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Following efforts to diversify and decolonize University curricula, Oxford Brookes University student union reported that Black and BIPOC students wanted more diverse content. In response, the Library set up a group to embed Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion practices into collection development, teaching, and administrative and research support practices. Initiatives entailed book purchases of authors from historically marginalized backgrounds, curation of diversity reading lists, updating subject headings to reflect modern terminology, and promotion of Read & Publish agreements. Currently, we have been unsuccessful in determining if the requests of students for diverse content have been met. Further research would seek to explore this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we provide a brief overview of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and large language models (LLMs). We then propose eight critical questions that libraries should ask when exploring this technology and its implications for their communities. We argue that libraries have a unique role in facilitating informed and responsible use of GenAI, as well as safeguarding and promoting the values of access, privacy, and intellectual freedom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This paper proposes a discussion on the relationship between critical information literacy, information mediation, and critical pedagogy regarding the social role of the librarian in the face of the unreliability of information on the network, facilitated by the, albeit uneven, use of social networks and instant messaging applications. Method: It presents a qualitative approach; the study was conducted through a literature review in the Base de Dados em Ciência da Informação (BRAPCI). Results: It presents discussions, reflections, and theoretical approaches regarding critical information literacy and information mediation, drawing inferences from the studies of Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy along with the complex thinking of Edgar Morin. Conclusion: Interference emerges as a common point of action, highlighting the non-neutrality of information. It is hoped that this analysis can provide support to information professionals, especially librarians, for a reflective practice regarding the power structures that underpin the production and dissemination of information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article showcases an instructor-librarian collaborative model for teaching critical information literacy (CIL) skills in a higher education course by incorporating interactive workshops into a sequence of required course assignments. Using an asset-focused design, this assignment sequence allows students to first demonstrate their existing research strategies and then evaluate those strategies during workshop activities, applying the CIL principles they are learning. In this way, the approach recognizes students' existing strengths and builds upon them, while emphasizing self-reflection opportunities and an intentional research focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and representation. Results from our one-year study are also highlighted. The suggested instructional strategies could be adapted to any course with research-related projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collections of Māori-focused materials are featured in many public and academic libraries in New Zealand. The items in these collections have been created over a period of approximately 200 years by Māori and non-Māori individuals. Due to colonisation and assimilationist practices by successive governments in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, many of the resources contain inauthentic or inaccurate information and knowledge about mātauranga Māori (Māori ways of knowing). This article considers whether it is possible for libraries to create a mātauranga Māori collection that is decolonised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article showcases an instructor–librarian collaborative model for teaching critical information literacy (CIL) skills in a higher education course by incorporating interactive workshops into a sequence of required course assignments. Using an asset-focused design, this assignment sequence allows students to first demonstrate their existing research strategies and then evaluate those strategies during workshop activities, applying the CIL principles they are learning. In this way, the approach recognizes students’ existing strengths and builds upon them, while emphasizing self-reflection opportunities and an intentional research focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and representation. Results from our one-year study are also highlighted. The suggested instructional strategies could be adapted to any course with research-related projects.

