Information Literacies Track call for papers

There is an information literacies conference track for the eighth International Conference on Conceptions of Library and Information Science (CoLIS8). COLIS 2013 takes place at the Royal School of Library and Information Science in Copenhagen, Denmark, 19-22 August, 2013. The call is for short or long papers presenting empirical research within information literacies and/or discussjng methodological issues. The deadline for submissions is March 1st 2013. Among the accepted papers on information literacies, one paper will be awarded the inaugural iilresearch Best Information Literacies Paper Award. The call for papers is at http://www.iva.dk/english/colis8/call-for-information-literacies-track/ and the COLIS conference web site is at http://www.iva.dk/english/colis8/ Questions regarding the workshop should be directed to Camilla Moring, member of the iilresearch-network and Local chair (cm@iva.dk). General queries regarding submissions should be directed to Jeppe Nicolaisen (jni@iva.dk), Chair of Publications and Proceedings.
Photo by Sheila Webber: duck, Sheffield, October 2012

WILU 2013: call for papers

There is a call for papers for the Canadian Information Literacy conference: WILU. The Conference will be held at The University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, May 8-10, 2013. The theme for WILU 2013 is Synchronicity: The Time is Now which "reflects the increasing need for Instruction Librarians to balance a myriad of seemingly competing demands. We invite proposals that consider what it means to provide timely information literacy programs in a world of synched devices, decentralized instruction, and information overload, all while serving institutions in flux." Possible topics include: Merging tradition with innovation; Balancing educational theory with pedagogical practice; Providing instruction for interdisciplinary programs; Theorizing instructional technology; Distributed instruction; Information ethics; Open access resources for instruction; Literacies: information and beyond. The deadline for proposal submissions is December 3rd, 2012. More info at http://lib.unb.ca/WILU/program/call-for-proposals/
Photo by Sheila Webber: yet more autumn anemones, October 2013

Just give me 10 minutes… online talk at 3pm UK time today

At 3pm today (UK time) there is a free online talk "Just give me 10 minutes…” Information Literacy in the Age of Web-Scale Discovery from Alison Sharman at the University of Huddersfield, UK. This is part of a webinar series from Serials Solutions, a ProQuest company. There are further talks with a searching/ information literacy theme; e.g. on The Impact of Serial Solutions’ Summon on Information Literacy Instruction: Librarian Perceptions from Stefanie Buck and Margaret Mellinger of Oregon State University Libraries on 11 October 2012 at 6pm UK time (1pm Eastern time USA). For information about the whole series http://www.serialssolutions.com/en/webinars/upcoming/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Coffee morning in the iSchool on behalf of Macmillan Cancer Care last week

Intergenerational Literacies: call for papers

The IFLA Literacy and Reading and Information Literacy Sections are seeking proposals for a joint programme to be held at the IFLA Conference in Singapore in August 2013: Intergenerational Literacies: texto / techno. The closing date is November 30 2012.

The challenge of new information and learning landscape can lead to all sorts of information gaps. One of them is a gap between texto and techno generations which can cause intergenerational isolation and separation. The program will showcase innovative and effective library programmes that intend to bridge this gap.
Proposals are requested for as many as ten tabletop presentations which will be given simultaneously. After an opening plenary keynote address, audience members will rotate to three different fifteen-minute presentations of their choice. Presenters will therefore be asked to repeat their presentation three times for three different sets of people.

Proposals chosen for presentation will be specific about how libraries and/or associations have tackled issues related to texto and techno literacies in their particular setting, thus developing intergenerational literacies, dialogue, digital inclusion and social cohesion. They should be grounded in theory, research, and/or practical applications. Because these projects will be presented in an informal, small group setting, speakers should plan some visual accompaniment such as a poster that can be set up on the table. Presenters may also want to bring brochures or flyers to hand out. People submitting successful proposals will be asked to write a brief paper summarizing their library programme or project for publication in the IFLA Proceedings. All chosen presenters will be listed in the official Conference programme.

