Information School News

The Information Literacy Award recognises an outstanding UK-based practitioner or researcher. There was a hiatus for the award in 2021 and we presented the Leading Light Award to align with our online event: FestivIL by LILAC. For 2022 we are running a single award, due to the increase of digital activities in our working lives, which combines criteria from the Digital Award for IL. The CILIP Information Literacy Group and the Information School at the University of Sheffield are proud to offer an award for achievement in the field of information literacy (IL). IL “is the ability to think critically and make balanced judgements about any information we find and use. It empowers us as citizens to reach and express informed views and to engage fully in society”. IL applies within a number of contexts, including: Everyday – when people find information online Citizenship – helping people to understand the world around us Education – developing critical thinking skills at all stages of edu...

 I was absolutely delighted to receive a bursary place to attend FestivIL by LILAC. I have just finished my first year of the distance learning Library and Information Services Management course. The module I enjoyed the most was Information Literacy and I was excited to learn more about the best practices from experienced information professionals at FestivIL. Day One After a shaky start with Zoom (it had to do an update just before the conference started!), I was able to log into the Welcome session. In order to encourage conversation and networking at a virtual event, it was explained how you could attend two campfire conversations a day. Campfire conversations involved being randomly allocated into a breakout room where you could talk to other delegates. I decided to give it a try and enjoyed my first session so much, I opted to join for each campfire conversation. In each session, I felt that I could reflect on the conference and share my experience.  Emily Drabinski’s Ma...

This year’s LILAC conference was shifted online in the form of the condensed LILAC FestivIL situated over three half days on the afternoon of 6th July, the morning 7th July and the afternoon 8th July. LILAC is an annual conference organised by CILIP's Information Literacy Group and covers all aspects of information literacy. Double lucky for me, as well being online (accessible even from my Dubai location), I was offered the opportunity to virtually attend assisted by a Sheffield iSchool bursary. This was not my first time attending LILAC, and although the programme was compressed, as usual it delivered. Given the enforced deprivation of social connection during the global pandemic, the well-considered conference theme was community. This was echoed and reinforced by the conference structure on each half-day, with two daily slots being dedicated to ‘Campfire Conversations’. These informal online spaces, facilitated by small breakout rooms, provided attendees a welcome opportunity t...

I recently had the opportunity to attend the information literacy (IL) conference organised by LILAC, called FestivIL. It was a three-day event jam-packed with lectures, interviews, and workshops of all kinds, and even though it's a busy time of year, I'm really happy that I went. This year's conference took place online because of the pandemic, but I think the organisers did a great job of making it as "normal" as they could. They even incorporated some asynchronicity by making the main stage speeches into Q&A sessions based on pre-recorded lecture videos, and I thought that worked really well. Unfortunately, I couldn't attend the second day due to a scheduling conflict (that day's events all took place in the morning, while the first and third days were in the afternoon), but I'd like to share my experience of the other two days. Day One I've never attended a professional conference before, and the first day was a whirlwind of ideas. Emily Dr...