information literacy Archives | Page 3 of 4 | American Libraries Magazine

Google can bring you back 100,000 answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one. --Neil Gaiman

Ten Reasons Libraries Are Still Better Than the Internet

By Marcus Banks | December 19, 2017

Sixteen years ago, American Libraries published Mark Y. Herring’s essay “Ten Reasons Why the Internet Is No Substitute for a Library” (April 2001). Technology has improved exponentially since then—social media didn’t even exist yet. But even the smartest phone’s intelligence is limited by paywalls, Twitter trolls, fake news, and other hazards of online life. Here … Continue reading Ten Reasons Libraries Are Still Better Than the Internet →

Creating Connections to Reach Students

By Phil Morehart | November 14, 2017

YA author Jason Reynolds (Patina, Ghost) opened the day with a profound and often funny general session talk about humility, intimacy, and gratitude, and how the expression of each can leads kids to reading. Reynolds came about the realization in an unlikely manner: by watching The Steve Harvey Show with his mother. Reynolds admitted that … Continue reading Creating Connections to Reach Students →

Campus Sustainability through Information Literacy

By Raymond Pun | September 12, 2017

This column is one in a multipart American Libraries series that explores the library profession’s relationship to sustainability. When I first started working at Fresno State as the first-year student success librarian in 2015, a colleague referred my name to a team of science professors in this program. From there, I began attending weekly meetings and contributing … Continue reading Campus Sustainability through Information Literacy →

Framework Freakout?

By Meredith Farkas | September 1, 2017

In some ways, the Framework was a major departure from ACRL’s previous Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Organized around six information literacy threshold concepts, the Framework is not an exhaustive list of threshold concepts or dispositions and practices. Instead, its developers encouraged libraries to determine their own programmatic learning outcomes based on local … Continue reading Framework Freakout? →

From left: Marale Sande, senior research and policy analyst at the Parliament of Kenya; Avelina Morales Robles, from Mexico's Cámara de Diputados; and Leonor Calvão Borges from the Library of the Assembleia da República at the "Parliament and the People: Transparency, Openness, and Engagement” session.

Call for Transparency: Day Three at IFLA WLIC

By Terra Dankowski | August 23, 2017

Questions of transparency and access were explored on the third day of the International Federation of Library of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) World Library and Information Congress in Wroclaw, Poland. In a nod to the topics, many of the August 22 sessions included a Q&A or structured discussion, bringing together many voices and political … Continue reading Call for Transparency: Day Three at IFLA WLIC →

Facts through Fresh Eyes

By Joseph Janes | June 1, 2017

The course also covers things you’re less likely to find in Libraryland on a regular basis: design thinking, user experience, interface design, accessibility, data science, visualization techniques, information assurance, and cybersecurity. As an exercise, I gave students several excerpts from the World Almanac, ranging from birthstones to home-run leaders to statistics on homeschooled students and … Continue reading Facts through Fresh Eyes →

Information Literacy Toolkits

By Meredith Farkas | May 1, 2017

Two recent publications envision this type of instruction as a shared responsibility of the librarian and the disciplinary instructor. The Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, adopted by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) in 2016, represents a significant departure from the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. It recognizes … Continue reading Information Literacy Toolkits →

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden delivers the closing address at the Association of College and Research Libraries conference in Baltimore on March 25, 2017.

ACRL Closes with Carla Hayden

By Amy Carlton | March 27, 2017

Social justice and information literacy The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions has declared that information literacy is a human right. If it’s a human right, what does this look like in practice? That question fueled the Social Justice and Information project discussed in “What’s Social Justice Got to Do with Information Literacy?” a … Continue reading ACRL Closes with Carla Hayden →

Fake news (illustration by Rebecca Lomax/American Libraries)

Fighting Fake News

By Marcus Banks | December 27, 2016

Given the care that librarians bring to this task, the recent explosion in unverified, unsourced, and sometimes completely untrue news has been discouraging, to say the least. According to the Pew Research Center, a majority of US adults are getting their news in real time from their social media feeds. These are often uncurated spaces … Continue reading Fighting Fake News →

Becoming a Media Mentor

By Claudia Haines, Cen Campbell, and the Association for Library Service to Children | November 1, 2016

Librarians and youth services staff members are already experienced and qualified mentors, but the real question is: Will librarians continue to be the trusted source for media and literacy needs in all their forms? For media mentors, the answer is yes. In order for individual youth services staffers to successfully take on the role of … Continue reading Becoming a Media Mentor →