Proposals in English are required, and should provide the following information: Name and institution of speaker(s); Brief biographical information; Proposal title; Brief (300 to 500 word) description of project and presentation format; Language of presentation. Proposals should be sent to Elena Corradini (Secretary of the Literacy and Reading Section) at ecorradini67@gmail.com by November 30, 2012. Please indicate "IFLA Proposal WLIC 2013" on the subject line. Finalists will be notified by December 15, 2012, and will be expected to submit final versions of their papers in one of the official IFLA languages by May 15, 2013.

For more information, please contact Leikny Haga Indergaard (Chair of Literacy and Reading Section) at: Leikny.Indergaard@bergen.kommune.no Please note that it is the speakers’ responsibility to find funding for their participation.
Photo by Sheila Webber: autumn anemones, September 2012

This is Information Literacy month!

In the USA it is National Information Literacy Awareness Month. You can get the code to embed the badge on the right from here: http://www.librariesthriving.org/partnerships/2012-information-literacy-campaign If you are in the USA in one of the 13 states that has signed up to the National IL awareness Proclamation you can customise the badge to advertise that your state supports IL.
On Tuesday, 16 October 16, 2012, 10:30am – 12:00pm EST (that's starting at 3.30pm UK time, see http://tinyurl.com/9c3pmbj for times elsewhere), the National Forum for Information Literacy and Credo Reference/Libraries Thriving will host a webinar From School to Workforce: Information Literacy, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills, "focusing on the 21st century skills that all learners will need to compete effectively in today’s dynamic global economy". Panelists include: Jennifer Homer, ABC – Vice President of Communications and Career Development for the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD); William Badke, Associate Librarian, Trinity Western University, Canada; Lana W. Jackman, President, National Forum on Information Literacy. There is free registration: go to http://infolit.org/celebrating-national-information-literacy-awareness-month/

LILAC 2013 call for papers

There's a call for papers for the LILAC (Information literacy) conference (being held at Manchester University, UK, 25-27 March 2013). They can take the form of: Short papers; Long papers; Workshop sessions; Symposia; Teachmeet presentations; or posters. The closing date for submissions is 16 November 2012. More information at http://lilacconference.com/WP/call-for-papers/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Lilac, 2008.

Banned Books Week

30 Sept - 6 Oct is Banned Books Week, which is obviously AGAINST banning books. There is a home page at http://bannedbooksweek.org/ and a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/bannedbooksweek This is a US (particularly American Library Association) organised event, but e.g. you can post your favourite "Banned" title on the Facebook page.

I am part of a Banned Books Week panel Free to read, taking place in the virtual world Second Life on 1 October at 5pm Second Life Time = US Pacific Time (1am Tuesday in the UK! see http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?iso=20121001T17&p1=234 for times elsewhere) on Community Virtual Library Exhibition Area http://slurl.com/secondlife/Info%20Island/61/94/24/. Other panel speakers on intellectual freedom are Pat Franks, Valerie Hill, Jane Bering, and Monika Talaroc.

2nd ASIST European Workshop cfp

The 2nd ASIST European Workshop will be held at Åbo Akademi University, Turku/Åbo, Finland 5-6 June 2013. ASIST is the American Society for Information Science and Technology. The conference theme is Digital information and institutions: changing practices of management and use. More specific topics include information behaviour and information literacy. There is a call for full research papers, position papers, panels and posters. Deadline for all submissions is February 1 2013. More info at
http://blogs.abo.fi/aew2013/call-for-papers/

ALDinHE conference 2013 cfp

The Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE) Conference 2013, Celebrating Learning Development, will take place at the University of Plymouth, UK, 25-27 March 2013 Key note speakers are Professor Leslie Ebdon, Director of Fair Access to Higher Education, Dr Stella Cottrell, Director for Lifelong Learning at the University of Leeds and Dave Cormier from Canada will share his experiences of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and rhizomatic learning. Further information and to submit a proposal go to http://www.aldinhe.ac.uk/plymouth13.htm
Photo by Sheila Webber: More michaelmas daisies, September 2012

