the week is a conference at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. The concept note can be downloaded at  https://en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/global_mil_week_2016_-_concept_note_05082016.pdf  and the website is at https://en.unesco.org/global-mil-week-2016/
There are a number of ways in which people are encouraged to participate.

Firstly, there is a call for papers. I have reproduced the list of topics at the end of this post. You can submit a paper even if you know that you cannot attend the conference in Brazil: the papers may just be selected for the conference, but papers may also be selected for publication by UNESCO (probably in a special open-access volume). This is not evident on the proposal form, but I have checked this with the organisers at UNESCO HQ. The deadline is 20 August. The proposal form is at https://en.unesco.org/feedback/global-mil-week-2016-paper-submission
You will see that you have to upload an “extract”. Again I checked with UNESCO HQ about this, and it does NOT mean that you have to have produced a full paper or presentation already, you can upload an abstract or a few slides that give an idea of what your presentation will be about.
The types of proposal are “Research; Theory; Case study; Evidence; Testimonial; Technology; Audiovisual product; Other”. Therefore if you have produced an engaging video, or have an engaging story to tell, about addressing any of the themes (e.g. migration and MIL; MIL and health; MIL and social inclusion) then you could submit that (i.e. it doesn’t have to be an “academic” paper). Since the term “MIL” doesn’t get used much yet, obviously the initiative itself is more likely to have been an Information Literacy” or “Media Literacy” event. The theme for the conference is Media and Information Literacy: New Paradigms for Intercultural Dialogue (so with an emphasis on intercultural dialogue), but as you can see from the list of themes, the topics are not restricted to that.

Secondly, you can register events: ones you plan for MIL week itself, but also ANY MIL event, which includes any IL event (though you might want to use the term “MIL” in the description) happening between now and November. To be honest, it is not 100% clear where this information will appear (I forgot to ask about that) but I assume it will be on the MIL week website: I think there will be a clickable map. To register your event go to https://en.unesco.org/feedback/global-mil-week-2016-celebration-event-registration.

Thirdly, you can submit a photo to put on the MIL week poster (see the graphic at the start of this blog post). The photo should be relevant to MIL and should be sent to ji.xu@unescco.org by 30 August 2016. The space on the poster that says “Submit a photo to replace me” is a circle with a small slice off the left side.

Fourthly (and overlapping with “firstly”) you can attend the conference in São Paulo, the Sixth Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue (MILID) Conference and the First General Assembly of the Global Alliance for Partnerships on Media and Information Literacy (GAPMIL), taking place November 2-5, There is no conference fee. You can register now at https://en.unesco.org/global-mil-week-2016/feature-event By the way, if you don’t need viva assistance, I don’t think you need to fill in the 2nd part of the form (with passport details etc.)

Fifthly, you can nominate someone for the International MIL Award: or rather prepare to nominate, since at the moment there is not a form to fill in yet. This will “recognize an educator integrating MIL (media and information literacy) in an innovative way in their classroom and curriculum” “This award is intended to honor an educator in any subject area from kindergarten through university, as long as their curriculum reflects integration of media and information literacy concepts with a focus on intercultural dialogue.” “Nominations should describe how the nominee’s teaching and curriculum impacts students in MIL; Nominations should describe how the nominee’s teaching practice does influence or could influence the Media and Information Literacy field at large; Nominations should provide links to two current curriculum examples and a syllabus (if appropriate) produced by the nominee.” https://en.unesco.org/global-mil-week-2016/international-mil-award

Finally, these are the “relevant themes” mentioned on the MIL Week paper submission form:
MIL and intercultural/interreligious dialogue – promoting mutual knowledge and understanding, both within different societies and internationally; Media independence and professionalism; Human rights, migration and MIL; Social inclusion and MIL; MIL for countering hate speech, favouring freedom of expression; MIL for preventing violence and extremism, favouring peace building; International networks and alliances for promoting MIL; MIL in schools – for children and youth (teacher training on MIL) – current programs, pedagogical models, best practices; MIL in libraries, museums, archives and community spaces – case studies, best practices, etc.; MIL for researchers – identifying key competencies; Current research on MIL – the academic perspective; The private sector – innovation in education through MIL; Public policies on MIL; MIL assessment at national level; Promoting local culture through MIL; MIL, privacy and freedom of expression; MIL and user security regarding ICT; MIL and youth identity; MIL and global citizenship education; MIL, search algorithms, programming and game design; MIL and health; MIL and gender equality issues; MIL and creativity; MIL and financial literacy/entrepreneurialism; MIL and non-formal education; MIL, audiovisual cultures and industries; MIL, environmental sustainability, and urban mobility; MIL, decent work and economic growth

The Information Literacy Assessment & Advocacy Project (ILAAP)

The people who developed the WASSAIL assessment tool have launched The Information Literacy Assessment & Advocacy Project (ILAAP). They have a multiple choice question bank mapped to the ACRL Standards and the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy. You can use the questions freely under a Creative Commons lisence, or you can register and also get free access to the web based WASSAIL interface and reporting tool.