In an attempt to expand Information Literacy (IL) instruction beyond the one-shot, the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) Library established the English Library Instruction Pilot (ELIP) in 2023- 2024. Students involved in the project participated in a series of three tutorials. The outcomes of the tutorials were aligned to both their Introduction to Academic Writing (English 1100) class and the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy. In experimenting with the new model, we asked the following questions: • Did the ELIP programme help students succeed in their associated English 1100 courses? • Does more integrated instruction aid in relationship-building between the library and the TRU community? • How can we improve our instruction practices to better meet student needs? This paper discusses the formation of the programme, the results from our evaluation of it, and reflects on future directions and improvements. Through an examination of student assignments, a faculty feedback survey, and reflective journaling of librarian instructors, we conclude that the programme helped students complete the outcomes of their associated English 1100 class. It also contributed to relationship-building between the library and the university community and helped significantly improve existing teaching practices and materials in the library. The ELIP programme is unique in its departure from both the one-shot and credit course IL models, and we hope that our reflections will encourage other librarians to reflect and experiment with their instructional spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From checklists, to processes, to models, information literacy (IL) instructors have sought to better teach students how to evaluate the information they encounter, increasingly through critical information literacy (CIL) pedagogies. CIL engages high-impact pedagogical practices as students direct their learning through dialogue and problem-posing, but there are persistent barriers to implementing CIL pedagogies at scale. Drawing from motivational design can empower librarians to advance CIL and empower students to critically evaluate information. Although many evaluation pedagogies employ general motivational strategies, there is a gap in the literature exploring the application of one specific component of motivation: confidence. This conceptual and exploratory study aims to: 1) determine the connections between motivational design and IL pedagogy, specifically related to confidence-building strategies and critical approaches to evaluating information; and 2) map the integration of confidence-building design and CIL practices to provide suggestions for practical application. The researchers employ a crosswalk analysis to demonstrate how IL instructors can overcome barriers to implement CIL instructional practices through confidence-building design that illuminates students' abilities to learn and make a meaningful impact. In taking a confidence-building, critical focus to designing evaluation instruction, IL instructors reframe information evaluation as a participatory place for critical questioning, exploration, creative expression, and dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid adoption of the open internet and social media technologies for information seeking and sharing has led to the utilization of these technologies as vehicles for the spread of computational propaganda, disinformation, and misinformation. Scholars have investigated multiple avenues to combat the cognitive failure that results in acceptance and sharing of widespread misinformation. The most promising identified thus far is a psychological concept known as inoculation theory. This method can be conceptualized as a misinformation vaccine that can increase critical evaluation of newly encountered information and thereby increase the probability that this information will not be cognitively integrated and subsequently further shares within an individual's information network. This review aims to thoroughly discuss and synthesize the literature on disinformation and how inoculation theory fits within already utilized pedagogical paradigms as a potential antidote for this pertinent issue through the lens of critical information literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid adoption of the open internet and social media technologies for information seeking and sharing has led to the utilization of these technologies as vehicles for the spread of computational propaganda, disinformation, and misinformation. Scholars have investigated multiple avenues to combat the cognitive failure that results in acceptance and sharing of widespread misinformation. The most promising identified thus far is a psychological concept known as inoculation theory. This method can be conceptualized as a misinformation vaccine that can increase critical evaluation of newly encountered information and thereby increase the probability that this information will not be cognitively integrated and subsequently further shares within an individual's information network. This review aims to thoroughly discuss and synthesize the literature on disinformation and how inoculation theory fits within already utilized pedagogical paradigms as a potential antidote for this pertinent issue through the lens of critical information literacy.

Review of Hicks, A., Lloyd, A., & Pilerot, O. (Eds.). (2023). Information literacy through theory. Facet Publishing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both the COVID-19 pandemic and the acceleration of climate change illuminate how difficult it can be to make sense of information about wicked problems--that is, issues that are highly complex and have no simple or complete solutions (Rittel & Webber, 1973). One approach to grappling with wicked problems is to consider the information practices that different people, communities, or professions use to make sense of those issues. In this Perspectives piece, I explore possible ways to practice and teach about critical information literacy by looking to the views, experiences, and professional practices of two independent journalists who report on an urgent but still under-reported wicked problem: Long COVID. Betsy Ladyzhets and Miles W. Griffis are the co-founders of the website The Sick Times, which is dedicated to reporting on Long COVID and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Following highlights from their interviews with me about their work, I consider potential implications of these journalists' experiences for practicing and teaching critical information literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work education prioritizes the use of research to inform practice. As university students, prospective social workers have a wealth of research available to them as well as librarians to help them find, evaluate, and use that information. However, access to much of this research ends once the student graduates--at a time when it is most needed to inform their professional practice. To address this challenge, a librarian and a social work faculty member worked with one class of students in their final semester of a bachelor's degree in social work program to promote awareness of information privilege and barriers to access, to expand their understanding of authority to include marginalized voices, and to utilize an open pedagogy assignment as a means of proactively addressing these challenges. This article describes what was learned from this effort, including the results of surveys conducted with students before and after instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) exemplified by ChatGPT heralds the arrival of a new era of AI, which will inevitably reshape the way people interact with information. In this evolving landscape, information literacy education in colleges is set to experience a profound restructuring of its content frameworks and instructional models. This paper provides a review of research and teaching practices related to information literacy education in the context of AIGC both domestically and internationally. It delves into the advantages and limitations of AIGC and examines the opportunities and challenges which poses to the field of information literacy education. Building on this analysis, the paper proposes innovative ideas for the advancement of information literacy education, encompassing two dimensions: the enrichment of instructional content and the transformation of teaching methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Library guides can help librarians provide information to their patrons regarding their library resources, services, and tools. Despite their perceived usefulness, there is little discussion in designing library guides pedagogically by following a set of assessment standards for a quality-checked review.

