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#LILAC19 - a student perspective on the LILAC Conference 2019

This year I was fortunate enough to receive an Information School bursary to attend LILAC 2019, the information literacy conference, which was held at the University of Nottingham from the 24th to 26th April.

As a distance learneing student who is also the sole information professional at a small academic museum library, work can be a bit insular, so I applied for the bursary to connect with the wider information community and learn more about information literacy. I was excited by the rich programme of sessions and the promise of a dynamic set of keynote speakers. I had also heard from previous colleagues how great the conference is for networking and sharing ideas in friendly environment so I was thrilled when I found out I was on my way to LILAC19.

I was slightly nervous to attend my first library conference but I needn’t have worried. From the moment I stepped off of the tram at the University of Nottingham, concerned about finding my way to the conference venue, fellow attendees were friendly and supportive pointing me in the right direction. Spending breaks promoting the University of Sheffield at the Information School stand was a great way to meet people and discuss my experience completing the MA in Library and Information Services Management as a distance learner (spoiler: it is enjoyable and worthwhile but challenging at times juggling due dates and a full time job).

I wanted to attend as many sessions as I could as I was eager to learn and gain inspiration, especially as it is a future goal of mine to present. A stand out session on day one was “I’m not calling you a liar, but don’t lie to me: getting personal with source evaluation” with Kathleen Phillips, Eryn Roles and Sabrina Thomas. Their session introduced the IF I APPLY method of resource evaluation to recognise and address internal and external biases in order to combat ‘fake news’ (misinformation) while encouraging reflection and lifelong learning. On the second day, I attended a panel session entitled “Information literacy and Open Access: two movements- one aim?” with Jane Secker, Chris Morrison, and several other library rock stars, which stressed that without information literacy, Open Access is like having the product but not the manual.

The final day had two stand out sessions for me. First, “Embedding Wikipedia in the curriculum” with Wikimedian in residence at the University of Edinburgh Ewan McAndrew who recognised that students are going to use Wikipedia so instead of fighting it, information professionals have brought Wikipedia into the classroom through editing assignments that teach a variety of skills- research, summary, plain language, referencing, copyright and licensing, digital, and critical assessment- in a fun and tangible way.

The second stand out session was “I f**ck up too” with Hannah Hickman who eloquently discussed imposter syndrome and new professional identity; concepts that resonate with me as a student and professional just starting out in the field.

It was nice to take a break from the conference sessions and let my hair down during the evening events. The networking event on the first evening took place at Nottingham Contemporary with plenty of drink, food and the opportunity to browse the galleries and gift shop. The highlight was the conference dinner on the second evening at Colwick Hall. The event consisted of a three course meal, awards ceremony, and to my surprise, a disco. It was slightly surreal seeing information professionals whose sessions I attended earlier in the day now boogying to the Spice Girls on a packed dancefloor. Don’t let anyone tell you librarians don’t know how to party.

LILAC19 was a fantastic experience and I can’t thank the Information School enough for allowing me to attend. It was an exhausting three days but I picked up a lot of great ideas, met some wonderful people and went back to my job and MA work the next Monday morning feeling inspired and enthusiastic about information literacy.

Danielle Czerkaszyn
MA Library and Information Services Management student

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