"The ILAAP Assessment Tool is a customizable tool that responds to the unique needs of undergraduate information literacy instruction. The tool is web-based, offering multiple-choice and qualitative questions that have been mapped to the both the ACRL Standards and the Framework. This is how it works: you select questions from a question pool that you wish to use in each session, tailoring the assessment tool to content delivered in specific sessions. After you select the questions, we send you the URL to use after you teach. Then, we send you a report summarizing the responses." This tool and its predecessors have been used by a number of institutions.

They recommend its use for first or second year undergraduates and can also be used for pre- and post-tests. The project is led by the University of Alberta, Canda, notably Nancy Goebel, Head Librarian of the Augustana Campus Library of the University of Alberta. For more information go to http://ilaap.ca

Cluster analysis of information literacy research literature (in german)

A new German-language article provides a visualisation of the connections between authors in the information literacy field. BibExcel was used to extract the data and do the co-citation mapping etc. and VOSviewer provided the visualisation function. The analysis was carried out on 1589 articles on information literacy (identified by searching "information literacy" or "information literacies" on Web of Science and restricting to articles, reviews or proceedings (Jaklitsch, 2015). As well as showing the connections between authors, Jaklitsch identifies clusters which he identifies with research fields and disciplinary knowledge bases. Thus I am in the cluster of "Information Literacy in sociocultural context" and "phenomenography". I was drawn to it both because my name is in it and because I can speak German, but even without German skills you may find it interesting for the network diagrams and tables, which don't require much translation (and there's always Google Translate!).
Jaklitsch, M. (2016). Informationsvisualisierung am Beispiel des Begriffs Informationskompetenz: eine szientometrische Untersuchung unter Verwendung von BibExcel und VOSviewer. [Information visualisation: a scientometric investigation using BbExcle and VOSviewer: the example of information Literacy] Young Information Scientist, 1, 31–43. https://yis.univie.ac.at/index.php/yis/article/view/1417/1251
The dissertation upon which this article is based is: Jaklitsch, M. (2015) Informationsvisualisierung am Beispiel des Begriffs Informationskompetenz : eine szientometrische Untersuchung unter Verwendung von BibExcel und VOSviewer. Masters thesis, University of Graz. http://unipub.uni-graz.at/obvugrhs/content/titleinfo/789574

Young Information Scientist is a new open-access peer-reviewed journal published by the Austrian information science association: Verein zur Förderung für Informationswissenschaft (VFI)
Photo by Sheila Webber: Kaffee und Kuchen in Tamper, July 2016

Hooked, we are online more than we sleep: The Communications Market 2016

Published on 4 August was Ofcom's The Communications Market 2016 report (for the UK). The finding which they headlined to catch media attention was that "Fifteen million UK internet users have undertaken a ‘digital detox’ in a bid to strike a healthier balance between technology and life beyond the screen": however there is much more in the report, which has a fascinating quantity of information on consumers: frequency of use, amount spent per household, ownership of devices, feelings and behaviour online etc.etc. covering TV, radio, phones and internet. I have extracted some quotations etc. below. There are even longer sections on the industry itself (volume, trends etc.) which I haven't touched on here.
A notable increase is in the purchase of bundled services (e.g. voice plus broadband, or voice+ broadband+ TV). Other snippets are: "The average UK adult uses media and communications services for 8 hours 45 minutes, and sleeps for 8 hours 18 minutes". "Watching accounts for 39% of the total time spent on media and communications. For most age groups it represents the most popular type of activity. However, 16-24s spend more of their time communicating (32% vs. 29% for watching)." Instant messaging has grown in popularity, whilst there is less SMS texting and less email. "A fifth of all media and communications time is spent media multi-tasking" (e.g. messaging whilst watching TV).
They asked people to rate on a scale of 1-10 "how hooked they were on their connected device": 59% internet users said they were ‘hooked’ (giving a rating betwee 7 and 10). 34% of internet users "say that they find it ‘difficult to disconnect from the internet’". Almost half those surveyed said they checked their phones last thing before sleeping and first thing on waking. 72% of 16-24 year olds said they'd missed out on sleep due to spending time online. "41% said that if they didn’t have access to the internet, their lives would be boring." Meanwhile "12% of all adults bump into people or things on a weekly basis [because they are using their phone]"
For the educationalists: "Teens were also asked to what extent they agreed with various statements about the use of mobile phones or tablets during lessons, and generally, similar proportions agreed with the negative and positive statements: 45% said it made the time pass more quickly, while 49% said ‘it distracts me’, 35% said ‘it slows my learning’ and 37% said ‘it makes the lesson less boring’." (p39)
The section on "Digital detox" found that "when asked about the last time they had purposely gone on a digital detox, overall, a third (34%) of internet users said that they had ever done this, while one in ten said they had done so in the last week." and mostly they are positive about this afterwards.
(and there is a lot more - obviously this is of most interest to those based in the UK, but you may find it of interest for comparison, if you are based in another country).
The report is based on a number of Ofcom's high quality research exercises, these include: "Digital Day 2016" (diaries of what was done on a specific day - I will put more on that in another post): the technology tracker survey (run twice a year on a sample weighted to represent the 16+ UK population); the Residential Postal Tracker; The Business Postal Tracker (a sample of 1600 small and medium sized enterprises); The Media Tracker (run through the year and reported annually).

