Jess Haigh

This think piece examines the recent literature surrounding critical information literacy, the criticisms within this that the theory has not centered anti-racism within its scholarship, and the challenges toward its implementation. It concludes that more time and space should be given to IL practitioners to explore CIL, and how we should foreground Critical Race Theory and openly acknowledge white supremacy within our praxis.

Abstract Objective – Understanding students’ approaches to studying and their experiences of library spaces and other learning spaces are central to developing library spaces, policies, resources and support services that fit with and meet students’ evolving needs. The aim of the research was to explore how international students approach academic assignments and how they experience the spaces they use for studying to determine what constituted enablers or barriers to study. The paper focuses on how the two ethnographic methods of retrospective interviewing and cognitive mapping produce rich qualitative data that puts the students’ lived experience at the centre and allows us a better understanding of where study practices and study spaces fit into their lives. Methods – The study used a qualitative ethnographic approach for data collection which took place in April 2016. We used two innovative interview activities, the retrospective process interview and a cognitive mapping activity, to elicit student practices in relation to how they approach an assignment and which spaces they use for study. We conducted eight interviews with international students in the Business School, produced interview notes with transcribed excerpts, and developed a themed coding frame. Results – The retrospective process interview offered a way of gathering detailed information about the resources students draw on when working on academic assignments, including library provided resources and personal social networks. The cognitive mapping activity enabled us to develop a better understanding of where students go to study and what they find enabling or disruptive about different types of spaces. The combination of the two methods gave students the opportunity to discuss how their study practices changed over time and provided insight into their student journeys, both in how their requirements for and knowledge of spaces, and their use of resources, were evolving. Conclusion – The study shows how ethnographic methods can be used to develop a greater understanding of study practices inside and outside library spaces, how students use and feel about library spaces, and where the library fits into the students’ lives and journey. This can be beneficial for universities and other institutions, and their stakeholders, looking to make significant changes to library buildings and/or campus environments.

Aims and Objectives The aim of this research is to demonstrate the value of the LILAC Conference to employers in all sectors to support future applications for attendance and participation. “Other barriers that make it challenging to justify the costs of conference attendance are related to the measurable impact of conference attendees’ learning. It can be difficult to assess learning from conference attendance. And it can be difficult to measure the impact of conference attendance on the employee and potential beneficiaries, such as patrons, students, and researchers” (McGowan et al., 2021, p. 551). This has indeed proved difficult; gathering data in a formal way that is ethically sourced, with participant understanding of use of this data, as opposed to anecdotal evidence, has proved extremely challenging and may demonstrate that whilst this conference (and presumably other professional events and organisations) are esteemed and valued by their communities, there is little to no motivation to engage with research surrounding them outside of individual goodwill towards the event from those members who are already heavily involved within it.

This dataset contains anonymised interview transcripts collected as part of the research project 'LILAC Stories: Exploring the long-term impact of the LILAC Conference on the Information Literacy Community'. The interviews were conducted to explore how conference attendance is perceived in terms of professional value, measurable learning, and organisational benefit.Dataset DescriptionEach transcript is provided as a separate Word document and grouped together in a ZIP file.Interviews were conducted between May 2023 and June 2024 with librarians, higher education managers, and information literacy academics based in the UK and Ireland. 14 participants volunteered to take part following a call for contributors at the LILAC Conferences in 2023 and 2024. All interviews were semi-structured and conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Participants gave informed consent for anonymised transcripts to be shared for research purposes. Researchers are welcome to use the transcripts for secondary analysis relating to professional development or the impact of LIS conferences.

Ann Medaille is director of research and instructional services at the University of Nevada, Reno Libraries. Her most recent publication, “The Librarian’s Guide to Learning Theory: Practical Applications in Library Settings” (2024) reviews theories related to learning in its widest definition; not just the learning that takes place in the classroom, but in a variety of settings. This book examines various learning theories taken from a predominantly Western, Global North canon and shows how they can be supported by library settings, both virtual and online. The book also links theory to librarians’ classroom teaching practices, though that is not its main scope. Although the parts related to space design could be useful for all libraries, the book is clearly aimed at academic librarians or library space managers within education.

This chapter examines how a university subject librarian in the United Kingdom used the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)’s threshold concepts as a jumping off point to designing information literacy skills training for classes of trainee teachers and other education and childhood studies students.

This article uses an autoethnographic approach to explore the information seeking behaviour (ISB) of three new mums – the authors of this article - during the Covid-19 pandemic. The authors recount their lived experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic, and how it impacted upon and influenced their lives as new parents. The focus is on how they searched for advice/guidance relating to child and postpartum health during this time because all the authors are information professionals and, in theory, ‘should know better’. Between them they have a wealth of experience in working with information of all types and teaching information literacy skills (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals Information Literacy Group Information Literacy Group - CILIP ILG, 2018) to students, academics, professionals (in various sectors) and researchers. They wanted to share their stories to reinforce that everyone needs help navigating the sea of information available, especially when contact with health professionals is reduced, and to share ideas for developing professional and parent education.

Background: COVID-19 and long COVID have had an impact worldwide on people’s participation in occupations. Occupational therapists play a role in supporting individuals' recovery and participation in daily life. Objective: The present study undertook a scoping review of research on COVID-19 and long COVID to map the occupational therapy process with this population, including evaluation, intervention, and outcomes. Methodology: Three online databases were searched to identify research papers published between 2020-2023 from all countries, published in English, Portuguese, or Spanish. From 455 texts, 25 studies were selected for this review. Results: Studies were conducted across varied healthcare settings, mainly inpatient hospitals. Participants ranged from children to older adults, with adults being the most represented group. Standardised assessments included occupational history, activities, body functions, cognition, and emotional regulation. Interventions were educational, compensatory, restorative, or acquisitional, with outcomes focused on daily living activities, performance skills, and client factors.

An edited collection exploring various aspects of critical pedagogy and how it can be applied to information literacy teaching. The chapters are focused on the work and practice of librarians in various countries and fields, both within a classroom context and wider explorations of collection management and critical library liaison, as well as deep dives into the theory of a more critical librarianship praxis. The book is inspired by the success of the Critical Library Pedagogy Handbook (2016) and aims to be a useful guide to exploring critical practice further.