The LILAC Stories project, which was launched at LILAC 2023 in Cambridge, has now published a full report of the research, including a literature review of current research on conference impact, the methodology of the project, and the full results and recommendations from the project’s Principal Investigator, Jess Haigh. The report is available through the Leeds Beckett University Repository, in either a PDF or a Word format.
The LILAC Stories project, which was conducted by Jess with the support of Eva Garcia Grau, aimed to investigate the long-term impact that attending the conference has on delegates, and the wider Information Literacy community. The project wanted to demonstrate the value of attending LILAC to employers, as well as make recommendations for the future of the conference.
The findings are quite complex, but to sum up
- Papers presented at LILAC are relevant to the delegates, contribute to the widening of good practice across UK institutions and globally and lead to the advancement of the theories and pedagogies of Information Literacy more generally
- LILAC delegates frequently report a consolidation of a critical awakening through attending the conference, which has contributed to a trend within the wider Information Literacy community towards a more critical praxis
- Attending LILAC can lead to professional validation
- Connections established at LILAC have led to and continue to lead to collaborative work between researchers from different institutions, areas of practice, and sectors including published academic works, policies, and guidance in the areas of Information Literacy
- Sustained involvement in LILAC, either through attending multiple conferences over time or being part of the LILAC committee or ILG, has a significant impact on the careers of delegates and committee members
- For many individuals, attendance at LILAC initially was dependent on bursary funding, either through awards from LILAC and the ILG or external partners. Several of the delegates contributing to this research quote this initial bursary as instrumental in career development or future involvement in Information Literacy
Nothing really that we didn’t already know or at least suspect but now we have the data to prove it!
And speaking of data, all interview transcripts are also available through the Leeds Beckett University Repository. A full bibliography of conference reports used within the research can be found at the end of the report.
This research was limited in it’s scope, more research is definitely needed.
If anyone has any questions or comments about LILAC Stories, you can email jessica.haigh@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.