Ofcom. (2016) The Communications Market 2016 report: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/market-data/communications-market-reports/cmr16/uk/ (the full report can be downloaded: also on the right you can play with the inetractive data function)
Photo by Sheila webber: Tamper, July 2016

New articles: faculty voices; instructional design; using PBWiki; technology use

Reference Services Review volume 22 issue 3 (priced publication) has been published:
no access
Learning from Faculty Voices on Information Literacy: Opportunities and Challenges for Undergraduate Information Literacy Education by Sophie Bury
Student bibliographies: charting research skills over time by Catherine Lantz , Glenda Maria Insua , Annie R. Armstrong , Annie Pho
Using the Instructional Design Process in Tutorial Development by Terri Artemchik
Building Bridges: Outreach to International Students via Vernacular Language Videos by Xiang Li , Kevin McDowell , Xiaotong Wang
Studying the impact of blended learning that uses the online PBwiki guided by activity theory on LIS students' knowledge management by Chokri Barhoumi
Understanding Library Users’ Preferences and Expectations of Online Help by Tao Zhang et al.
Keeping your options open: A review of open source and free technologies for instructional use in higher education by Mara Rojeski Blake , Catherine Morse
Teaching the Reference Interview through Practice-Based Assignments by Laura Saunders
Go to http://www.emeraldinsight.com/toc/rsr/44/3
Photo by Sheila Webber: bee and lavender, Blackheath, August 2016

Academic libraries reimagined?

A blog post I'd recommend as much for the thoughtful dicussion in the comments as the original post is:
Fister, Barbara. (2016, July 26). David Lewis’s Library Reimagined. Library Babel Fish. https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/library-babel-fish/david-lewis%E2%80%99s-library-reimagined
This gives a short review of/ commentary on Lewis' book and the comments pick up on some important themes, in particular the issues raised by Laura S's comment "I'm a bit uncomfortable with framing our entire future around creating "products" focused on our patron's efficiency at work".
Photo by Sheila Webber: White rose, July 2016

Learning materials for library instruction, 30-31 August

Andrew Walsh is running a "make and do" camp, on 30-31 August 2016 in Manchester, UK, to make learning materials for library instruction. The cost is £50 (with a few free places available).
"The theme for the two day camp will be creating materials for library teaching, preferably active learning materials (including games). Some prototyping materials will be provided, along with a couple of laptops and a few other bits and pieces. ... The day will be based around open space type ideas (like library camps - you come and go from groups as you please, everyone's ideas are equally valued, and ideas are generated / enacted by whoever happens to be present at the time)." Book at https://makecampmanc.eventbrite.co.uk
Photo by Sheila Webber: daisies in the park, July 2016

Recent articles: evaluations; assignments; information-seeking; faculty status; learning analytics

The latest issue (volume 42, no. 4) of The Journal of Academic Librarianship (priced publication) includes:
- Information Literacy Training Evaluation: The Case of First Year Psychology Students by Tina Kavšek, Cirila Peklaj, Urška Žugelj
- The Preparation of Academic Librarians Who Provide Instruction: A Comparison of First and - Second Career Librarians by Jacalyn E. Bryan
- How Do Students Get Help with Research Assignments? Using Drawings to Understand Students' Help Seeking Behavior by Molly Beisler, Ann Medaille
- Come Fly with Me: Screencasts with Zooming Fly-in-style Highlights by John T. Oliver
- Social Capital as Operative in Liaison Librarianship: Librarian Participants' Experiences of Faculty Engagement as Academic Library Liaisons by Tim Schlak
- Factors that Influence Undergraduate Information-seeking Behavior and Opportunities for Student Success by Sloan Komissarov, James Murray
- Use It or Lose It? A Longitudinal Performance Assessment of Undergraduate Business Students' Information Literacy by Ilana R. Stonebraker, Rachel Fundator
- Practicing Critical Evaluation of Online Sources Improves Student Search Behavior by Chris Leeder, Chirag Shah
- Beyond Competencies: Naming Librarians' Capacity for Research by Selinda A. Berg, Michelle Banks
- Getting Ready & Getting Started: Academic Librarian Involvement in Institutional Learning Analytics Initiatives by Megan Oakleaf
- Different, but More Similar Now: Faculty Status by John Buschman
Abstracts at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00991333/42/4
Photo by Sheila webber: rose, July 2016

Webinar recording: Information Literacy in my Career

The recording of the webinar presented on 26 July 2016 by Sheila Webber (me), Pamela McKinney, Liam Bullingham and Emily Wheeler is available: it is 73 minutes long (the last 15 minutes are questions). The webinar was organised by the IFLA Continuing Professional Development and Workplace Learning and IFLA New Professionals Special Interest Group in conjunction with the American Library Association. It was conducted in Adobe Connect, hosted by the ALA and the video recording is here: http://ala.adobeconnect.com/p8hmerb8tw5/
We were each responding to 3 prompts:
1. What does Information Literacy mean to me
2. How information literacy fits in with my job
3. How (or whether) I see information literacy being important to me in the future, and/or where I would like to go next with IL
Below is just the powerpoint with all our presentations

