(via Sveta Stoytcheva, DePaul University)
There is still time to submit your proposal for a breakout session at the 22nd Annual Illinois Information Literacy Summit! This low-cost, regional conference is open to librarians and other information literacy professionals from institutions of all types. It is a great opportunity to showcase innovative work at your institution, reflect on your practice, and build your professional network.
This year, the Summit will be held on Friday, April 19, at College of DuPage campus in Glen Ellyn, IL. We’re excited to feature Dr. Troy Swanson, Library Department Chair, Moraine Valley Community College, as our keynote speaker. Dr. Swanson is the author of the new book Knowledge as a Feeling: How Neuroscience and Psychology Impact Human Information Behavior (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023).
The planning committee welcomes proposals for breakout sessions related to our theme:
Tuning In: Navigating Capacity, Collaboration, and Cognition in Information Literacy
We’re interested in exploring our “bandwidth” for information literacy and considering the topic from a wide range of perspectives.
- Individuals’ cognitive and emotional bandwidth for processing the vast amounts of information we encounter as students, researchers, and as citizens. How can interdisciplinary work on cognition and perception inform our understanding of information literacy? How do our students’ circumstances outside of the library classroom shape their capacity for building information literacy skills?
- Individual and organizational bandwidth in the workplace. How do the material realities of budget cuts and staffing shortages shape our institutions’ information literacy programs? How do we assess and build capacity for new programs? How might we approach fine-tuning and rethinking our careers to be more fulfilled as individuals or make the most impact within our profession?
- Critical perspectives on tools and partnerships that seek to enhance our bandwidth. To what extent can tools like generative AI create capacity in the library or the broader information ecosystem? How do we engage with new technologies strategically? Can we build capacity through collaboration? What does that collaboration look like in practice and how do we sustain it over time?
For best consideration, submit your proposal by Friday, February 1. More information can be found on the Summit website.