Sheila Webber

@sheilawebber.bsky.social

Faculty member @ Sheffield University (UK) Information School. Love information literacy, Second Life & various other things. Blog all things infolit at https://information-literacy.blogspot.com/ - I post links to that. Sheila Yoshikawa in Second Life

Webinar: Leveraging Librarian Faculty Partnerships to Demystify the Scholarly Conversation

There is a free webinar Leveraging Librarian Faculty Partnerships to Demystify the Scholarly Conversation on 28 July 2026 at 12noon US Eastern time (17.00 BST). Presenters are Kristina Bush (Library Experience Manager, Boston University Libraries, USA) & Maria Gapotchenko (Master Lecturer, Boston University Writing Program, USA) and the organisers are at Ohio State University, USA. "The ACRL Information Literacy Frame of the Scholarly Conversation can often be tricky to teach, particularly to first-year undergraduates without much exposure to disciplinary fields and activities. Many of the associated knowledge practices and dispositions require decoding the hidden curriculum to understand the practice of scholarship." "Through close partnership and collaboration, a librarian and Writing Program faculty member at Boston University have turned to the metaphor of the Burkean Parlor to demystify the concept of the scholarly conversation for undergraduate students embarking on their first research project. The presenters will share the Burkean Parlor activity and assignment they developed and student-created artifacts reflecting their learning. Participants will consider how they can incorporate this framing into their own instruction practice - whether as librarians or faculty - and how the activities might be adjusted depending on the depth of faculty-librarian collaboration." Register at https://osu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8RMvyUE0T_qKFDoTtsZDPw#/registration Photo by Sheila Webber: rose, Botanical Gardens, July 2026

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New articles: Infolit and politics postgraduates; Sensory knowledge

The latest issue of Learning and Teaching (vol 19 issue 1) includes (open access):  - Atkinson, D. & Thornton, S. (2026). Information literacy in the postgraduate Politics and International Relations classroom. Learning & Teaching, 19(1). 108-126. https://doi.org/10.3167/latiss.2026.190106  A survey was administered to taught postgraduate (PGT) students studying Politics at a British and and Austrian univerity (this included students from other countries as well). In the conclusion the authors note limitations of the study, but say that "the main finding of this research is unambiguous: namely that, unless the students surveyed here were wholly unrepresentative of the wider population, we simply cannot assume that all – even most – PGT students can confidently manage, critically engage with, and use ethically any sources of information they might encounter. Where comparison with undergraduate students was possible, PGT students surveyed did generally suggest higher levels of information literacy but not by an overwhelming degree, and in some aspects – including awareness of any previous information literacy training – there was barely any difference at all. If this finding proves not to be a one-off, then this discovery has important implications for the ability (or not) of PGT students to deal with information in a sufficiently sophisticated manner to do well in their academic studies, particularly in a discipline such as Politics and International Relations. This conclusion would be striking enough in a world in which generative AI tools were not liberally available. That we now do live in such an environment only makes this finding even more concerning. As the authors argued even before this new information revolution kicked off, the discipline really does need to wake up and start to take information literacy seriously." - Lane, K., Welch, C. & Miller, A. (2026). Music in the city : Teaching and learning through the senses. Learning & Teaching, 19(1). 108-126. https://doi.org/10.3167/latiss.2026.190102 (This discusses sensory knowledge)  Photo by Sheila Webber: found allium seed head, July 2026

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Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026

The annual Reuters Institute Digital News Report report, which has international comparisons and short overviews of individual countries, identifies that "Social media and video networks are now the most widely used sources of news globally, ahead of both TV news" "Around a quarter (27%) of respondents globally get some news from news-focused individual creators or influencers, and almost half (46%) get some news from creators of any type." Online news video is the majority mode of consumption.  Reuters notes a paradox, in that use of platforms and influencers is growing, but there is also distrust and awareness of the possibility of misinformation. "Trust in news has fallen in 29 of our 48 markets this year" - the lowest sinnce they started this publication.  Use of AI has also grown "The use of AI chatbots for news is growing quickly but not as quickly as AI use for other purposes: 10% of people use AI chatbots for news, up from 7% last year. Usage is predominantly by those most interested in news and is more concentrated among younger audiences (16% of under-35s report using AI chatbots for news)." Interestingly, they identify that interest in "news" generally has fallen in many countries.  There is lots of good detail in the report. The researchers adminstered surveys online internationally, and the methodology section lays out the limitations.  Egan, J. et al. (2026). Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026. https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2026 Photo by Sheila Webber: wild urban poppies, June 2026

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Strategic Implications of AI Futures for Research Libraries

ARL & CNI have published a report which summarises the outcomes from a scenario workshop held a year and a half ago (on AI Futures for Research Libraries) and analyse progress since then (referring to North American academic libraries). To quote from the Executive Summary "Priorities have shifted toward governing the AI already embedded in enterprise and library platforms. At the same time, external requirements are tightening, making embedding disclosure expectations into research and teaching workflows increasingly urgent. These findings confirm that the window for proactive positioning is open but narrowing. Research libraries that treat AI governance, workforce development, and collection strategy as integrated priorities will be best positioned to lead their institutions through an uncertain but consequential decade and to shape what research libraries become by 2035." There is emphasis on developing AI literacy of staff, and also developing frameworks of AI literacy to embed in curricula. I was rather disappointed with the small extent to which connection was made between AI Literacy and IL, though. Estlund, K. & Vitale, C.H. (2026). Strategic Implications of AI Futures for Research Libraries: Workshop Report. Washington, DC: Association of Research Libraries and Coalition for Networked Information. https://doi.org/10.29242/report.futurescape2026. Photo by Sheila Webber: Botanics, May 2026

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“All institutions will now need to plan for how best to adjust their budgets to ensure they continue to deliver high-quality courses and resources to students.” There is no money! The government really loathe HE, right? They seem desperate to kill the sector.

Research Professional News@resprofnews.bsky.social · last mo.

Breaking: Ministers confirm cut to Strategic Priorities Grant for universities. Teaching funding reduction will be sharply felt by some institutions, says Office for Students. Free to read. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...