Information Literacy in my Career from Sheila Webber

Associated links (mentioned by speakers):
SCONUL 7 Pillars http://www.sconul.ac.uk/sites/default/files/documents/coremodel.pdf
Review of Seven Pillars model: http://bit.ly/2a1QBme
Pam McKinney and Sheila Webber’s Presentation from the creating knowledge conference: http://bit.ly/2a9mzie
Alison Head's keynote from the Creating Knowledge viii conference: http://bit.ly/2allHq7
University of Sheffield Information Skills resource http://www.librarydevelopment.group.shef.ac.uk/

IFLA papers: literacy

There are some full papers relating to literacy and information literacy already available, that will be presented at the IFLA conference next month:
- MUSEMBURI, Darlington and NHENDO, Collen (2016) “Information literacy for all”: Interfacing academic and public librarians in developing a legal information literate society in Zimbabwe. Paper presented at: IFLA WLIC 2016 – Columbus, OH – Connections. Collaboration. Community
- LANGENDONK, Adriaan and BON, Ingrid (2016) Literacy Matters: Strategies and best practice initiatives for supporting development through literacy and reading in the Netherlands. Paper presented at: IFLA WLIC 2016 – Columbus, OH – Connections. Collaboration. Community
- WILLANDER, Linda (2016) Literacy and Reading - Best Practices in Malmö, Sweden. Paper presented at: IFLA WLIC 2016 – Columbus, OH – Connections. Collaboration. Community
- DOWNS, Ashley L. and KENNEDY, Sarah E. and PFANDER, Jeanne L. and DOYLE, Kelly and KELLY, Julie (2016) Planning a multi-institution Wikipedia Edit-a-thon for agriculture: Fulfilling the land grant mission while contributing to the world’s understanding of agriculture. Paper presented at: IFLA WLIC 2016 – Columbus, OH – Connections. Collaboration. Community
- BERNAOUI, Radia and ANSEUR, Ouardia (2016) Information Needs of Algerian Farmers Through an Animal Agricultural Information System. Paper presented at: IFLA WLIC 2016 – Columbus, OH – Connections. Collaboration. Community
- ZIMMERMAN, Margaret Sullivan (2016) Female Literacy and Access to Information in Asia - Assessing Maternal Health Impacts. Paper presented at: IFLA WLIC 2016 – Columbus, OH – Connections. Collaboration. Community
Photo by Sheila Webber: tomatoes, July 2016

Plagiarism in high places

There has been an interesting discussion on the North American information literacy discussion list about how and whether Melania Trump's apparent plagiarism can be used in information literacy education. It has been pointed out that it can also be used to raise discussion of issues such as ghostwriting, and also differing types and degrees of plagiarism. To me, it seems particularly problematic to plagiarise something which is supposed to be about how you feel, but I'm probably just politically naive.
In case you haven't already found them, useful resources are:
The CNN video comparing Melania Trump's and Michelle Obama's speeches: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcbiGsDMmCM
A BBC multiple-choice quiz (guess who was plagiarised) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36836101
It's also interesting how the issue is being discussed in different ways in different media.

Brian Martin has written a lot about his strong opinions on academic integrity, plagiarism, suppression of whistleblowing and what he calls "Institutionalised plagiarism ... when credit for work is routinely attributed wrongly, nearly always to those with more power." (Martin, 2008). His articles could also provide fuel for discussion. This page has his essays and articles, but also chapters by other authors from The handbook of academic integrity (2016) (by the way, I have to ask, what market is this book priced for?! it makes you extra grateful for the extracts published on Martin's website) http://www.bmartin.cc/pubs/plagiarismfraud.html

Reference: Brian Martin. (2008, 31 October). When ghosts plagiarise. ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/31/2406376.htm
Photo by Sheila Webber: Eliza thinks I may have plagiarised, July 2016

Critical Information Literacy: Foundations, Inspiration, and Ideas

A new book is:
Downey, A. (2016). Critical Information Literacy: Foundations, Inspiration, and Ideas. Library Juice Press. Price: $28.00. ISBN: 978-1-63400-024-6
"This book grew out of the author's dissertation research, which was a qualitative study investigating the institutional support, nonsupport, and barriers to CIL programs and the effectiveness of experiential critical pedagogy for information literacy learning as taught and studied by 19 CIL librarians and scholars. Experiential education served as the broad theoretical framework for the study, which stems from the tradition of critical theory, and used the work of two major experiential learning theorists and theories specifically: Paulo Freire and critical pedagogy and Jack Mezirow and transformative learning. Mezirow and Freire focused their work on adult education and grounded their approaches in critical theory and focused on power relationships, reflection, and the emancipatory potential of education. Each chapter expands on the themes discussed or illustrated by the study participants, to include how and where librarians learn about CIL; the three major critical teaching methods critical librarians employ, including student-centered approaches, discussion and dialogue, and problem-posing methods; the struggle between using critical teaching methods and incorporating critical content; the argument for teaching within the broader context of academic disciplines and the crucial importance of strong relationships with faculty; support for CIL at the institutional level; and the role of professional identity and the culture of librarians and librarianship in CIL teaching and thought."
More information at http://libraryjuicepress.com/downey.php
Photo by Sheila Webber: Freddie, July 2016