Review of Hicks, A., Lloyd, A., & Pilerot, O. (Eds.). (2023). Information literacy through theory. Facet Publishing.

Objective: User surveys show that children are consuming and producing content in digital informational environments that sometimes disregard and other times exploit their vulnerabilities or needs. These are environments where a new type of economic system operates, which seeks to modulate people's behavior by monetizing data through continued surveillance. In this sense, the objective of this paper is to present grounds and proposals about why and how childhoods need to be acknowledged by Information Science. Methods: This article uses theoretical research based on literature as a method. Here, Benjamin's critique of metaphysical and instrumental approaches is taken as a starting point, and the child is seen as a social being under construction, with its own languages, cultures and knowledge. The issue is approached based on the view of the child as a subject who, since its early years, is determinant and historically determined. Childhood is seen as an important part of a historical moment. Results: As a result of our theoretical analysis, we highlight possibilities of using critical information theory to compose diagnoses and propose the path of critical information literacy that, hand in hand with critical theory and critical pedagogy, aims to provide children with a critical awareness in favor of their autonomy as an individual. Conclusions: this study concludes that Information Science has important conceptual bases and sufficient analysis tools to support the development of emancipatory practices for contemporary childhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This think-piece critically examines (critical) information literacy ((C)IL) and its teleological essence. Despite substantial scholarly inquiry and progress, IL remains invisible and undervalued beyond academia. IL silos and CIL's embeddedness within critical pedagogy and its focus on epistemological issues hinder its theoretical development, reduce it to an academic abstraction and undermine its salience and emancipatory goals. A multidisciplinary/multidomain approach is needed, leveraging insights from critical (social) theories and engaging with the ontological, to facilitate a novel understanding of IL and transform it into real-life action literacy for positive social change. The paper concludes by interrogating assumptions about (C)IL's benefits, highlighting potential inadvertent disempowering effects, and issues a call to consider it a dynamic concept that evolves by accounting for sociopolitical realities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This think piece examines the recent literature surrounding critical information literacy, the criticisms within this that the theory has not centered anti-racism within its scholarship, and the challenges toward its implementation. It concludes that more time and space should be given to IL practitioners to explore CIL, and how we should foreground Critical Race Theory and openly acknowledge white supremacy within our praxis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Information Literacy is empire," so goes this piece that reflects on the past and present to consider a future of IL as a learning paradigm and pedagogical framework. In sketching out the temporo-spatial and socio-cultural dimensions and consequences of IL, we critically interrogate its normative and disciplinary aspects while positioning and examining it as a product and project of empire. Following from such a premise, we detour through an exploratory meandering of alternative lenses and paths for IL that engage with and support the information worlds and knowledge systems of marginalised communities that have been subjected to epistemological violence through various interlocking logics of dispossession, domination, commodification, and control. This piece, which is really an invitation that is also a story--a groove, moving off vibrations of theories and concepts from critical library and information studies, decolonial imaginaries, fugitivity, and abolitionist modalities gestures towards a decolonial and liberatory vision of IL that is plural, expansive, speculative, collective, improvisational, and oriented towards the liberation and freedom of all beings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is important to align what we teach with how we teach information literacy (IL), otherwise we may inadvertently engage with what Hipple et al. (2021) identify as the pedagogy of hypocrisy through neoliberal pressure in higher education. This occurs when there is a misalignment between the values and principles behind what we teach and the pedagogical approaches we take when teaching. For example, when teaching IL concepts that intend to engage with social justice themes around access privilege and information, the pedagogy of hypocrisy can occur when we simply demonstrate how to access library resources on the library's website, without engaging in critical conversations about systems that contribute to inequities in access within society. To