Information Literacy

By Karen Muller | November 1, 2016

If libraries are a cornerstone of our democracy, librarians are the key to their riches. Librarians are also the key to enabling library users to unlock those riches on their own, whether through one-time bibliographic instruction or a more embedded form of instruction—information literacy. At its January 2016 meeting, the board of directors of the … Continue reading Information Literacy →

From left: Joelle Pitts, Camille Chesley, Jami Schwarzwalder, Kelly Sattler, and Jeff Lacy

Gamification for Teens and College Students

By Kara Pauley | June 27, 2016

The panel included: moderator Breanne Kirsch, public services librarian at the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg; Joelle Pitts, instructional design librarian at Kansas State University Library in Manhattan, Kansas; Camille Chesley, reference and instruction librarian at the University of Montevallo in Alabama; Jami Schwarzwalder, teen librarian at South Hill Pierce County (Wash.) Library; … Continue reading Gamification for Teens and College Students →

Latest Library Links

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Mackenzie Aucker writes: “Shikellamy (Pa.) Area High School students in the construction trades program are giving a tour of the school’s library they’re renovating. The Shikellamy School Board supported and decided to have the construction trades students do the project—costing around $350,000 to renovate. The high school’s old library was outdated, and so was the technology. Once the library renovation project is complete, it’ll come with many rooms and different amenities. Students hope to have the renovation project completed by the end of September.”

WNEP-TV (Scranton, Pa.), May 16
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Michelle Gagnon writes: “Let’s face it—sometimes you want your crime fiction shaken, not stirred, with a twist of absurdity and a garnish of gallows humor. If you prefer your murder mysteries served with sass, sarcasm, and a healthy dose of chaos, the campy and comedic thriller is where it’s at. And personally, when I fall in love with characters, I want them to stick around for many, many books. These are stories where the danger is real—but so are the laughs.”

Crime Reads, May 15
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Kyle McClenagan writes: “Following the May 3 election results, Katy (Tex.) Independent School District (ISD) students and community members are asking school board members to repeal the Houston-area district’s controversial book and gender policies. The board appointed trustee Lance Redmon as its new president Monday after Katy ISD voters ousted former president Victor Perez, who had championed the policies and campaigned on conservative principles. In August 2024, the board approved a library policy that bans books ‘adopting, supporting, or promoting gender fluidity’ from elementary and junior high libraries in Katy ISD.”

Houston Public Media, May 14
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Seung Min Kim writes: “President Donald Trump’s abrupt firing of top officials at the Library of Congress has morphed into an enormous fight over the separation of powers. Republican leaders have delivered rare pushback against the president, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and other Republicans have been talking with the White House about a potential path to détente.” The Associated Press reported that it is unclear whether Trump’s nominee for acting librarian of Congress, Todd Blanche, is currently in that role or if Principal Deputy Librarian Robert Newlen is in charge. The Authors Guild has created a petition demanding the reinstatement of fired Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter, and library colleagues from around the world have expressed their support for American librarians in facing federal and other challenges.

Associated Press, May 16, May 15; Authors Guild, May 13; ALA International Relations Office, May 20
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Cali Lichter writes: “For five years, Lowell (Mich.) Area Schools (LAS) Library Media Director Christine Beachler says she has been the target of untruthful, personal social media attacks. After a video of Beachler during a library tour in February, posted by self-described parental rights advocate Stefanie Boone, went viral, she says it pushed it over the edge. On May 13, Beachler filed a civil lawsuit in 17th Circuit Court, asking for damages and for Boone to take down all her posts referencing Beachler.” A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $25,000 to support Beachler’s legal fees.

WZZM-TV (Grand Rapids, Mich.), May 13, 14
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Ginny Monk writes: “Ebook contracts for libraries often come with terms that mean the library has to repurchase the book after it’s been borrowed 26 times or every couple of years, whichever comes first. Connecticut Senate Bill 1234 wouldn’t allow simultaneous restrictions on the loan period and the number of times people can borrow the book.” The Connecticut legislature gave final approval to the bill May 15, sending it to Gov. Ned Lamont for his signature. If he does sign it, the bill will only take effect if one or more other states with a total population of 7 million pass similar legislation. Connecticut library associations celebrated the bill’s passage.

Connecticut Mirror, May 15; Connecticut Library Consortium, May 15
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While ALA welcomed the preliminary injunction ordering the administration not to implement President Trump’s executive order to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services, it raised alarm over the administration’s cancellation of the $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act grant program as of May 9. The congressionally authorized program was designed to close the digital divide by establishing grants to support broadband access and digital skills training for underserved communities. ALA is collecting information regarding Digital Equity Act grant cancellations to identify the impact of this loss of funding for libraries, and urges library workers who have received grant termination notifications to report their program cancellation and share the impact this loss of funding will have on their library.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, May 15

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