Free IFLA/NPSIG/CPDWL Webinar, July 26 2016: Information Literacy in My Career

I'm presenting in a free Information Literacy Webinar, July 26 2016: Information Literacy in My Career. The IFLA Continuing Professional Development and Workplace Learning Section and IFLA New Professionals SIG have partnered with the American Library Association to present a one-hour webinar Information Literacy in my career. Professionals at different stages of their career will talk about what information literacy means to them, how they engage with it in their job, and how they see information literacy featuring in their future. Speakers are:
- Keynote and moderator: Sheila Webber (i.e. me)
- Pamela McKinney (@ischoolpam). Pamela is a Lecturer in the Information School, University of Sheffield. Before joining the iSchool, she was a learning developer in the Centre for Inquiry-based Learning in the Arts and Social Sciences, and prior to that an academic librarian at Sheffield Hallam University
- Liam Bullingham (@liamealbee). Liam is a Liaison Librarian at the University of Sheffield. Previous jobs included Information Adviser at Sheffield Hallam University, Knowledge Management Resources Assistant at DLA Piper and Graduate Trainee Library Assistant, Manchester Metropolitan University.
- Emily Wheeler (@heliotropia). Emily is Learning Advisor at the University of Leeds. Previous posts include Library Graduate Trainee at Manchester Metropolitan University. She runs the CILIP Yorkshire and Humberside Member Network blog https://cilipyhmn.wordpress.com/ and co-organises the LISDIS (Library and Information Science Dissertations) conference
Time: Tuesday 26 July at 4pm British Summer Time (London, UK) / 5pm (Stockholm, Sweden)/ 10am Central Standard Time (Chicago, USA) / 11am Eastern Standard Time (NYC, USA) /
Times elsewhere http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?iso=20160726T16&p1=136
To join the webcast on July 26: Go to http://ala.adobeconnect.com/r4mo47arqqc/ to access the live event. The webinar will be recorded and the recording will be made available online after the event.

Presentations: employers; inclusion; Teentech

Presentations from the recent CILIP conference are online and they include the following:
- DeVIL: Determining the value of information literacy for employers by Stéphane Goldstein and Andrew Whitworth
- Developing digital literacy skills in professional and academic staff by Jennifer Wilson and Laurence Morris. This has screenshots from the Leeds Beckett University Employability Libguide: http://libguides.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/c.php?g=348865&p=2353584
- TeenTech:integrating research and information literacy in our future by Jane Secker and Rebecca Jones
- A collaborative approach to digital inclusion by Sharon Wagg and Luke Wilson - this includes a link to the UK Online Centres website https://www.ukonlinecentres.com/
Go to http://cilipconference.org.uk/presentations/ (note - the page only lists the authors, not presentation titles)
Picture: Another picture using https://mj-gift.shiseido.co.jp/

New Review of Academic Librarianship

Taylor and Francis have assembled a "free article collection ... special issue" from articles taken from the last few years of the New Review of Academic Librarianship. This includes:
- Harrop, D. and Turpin, B. (2013). A Study Exploring Learners' Informal Learning Space Behaviors, Attitudes, and Preferences. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 19(1), 58-77. [a study in a university setting]
- Buchanan, H. et al (2015.) Curriculum Mapping in Academic Libraries. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 21(1), 94-111.
- Gore, H. (2014). Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and Their Impact on Academic Library Services: Exploring the Issues and Challenges. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 20(1), 4-28.
It is at http://explore.tandfonline.com/content/bes/nral-virtual-issue16
The picture is created by a cute Japanese app - it's in Japanese, but just keep clicking through and it's pretty obvious what to do https://mj-gift.shiseido.co.jp/

Additions to ACRL resource lists

The ACRL Instruction Section Teaching Methods Committee has added new committee-recommended sources to their Zotero-based lists: Selected Resources for Teaching Methods and Instructional Design in Library Instruction (https://www.zotero.org/teach_bibliography/items/collectionKey/N2Z3XAK8) and their Selected Resources for Assessment in Library Instruction (https://www.zotero.org/teach_bibliography/items/collectionKey/2F4ZJ7KE)
Photo by Sheila Webber: hydrangea, July 2016

#Ofcom research into people's use of #smartphones: "Smartphone by default"