counter this, Hipple et al. (2021) suggest that those who teach must critically reflect on who they teach for, examine how they use and activate (or co-opt) social justice language, and name dominant and oppressive structures. This paper builds on Hipple's argument to suggest ways of recognising the pedagogy of hypocrisy within IL practices, and argues that this recognition is key to countering hegemonic ideologies within LIS teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Librarians have long been at the forefront of information literacy (IL), helping to develop and codify definitions and standards and advocating for its importance across situations and domains. The explosion of attention to mis- and disinformation in recent years has highlighted the need for these skills and competencies. At the same time, critics have raised and lamented the focus on processes and tasks over critical thinking and questioned the efficacy of IL instructional programs. The current landscape of IL seems to be defined by a continuous evolution of the concept, along with calls for more interdisciplinary research and attention to the psychological and neuroscience aspects of information evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study demonstrates that a library instruction observation instrument can effectively foster critical self-reflection among academic library faculty and staff on their teaching practices. The paper outlines the instrument's design, which gathers low inference observations on instructors' use of questioning as a pedagogical strategy based on recommendations from the LIS and education literature. To test and refine the instrument's design, the instructors' utilised the instrument to collect data from classes taught by five participating instructors, who, during postobservation interviews, engaged in thoughtful reflections on their class planning, student participation, and teaching philosophy. They also provided valuable critiques of the usefulness of the instrument. Through analysing the observee reflections and the data from the observation instrument, this study aims to provide academic libraries with a method to incorporate an observation instrument in a peer observation program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although critical information literacy, critical pedagogy, and online library instruction are commonly discussed in the library and information science literature, they are rarely discussed together. This qualitative interview study with academic librarians conducted in 2022 identifies opportunities and challenges of teaching critical information literacy online. Findings suggest that critical information literacy and critical pedagogy can be integrated into online library instruction through online workshops, digital learning objects, and online credit-bearing courses. However, librarians face challenges implementing critical pedagogy online related to the lack of dialogue and co-creation of knowledge between students and instructors, limitations of the one-shot model of library instruction, which is often replicated online, limited engagement during asynchronous learning, and limitations of educational technology. Additional research is needed to establish frameworks and best practices for teaching critical information literacy and implementing critical pedagogy in online library instruction.

This piece introduces the Des Moines University Library’s Research and Scholarly Communication Peer Associate Program, focusing on the curriculum of a five-day summer institute developed for graduate medical and health sciences students and rooted in a critical information literacy framework. The authors outline the institute’s philosophy and approach and provide readers with key content areas, materials, activities, and homework prompts. Initial program assessment is discussed, and the authors share their thoughts on how the program might continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of students. The article concludes with reflections from two peer associates who participated in the program during the 2022–2023 academic year.

Libraries have long been involved in conversations around book banning and censorship. The American Library Association noted that librarians and information workers in 2022 witnessed the most documented attempts at banning books ever recorded. This is in lockstep with contemporary examples of legislative efforts to censor, ban, and by extension criminalize information. The criminalization of information is one that has a direct impact on library users as well as academic freedom. In an effort to best support scholars at all levels in the University, academic teaching librarians will need to develop strategies to approach the information classroom. Understanding that book bans and censorship are a form of criminalization allows us to be in conversation with scholarship that focus on how to combat criminalization such as abolitionist pedagogy. This article introduces core concepts of abolitionist pedagogy as a means to create new educational justice pathways and to interrupt information criminalization.

