The 14th Librarians’ Information Literacy Annual Conference (LILAC 2018) began yesterday at the University of Liverpool, with over 300 delegates in attendance.
The morning’s parallel sessions set the scene for the conference, covering a wide range of topics from introducing a digital literacy framework at an HE institution to teaching referencing using Lego.
LILAC co-chairs Rosie Jones and Lisa Jeskins introduced the conference with a “Top Trumps” icebreaker, plus a special mention for this year’s student award winners, Lisa Gardner and Bethany Sherwood.
This was followed by a thought-provoking keynote by Barbara Band on “The Elephant in the Room – why are information skills not an essential part of the curriculum?” Barbara considered the role of both school librarians and the wider profession, and the range of challenges and barriers they face in developing the information literacy of students. She challenged us to question the appropriateness and accessibility of the term “information literacy”, and emphasised the importance of being advocates for IL with teachers.
The afternoon continued with parallel sessions on topics including: delivery of tailored skills support to distance learners; process drawing as a tool to promote reflective practice in information literacy; and the power of social media stories for teaching, learning and outreach.
The first day of the conference was followed by a networking evening event at the World Museum, including an opportunity to see the visiting Terracotta Warriors.
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Visit the LILAC 2018 conference website
See the full LILAC 2018 conference programme