Another recent (May 2016) report is Smartphone by default, a qualitative research report conducted by ESRO for Ofcom (the UK communications watchdog). It is available in full at https://revealingreality.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Smarphone_by_default_2016.pdf It is a high-quality, interesting report which identifies a number of issues relevant to information literacy.
"The fieldwork involved 26 two-hour in-depth interviews in four UK cities: Glasgow, Leeds, London, Belfast and Cardiff. During these interviews, researchers explored the digital behaviour and skills of participants." It was a varied sample, and participants included some who were in vulnerable circumstances (e.g. homeless). One of the selection criteria was that participants should already be using a smartphone routinely ("by default"). The researchers identified "Smartphone by choice" participants who "had selected a smartphone as the most appropriate device for their digital needs, despite potentially easy access to other devices." and "Smartphone by circumstance" participants "who were using their smartphones because their situations (often financial) meant they were unable to access other devices."
The report surfaces both the benefits and the drawbacks of smartphone use. I have used photos of two slides presented by Ofcom's Emily Keaney at the 2nd European Media and Information Literacy Forum (I missed the start of her talk and therefore didn't blog it). She was talking about this research and the 2 slides highlight cons and pros respectively. You will note that Keaney identified a potential new "Digital Divide" for those who mostly just had smartphone access.

There are large benefits, e.g. there are some examples of people running microbusinesses from their smartphone, and vulnerable people who are able to keep in contact with family amidst problematic lives. However, drawbacks are identified.
Because of the size of the device, people find it difficult or impossible to use apps like Word or other to fill in lengthy and important forms. This has implications for their information management, and means that they may save up these kinds of tasks for when they have access to a PC or laptop with a connection (which can be stressful). For those with constrained finances, because of worries about using up data allowances, people may limit the amount of searching and viewing they do, and they will seek out places with free wifi. The report highlights that whilst people have become more aware of privacy and security issues on social media and shopping sites, they don't necessarily think about the security issues around free wifi spots.
In terms of information literacy and information management, the research highlights how people may not be learning skills to do with (for example) typing, or using Word, because they don't get practice in doing it on their smartphone. A number of issues around searching, evaluating and refinding material are identified: because of screensize it is difficult to compare information, people tend to use the same apps, and there are examples of how people can't store material on their devices (with issues of knowing how/where to organise it, and storage limits), and usually don't use bookmarks, so they are having to refind material, or (for example) take a screenshot and store the picure of the web page and its address, or email the screenshot to themselves so they can refind it in their email.
Altogether, a report I will look at in more depth, and recommend to students.
As a researcher, I found the 9 page "Discussion guide" at the end of the report very interesting. It is the interview guide for the researchers, going through the different sessions in the c. 2 hours they spent with participants. I think it is particularly useful for anyone doing research into everyday information literacy (or thinking about "assessment" of citizens' media and information literacy). There is also a 10 page section given the crireia for selecting the sample, and the questionnaire used for screening and selecting participants.

Designing Curriculum & Developing Educators for the Information Literacy Courses of Tomorrow

A short online course from ACRL is Designing Curriculum & Developing Educators for the Information Literacy Courses of Tomorrow, running from next Monday 18 July until 5 August 2016. Costs range from $195 (non ALA or ACRL member) through to $60 for students. The course is in Moodle and they say to budget for 3-5 hours a week. The course is led by Andrea Falcone (Head of Education & Outreach Services, University of Colorado Denver). More information at http://www.ala.org/acrl/designingcurriculum
Photo by Sheila Webber: the local squirrel eating a cherry on my tree outside my bedroom window (he and the birds are the only ones to get the cherries)

UK Adults media use and attitudes

I'll be highlighting a couple of recent reports from Ofcom (the UK's communications watchdog, which has an excellent research programme). The substantial report Adults’ media use and attitudes (April 2016) "provides research that looks at media use, attitudes and understanding, and how these change over time [they compare results with their previous surveys], with a particular focus on those groups that tend not to participate digitally." 1841 adults (in the UK) were surveyed in their homes in September-October 2015. It's at http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/other/research-publications/adults/media-lit-2016/
The report surveyed use of search engines, apps, specific types of device, online games (including mobile games) as well as more obvious types of media. From the extracts from "overview" below, you can see that the results tie in with concerns from the information and library community about critical use of the internet and "searchification". One chapter of the report is on "Media attitudes and critical understanding" and some results reveal the continued need for information literacy e.g. "only half of adults aged 16+ (49%) who use search engines identified sponsored links on Google as advertising" (p130). Those who are new to the internet and "narrow users", who had said that they always tend to use the same set of websites and apps, were less likely to recognise advertising and "Narrow users are less likely to use search engines, and are less likely to understand how search engines work" (p191). As another random fact "fewer internet users said they used Wikipedia when looking for information online [than in the previous year's survey] (44% vs. 54% in 2014)." (p 11.)