LOEX 2013 in Nashville: Call for Proposals

The major information literacy conference in the USA, LOEX, has a Call for Proposals. The 41st Annual LOEX Conference is on May 2-4 2013, in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Proposals are due on November 16, 2012
The six tracks are:
* Chart-Toppers -- Assessment and Evaluation
* All Together Now -- Collaborative Endeavors
* Talent Agents and Managers -- Program Leadership and Professional Development
* Legendary Venues -- Teaching and Learning Spaces
* Songwriter's Alley -- Instructional Design and Performance
* Mix It Up! -- Technology and Innovation
You submit a proposal for a presentation or workshop session. Library students can propose posters.
More information at http://www.loexconference.org/breakoutproposals.html
Questions to Judy Williams at sessions2013@loexconference.org
Photo by Sheila Webber: Autumn sunflower, Sheffield, September 2012.

LILAC Conference in Manchester in 2013

It has been announced that the LILAC (annual information literacy) conference will take place at the University of Manchester (UK), 25-27 March 2013. The call for papers is not yet open.

Journal club in SL: 19 September (designing a tutorial)

What: Journal Club, led by Sheila Webber (i.e. me), Sheffield University iSchool (Sheila Yoshikawa in Second Life (SL). Every month we have a discussion about a selected article; all are welcome, just turn up; you need a SL avatar and the SL browser installed on your computer.

When: 19 Sept, 12 noon to 1pm Second Life time (which is the same as US Pacific time; 8pm-9pm UK time, see http://tinyurl.com/9kozv4f for times elsewhere)

Where: Journal club room, Infolit iSchool, in the virtual world Second Life http://slurl.com/secondlife/Infolit%20iSchool/106/208/30/ (That takes you to a map, you click Teleport to activate the SL browser)

Paper for discussion (about developing and use testing a tutorial on academic integrity, at Aukland University):
Wang, L. (2012) "Designing an interactive virtual learning environment (VLE) with a learner centered approach." In: IFLA World Library and Information Conference 2012: Helsinki August 2012: Programme proceedings. Available from
http://conference.ifla.org/sites/default/files/files/papers/wlic2012/93-wang-en.pdf

There will be a 10 minute introduction to the paper in voice and then a discussion in text chat. Potential discussion questions include:
- what kinds of user-testing have you done with tutorials?
- have you encountered the same responses/ issues as the author?
- have you used similar tools and colleagues when developing tutorials?

A Sheffield iSchool Centre for Information Literacy Research Event

ACRL Student Retention Discussion Group

The September rticle for the ACRL Student Retention Discussion Group is
Blackburn, H. (2010) "Shhh! No talking about retention in the library!" Education libraries, 33 (1), 24-30. http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ887231.pdf
This is an asynchronous discussion about the article: to join in you need to register at the site (free). Go to http://connect.ala.org/node/186985

Library 2.012 call for papers - ends tomorrow!

The Library 2.012 virtual conference (to be held October 3 - 5, 2012) call for proposals end tomorrow, 15 September.  The conference is free and held online with events to suite different time zones. The broad theme is "the current and future state of libraries. Subject strands include physical and virtual learning spaces, evolving professional roles in today's world, organizing and creating information, changing delivery methods, user-centered access, and mobile and geo-social information environments." There are already a number of accepted proposals about information literacy. http://www.library20.com/page/2-012-conference
Photo by Sheila Webber: washing on the line in what seems like it was the last of summer, a few days ago

Power Searching with Google, free online course

There is an online training course Power Searching with Google running from 24 September to 5 October. It is run by Google themselves, and you can sign up for free. You get "Access to community discussion forum; The opportunity to put your new skills to test with mid and post class assessments; Support from Google course staff; An official Power Searching with Google certificate upon completion" Out of curiosity, I registered, but the dates coincide with the start of the semester, so I may not be able to give it full attention (will be embarrassing if I fail to get my completion certificate ;-) http://www.powersearchingwithgoogle.com/