This piece introduces the Des Moines University Library's Research and Scholarly Communication Peer Associate Program, focusing on the curriculum of a five-day summer institute developed for graduate medical and health sciences students and rooted in a critical information literacy framework. The authors outline the institute's philosophy and approach and provide readers with key content areas, materials, activities, and homework prompts. Initial program assessment is discussed, and the authors share their thoughts on how the program might continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of students. The article concludes with reflections from two peer associates who participated in the program during the 2022-2023 academic year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although critical information literacy, critical pedagogy, and online library instruction are commonly discussed in the library and information science literature, they are rarely discussed together. This qualitative interview study with academic librarians conducted in 2022 identifies opportunities and challenges of teaching critical information literacy online. Findings suggest that critical information literacy and critical pedagogy can be integrated into online library instruction through online workshops, digital learning objects, and online credit-bearing courses. However, librarians face challenges implementing critical pedagogy online related to the lack of dialogue and co-creation of knowledge between students and instructors, limitations of the one-shot model of library instruction, which is often replicated online, limited engagement during asynchronous learning, and limitations of educational technology. Additional research is needed to establish frameworks and best practices for teaching critical information literacy and implementing critical pedagogy in online library instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the tensions and contradictions in the potential success of maker-learning in Higher Education (HE) as supported in academic library makerspaces. Insights are formed from an in-depth, Cultural-Historical Activity Theory framed case study on a well-established North American HE academic library-based makerspace service. Lessons are drawn from the organisational tensions that emerged as challenges in its development. Participants were from the library service, students and academics from different disciplines that make significant use of the library makerspace. The 'relational agency' and 'common knowledge' of academic librarians in bringing together academic and student perspectives on the utility of maker-learning is found to be key. Maker-learning is observed to be an intertwined embodied/haptic, social/dialogic and rational/critical expansive cross-disciplinary system in a Zone of Proximal Development. Evidence of attempts to address the themes of inclusivity, diversity and sustainability to achieve ethical-maker-learning outcomes are discussed and developed. The article then expands on Ratto's Critical Maker pedagogy utilised by the case study library service. I conclude with the proposal of a potentially transformative new concept for supporting cross-disciplinary maker-learning systems, 'Critical Material Literacy' (CML), whereby technical and material awareness connects with progressive concerns for people and the planet. This new theoretical concept is designed to start proactively addressing the key case study themes, with academic librarians becoming critical agents in creating ethical-maker knowledge hubs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In recent years, scholar-activists have used hashtag syllabus movements to organize and share curricular resources related to pressing social and cultural issues in a widely accessible format. These collaboratively designed readings lists have provided many classroom-based educators with diverse and far-reaching texts with which to engage students on issues of social injustice and structural inequality. In this paper, we argue that having students develop hashtag syllabi in the context of interdisciplinary social science courses not only provides access to a breadth and depth of content knowledge and a range of perspectives on these topics but creates the conditions in which students can develop and strengthen critical information literacy skills. Using example assignments from introductory and upper-level undergraduate courses, we demonstrate the potential of these assignments to promote deep learning, challenge hegemonic knowledge production, address the personal and affective components of research, and connect our students’ work in the classroom to problems that exist outside of it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Methodological Horizons / Metodički Obzori is the property of Juraj Dobrila University of Pula and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this article, the authors explore whether academic libraries are truly capable of implementing a critical information literacy (CIL) praxis and if there are inherent threats to critical librarianship when incorporating CIL into the curriculum. The survey instrument in this study gathered data from 92 academic library instructors based within the United States. The study identified that 41% of question respondents had received negative comments or criticisms about including CIL in their library curriculum through various formats: online modules, one-shot instruction, courseembedded units, and credit-bearing courses. In addition, 29% of question respondents felt that pushback from academic teaching staff, other librarians/administration, and students threatened the integrity of CIL. This