This is most of what it summarises in the "overview" of the report
- "There has been a sizeable increase in the proportion of internet users saying they only use websites or apps that they’ve used before (42% vs 31% in 2014).... This may be linked to the growing tendency to use “digital intermediaries” such as Facebook, Google, YouTube and Amazon for much activity. This change in use patterns underlines the growing importance of critical literacy skills. Even as search engines remain the default means of accessing information, levels of understanding remain mixed as to what their results signify, and half of search engine users are unable to correctly identify ads or sponsored links at the top of many results pages."
- "There has been a considerable rise (from 6% in 2014 to 16% in 2015) in the proportion of adults who only use smartphones or tablets to go online, and not a PC/laptop. In other words, these newer devices are not just supplementing PCs/laptops, but are starting to replace them. This pattern is seen across all ages of adults, across all socio-economic groups and for males and females, but is particularly marked among newer users, young people and those in DE households. This move away from PCs and laptops and towards smartphones and tablets has the potential to make an impact in a number of areas. There are implications for plurality: as people may use fewer sources for their content and services, and prefer to use a small subset of apps or digital intermediaries rather than search for a wider range of material, then discoverability mechanisms become more important. There are also implications for usability, as the size of the device may hamper some types of use e.g. typing longer forms/documents; and online habits, as people’s use is more dependent on their data consumption and can diminish considerably as monthly allowances are used up." This is explored further in another report which I'll blog tomorrow.
- "There is an increasing preference for mobile phones above more traditional media devices. From 2005 - 2014, adults were most likely to say they would miss their TV set the most. Now mobile phones are the most-missed media device. "
- "There is increasing polarity between different age groups in terms of communications activity. Whereas 25 years ago, all age groups shared just two common means of communication – landlines and letters – the landscape is now considerably more varied, and there is a risk that common means of communication that cut across demographics are becoming increasingly rare, with implications for social connectivity and information-sharing." (this is an interesting conclusion that I don't think gets explored further in the report).
Photo by Sheila webber: hydrangea, July 2016

Information Literacy Journal Club 21 July

The Information Literacy Journal Club is an online discussion group focusing on information literacy. It takes place on the Club's blog, through blog-post discussion. The next event is on Thursday 21 July 2016 at 12 noon UK time (which is 7am US Eastern time, see here for times elsewhere). Pat Sandercock (Instructional and Reference Librarian at the College of the North Atlantic-Qatar) will be leading discussion on her own open-access article:
Sandercock, P. (2016). Instructor perceptions of student information literacy: comparing international IL models to reality. Journal of Information Literacy, 10(1), 3–29. http://doi.org/10.11645/10.1.2065

Everyone is welcome to participate, whether you are a current library and information student, an established information professional or just generally interested in the subject area. You can participate live 12 noon-1pm UK time on the 21st, or add comments afterwards (or beforehand!) The blog is moderated except for the day of the live discussion, so at those times there will be a short delay before your post appears.

To participate in the discussion, just visit the Journal Club’s homepage and comment on the latest blog post. More information is available from this page http://infolitjournalclub.blogspot.com/2016/06/instructor-perceptions-of-student.html, in which Pat introduces her article. If you would like to see an example of how the sessions work in practice, you can take a look at the previous discussion posts, e.g. this one.

2nd European MIL Forum #2ndEurMIL : Storify and links

Some final links for the 2nd European Media and Information Literacy Forum that I attended last week in Riga. I have made a Storify with the links below, plus more links, and selected tweets and some web pages from the 3 days of the conference. It is here: https://storify.com/sheilayoshikawa/2nd-european-mil-forum-riga-latvia-27-29-june-2016

These are all my liveblogs of the conference: http://information-literacy.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/2ndeurmil

You can find many of the conference presentations at this link: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/media-development/media-literacy/global-alliance-for-partnerships-on-media-and-information-literacy/second-european-media-and-information-literacy-forum/

These are the Riga Recommendations on MIL in a Shifting Media and Information Landscape that were published at the end of the conference http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/riga_recommendations_highlight_media_and_information_literac/

This is the Twitter Stream https://twitter.com/search?q=%232ndeurmil

Below is a short video that gives some glimpses of the first day (including of me: I am also far left in the photo above, which is copyright UNESCO, used in accordance with this)

Here is a video that sums up the #2ndEURMIL Enjoy! #mojo celebrating #mil thank you @UNESCO_LNK @EU_MedLit pic.twitter.com/tPDOrEhKhc

— Gabinete Com Edu (@gabineteuab) June 29, 2016

Be chocolate literate on World Chocolate Day

[I will do a more serious post later, but...] Today is World Chocolate Day, according to lots of news sites. This is an example of when information literacy becomes a bit irrelevant. A quick google search reveals that today is not to be confused with International Chocolate day, which is in September. It is not evident who started the idea of World Chocolate Day, or what keeps it going other than manufacturers' desire to sell chocolate and news media's knowledge that pictures of chocolate attract clicks. But who cares? As the Wikipedia article notes "Celebration of the day includes the consumption of chocolate". Enough said. The more excuses to eat chocolate, the better. Pictured is the wrapper of some chocolate I just ate. And I will remind readers of my earlier blog post the Seven Pillars of Chocolate Literacy: develop those chocolate lifeskills!