I found some detailed reflections on the last running of the course on a blog http://sylviamoessinger.wordpress.com/: the author is in Germany but writes in English, and she also has some interesting reflections on a MOOC about e-learning she took, and other aspects of teaching with technology. Her Google-course posts are here: http://sylviamoessinger.wordpress.com/category/google-powersearching/

I discovered the Google course because I was following links to information about Google's "course builder" online educational software https://code.google.com/p/course-builder/ You have to install it on your own server. There is some advice about designing online modules that I would describe as "cheap and cheerful" though it does recommend that you start by spending at least 30 minutes planning the teaching!
Photo by Sheila webber: Poppy, Sheffield Botanic Gardens, September 2012.

Making games for libraries, 10 December

Andrew Walsh is running an event Making games for libraries, including information literacy games. "We will play one or two games to start the day, followed by a short talk on games and play to help give context for the day. The bulk of the day will then consist of group work - creating and prototyping games for use within your libraries." This means games using all kinds of media, including cards, boards etc. The venue is Leeds Metropolitan Libraries, UK, on 10 December 2012 and the cost is £50 "Everyone will also take away a copy of SEEK!, an information literacy game" (see http://www.indiegogo.com/infolit-games where Andrew is raising money for design costs). Book at http://infolit-games.eventbrite.co.uk/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Michaelmas daisy bee, Sheffield Botanic Gardens, September 2012

4th Annual Inland InfoLit Retreat: Call for Presentations

On October 19 2012 there is the 4th Annual Inland InfoLit Retreat at the Bozarth Mansion, Spokane, USA. There is a call for proposals for mini-presentations "on topics relating to successes in the intersection of composition and information literacy". Proposals have to be received by 5 October, and should be emailed to Ielleen Miller at imiller@ewu.edu. Include your presentation title, an abstract (maximum 100 words), and contact information for the presenter(s).
"Inland InfoLit is a local consortium of professional educators dedicated to promoting information literacy across the curriculum. Our members are composition and writing center faculty, administrators, and librarians from Inland Northwest colleges and universities."
More information and some links and past presentations at http://academiclibsspokane.wetpaint.com/
Photo by Sheila Webber: Seed heads, August 2012

Conceptions of Information Literacy in an international context - join the e-discussion

Another alert for the e-discussion taking place next week on 4 to 6 September on the theme of information literacy in the international context. It has been organised by the IL advocates at the Institute of Development Studies (Sussex University) and there is more information here http://www.ids.ac.uk/news/conceptions-of-information-literacy-in-an-international-context-join-the-e-discussion
Photo by Sheila Webber: from the plane over Sweden, August 2012

Online discussion 4-6 September: Conceptions of Information Literacy in an International Context

Do join us discussing important aspects of information literacy - you can contribute anytime, as little or as often as you want, over 3 days. The British Library for Development Studies (BLDS) at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) has organised this online discussion on the conceptions of information literacy in an international context. The e-discussion will take place on 4th- 6th of September 2012 and is hosted on their Chat Literacy forum on Eldis Communities. Each of the 3 days will focus on a different area of information literacy:
- Day 1: What is information literacy? (Tuesday 4th September)
- Day 2: What is the link between information literacy and research skills? (5th September)
- Day 3: What are the effective tools and approaches used in teaching information literacy? (6th September)
Nine people (including me) will be taking a lead in the discussion. Between us we represent a broad range of experiences in the field of information literacy from the academic, Non-Government Organisations and public library sectors. As well as academics (e.g. me) it includes research consultants, programmatic officers, librarians and information specialists interested in e-learning, monitoring and evaluation, programme development and conceptions of IL.
"We welcome you to join us in this discussion, whether you are an academic or a practitioner in the field or interested in finally comprehending what it means to be an information literate individual!"
You need to become a member of Chat Literacy on Eldis Communities to join in: it is a simple process and you would probably want to do this before 4th September. To find out more about how to join and contribute, go to http://community.eldis.org/.5b13197c
Photo by Sheila Webber: Inside the Observatory Tower, Helsinki Zoo, Finland, August 2012.