research helps to illustrate the fragility of CIL and how librarians have faced pushback when critical content is incorporated into the information literacy (IL) curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "critical" element present in many critical information literacy (CIL) studies shows a commitment to the practical challenge of the power structures that shape current information regimes. In this article, we argue that it is necessary to analyse how such power structures, organised under a capitalist social order with neoliberal contours, benefit from disinformation, scientific denialism and class, race and gender oppression. In addition to discussing how philosophical notions of language and postmodern relativism appear in the present time, our main theoretical objective is to highlight some thoughts of Hegel, Marx and Bloch on the notions of dialectics, praxis and concrete utopia, aiming to contribute to strengthen the critical element that names and distinguishes CIL as a field of inquiry in library and information studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 21st century has been riven by information challenges, from mis/disinformation campaigns, fake news, and propaganda to online conspiracy theories. At a time when more people are literate than perhaps at any other time in history, we still see the rise and viral global spread of unhinged conspiracy theories across the web. The existence of such crowd-sourced conspiracy theories presents unique challenges for scholars and teachers of information literacy (IL), who face intractable challenges in inculcating healthy information practices. This is especially visible when we compare current IL frameworks with principles espoused within these conspiratorial movements. The online conspiracy theory QAnon demonstrates a particularly thorny problem for IL efforts because QAnon operates according to many of the same principles espoused in literacy frameworks. Since its inception in 2017, QAnon has become one of the most complex online conspiracy theories precisely because it relies on a complex set of informational practices enacted by thousands of followers known as anons. In this article, I argue that internet conspiracies such as QAnon weaponise IL through incitement to "do your own research". I apply a qualitative approach to compare established principles advocated by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) to social media posts by Q and his anons to demonstrate the striking similarity in orientation toward questions of authority, context, literacy and research. In my analysis, we need new models for IL to combat conspiracism through a better understanding of the political contours of information ecosystems precisely because these similarities preclude effective engagement, and I conclude by gesturing toward future interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to contribute to a pragmatic understanding of critical information literacy (CIL) by positioning it as a context-specific interpersonal practice. Using phenomenography to explore how information work is experienced by social workers in social and health care settings, this paper provides an example of critical information practice that can be used to operationalise and activate CIL as a theory and inform approaches to critical pedagogy. CIL as a concept is generally theorised, practiced, and taught in academic contexts, and relatively few examples of how theory can be defined and put into practice outside a classroom setting are available. This study builds on our understanding of CIL by exploring professional information practice and suggests a model for teaching to engage learners in connecting information to action in social systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we connect critical librarianship and its practices of information literacy (IL) with working-class experiences of higher education (HE). Although the research literature and professional body of knowledge of critical information literacy (CIL), is one of the most theoretically-developed areas of wider critical librarianship (Critlib) movement, working-class knowledge and experiences remain underrepresented. One reason for this is that the values, behaviour and assumptions of library and HE workers are shaped by a HE system which inculcates middle-class values and cultural capitals within students, and stigmatises working-class students as lacking or in deficit. Hegemonic, or noncritical, IL proselytises middle-class values and assumptions about academic practices and skills development including the notion of an ideal student with behaviour and markers of identity which reflect those most privileged by wider society. In contrast CIL, framed as the socially-just practice of IL is theoretically well-placed to support working-class library workers in destabilising this alongside middle-class accomplices. Employing Yosso's (2005) concept of community and cultural wealth (CCW), we analyse how library workers can recognise working-class cultural wealth within the context of CIL and wider working practices. As such narrative accounts are lacking in the literature, we utilise collaborative autoethnography (CAE) (Chang et al., 2013) to consider and interpret our own experiences of libraries when we were university students ourselves, and more recently as HE workers of working-class heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the author explores the prospect of, and the rationale for, the critical workplace information literacy (CWIL) construct, by situating it at the junction of critical information literacy (CIL) and workplace information literacy (WIL), the two hitherto discrete frameworks and subdomains of