Critical Information Literacy Laboratory for Faculty

The latest Primo site of the month is a set of online material (particularly short videos and quizzes; plus example activities and discussion prompts for academics), Critical Information Literacy Laboratory, from the John M. Pfau Library, California State University, San Bernardino, USA. The students' videos and quizzes are pitched at 3 levels, and the teacher's material has the sections: CIL Best Practices; Free vs. Fee-Based Information; Effective Searching; Popular and Scholarly Sources; What Shapes Information?; Attribution; Recommended Readings and Videos
The interview with the creators is at http://acrl.ala.org/IS/instruction-tools-resources-2/pedagogy/primo-peer-reviewed-instruction-materials-online/primo-site-of-the-month/june-2016-site-of-the-month/ and the resource itself at http://library.csusb.edu/cillab/
There is a page at http://library.csusb.edu/cillab/?page_id=63 which explains their interpretation of Critical Information Literacy. They identify "traditional approaches to information literacy" as having a "focus on skills, such as: Locating information, Evaluating information, Using information. These skills are all important, and one needs to be competent in them in order to conduct college-level research, but there’s so much more that plays into information literacy. Critical information literacy not only attends to the skills listed above, but it also asks that students think about how information works. Thus, CIL focuses on key concepts, such as:" then they give the three examples of "How information is created" "How information is disseminated and accessed" and "Why is it that students cannot access most scholarly sources on the open web and instead need to use the library?" "How scholarly conversations work".
For me those elements would already be in "information literacy", however I note that they say in the interview that "We’ve heard that the “About CIL” section has been helpful for those who are new to CIL or those who have a very skills-based understanding of information literacy" so perhaps the "critical" word alerts people to reflect on or change practice. Also interesting is the careful planning that has gone into the initiative, for example "We’ve been strategic about selecting faculty who teach high-impact courses."
Photo by Sheila Webber: hydrangea, July 2016

Survey on Non-Formal and Informal Learning Activities in Public Libraries Across Europe

EBLIDA (the association that lobbies on behalf of European libraries) and the Latvian Library Association are carrying out a Survey on Non-Formal and Informal Learning Activities in Public Libraries Across Europe. It closes on 15 July 2016. "As part of the Library Advocacy for EU Project, together with the Latvian Library Association (LLA), we (EBLIDA) are now surveying public libraries to collect data on non-formal and informal learning activities in libraries. We will use the results when advocating on the role of public libraries in non-formal education and the contribution of libraries to the EU Education and Training Strategy 2020." Do respond if you are in a public library offering learning activities. More information at http://www.eblida.org/activities/kic/survey-on-non-formal-informal-learning-public-libraries-eu.html
Logo copyright EBLIDA

Conference: 21st Century #Literacies in public libraries

The IFLA Public Libraries Section has organised a conference on August 10-11 2016, prior to the main IFLA conference, on 21st Century Literacies. It is hosted by the Free Library of Philadelphia and takes place at the Parkway Central Library, Philadelphia, USA. "For many years, literacy has been core to the provision of public library services. As the world in which we live has changed, so has the concept of literacy. It has expanded from the traditionally understood definition as ‘the ability to read and write’, to encompass proficiency in a range of other fields. We now talk about civic, health, financial, digital, and information literacy (to name but a few)." More information, including the full programme, at https://libwww.freelibrary.org/conferences/21stCentury/index.cfm
Photo by Sheila Webber: Trees, Riga, June 2016

Latest articles: health literacy

Reference Services Review volume 22 issue 2 (priced publication) has been published, with a focus on health literacy. It includes
- Health literacy: a natural role for librarians by Theresa S. Arndt
- Health literacy education: the impact of synchronous instruction by Tricia Lantzy
- Promoting health literacy within a graduate-level nutrition curriculum by Charlotte Beyer and J. Scott Thomson
- A librarian’s role in media effects health literacy by Jill R. Kavanaugh, Kristelle Lavallee, and Rima Rudd
- Health literacy and information literacy: a concept comparison by Jane Lawless, Coleen E. Toronto, and Gail L. Grammatica
- Health information: print materials assessment in public libraries by Mary Grace Flaherty and Samantha Jan Kaplan
- A conceptual approach to practitioners’ health information literacy by Ann Hallyburton
- Health literacy and libraries: a literature review by Jill Barr-Walker
- Improving health literacy: health sciences library case studies by Jean P. Shipman, Erica Lake, and Alice I. Weber
Content page at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/toc/rsr/44/2
Photo by Sheila Webber: Daugava river, morning, July 2016

#LISDIS 2016: Call for Papers

LISDIS is a UK conference where people share dissertation research completed as part of a library and information science qualification. This year's LISDIS is on 5 November 2016 at University College London, UK. There is a call for papers (for a 15 minute talk, or poster) which closes on 19 August. Criteria for inclusion are; "Have completed an LIS dissertation since 2013 that hasn’t been previously published or presented; Passionate and knowledgeable about your dissertation research and keen to present it to the wider profession; Can present on your research within the 15 minute time slot; Alternatively, create a poster on your research"
The conference is free and there are some bursaries for travel: For more information, go to https://lisdisconference.com/
Presentations from last year's conference are at http://www.slideshare.net/LISDISConference
Photo by Sheila webber: window box, Riga, July 2016

Using the concepts of play to teach users about information literacy

A short article summarising points from a panel at the ALA conference:
Pauley, K. (2016, une 27). Gamification for Teens and College Students: Using the concepts of play to teach users about information literacy. American Libraries. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/gamification-teens-college-students/
A screenshot of the homepage of Twine, one of the apps mentioned in the article: https://twinery.org/