information literacy (IL). This preliminary attempt at the conceptualisation of a new construct was guided by the question of what role CIL can play in empowering workers to attain decent work. The author frames the conceptualisation around the 'decent work' (DW) concept, as a normative goal of the critical workplace information literacy construct, and discusses the rationale for it in the framework of the discussion on the decent work deficits in the contemporary work and information environment. Freire's critical hermeneutics and dialectics of voice and empowerment are drawn upon. The paper argues positively for the role of CIL in attaining decent work and for the need for a new construct that would help fill the knowledge and discursive gap in IL and its subdomains and overcome the current silos in the IL community. The author concludes that developing a concept requires a broad deliberative process informed by both theoretical and empirical research, and gives suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While significant progress has been made in broadening information literacy's (IL's) scope, its conception of the user and their relationship to information remains painfully limited. This is particularly evident when the affective or emotional factors of information seeking behaviour are considered. Thus far, IL's models and discourses have failed to acknowledge emotion's fundamentally disruptive nature and have either ignored, repressed, or misrepresented users' emotions. This has resulted in a deeply limited and inaccurate conception of the user's information needs, and this has a particularly harmful impact on marginalised users and users engaging with affectively fraught information. This article seeks to address this oversight, initially by outlining the origins of IL's repression of emotion and then examining the consequences of this repression in the standardised IL models; specifically in Carol C. Kuhlthau's Information Search Process and the ACRL's Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. Subsequently, this essay will examine several critical models of librarianship and IL--including Holocaust librarianship and Indigenous conceptions of relationality--in order to illuminate models of IL that adopt a relational perspective that enables an engagement with the affective elements of the user's information needs. Finally, this essay will suggest that these relational perspectives facilitate the adoption of an ethics of care that helps address the insufficiencies inherent to our current conceptions of IL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Brief: Conflicting narratives about the COVID-19 pandemic, including dominant ones that minimize the continued harms of COVID, illustrate the complexities and the importance of information literacy. More specifically, these narratives point to the value of critical information literacy, which asks us to interrogate the ways that power and social structure influence what information is created and circulated and how we interact with and respond to it as individuals and collectives.

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Academic Librarianship / Revue Canadienne De Bibliothéconomie Universitaire is the property of Canadian Association of Professional Academic Librarians (CAPAL) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Traditional literacy skills often neglect to develop students' critical understanding of how information and knowledge are formed, and the unequal power relations at the heart of this process. There are deep, entrenched biases within criminology curriculum content, and empowering students to use critical information literacy skills is an important part of recognising and disrupting knowledge hierarchies in relation to race, class, and gender. This paper builds on research exploring the content of student reading lists from the curriculum of a new criminology degree programme at an English university. Focus groups and one-to-one interviews were held with 20 undergraduate criminology students to explore how students interact with the course reading lists and how they consider and engage with the sources they use. We argue for critical information literacy to be embedded within our teaching of criminology, and for lecturers and students to more pro-actively consider the sources they use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information literacy emerged in the 1970s to address information needs in an active and critical way. However, the increasing availability of information and the evolution of technology led information literacy to focus more on instrumental aspects and less on its cognitive, axiological, and critical dimensions. As a response, a new wave emerged to explicitly focus on the most critical and emancipatory aspects: Critical Information Literacy (CIL). This concept has been developed in a dynamic and spontaneous way through the various practices and publications on the topic and as a reflection of the social advances in recent decades. In this paper, CIL is presented as a means of action for informational activism to promote changes in society aligned with the values of human rights and social justice. We present a review of the main authors that have worked with CIL, including the active scene in Brazil and its Freirean influence, aiming at systematizing the concept and its main characteristics in a global landscape dominated by misinformation and absence of informational and digital competences. The concept of informational activism is presented and discussed as one of the main lines of action for Library and Information Science in today's polarized society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]