This community is founded and managed by Fenway Libraries Organization (FLO). Professionals involved Library and Information Science outside of FLO are welcome and encouraged to join. Our focus is on academic libraries in the Boston-area. This community of interest will focus on Information Literacy including topics such as reference and instruction services, working with faculty, user instruction, and more.
The FLO Information Literacy Community of Interest hosted a free, half-day workshop and networking event on May 3rd at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Sessions included a keynote presentation and workshop centered around understanding AI literacy and lightning rounds from community members.
Presentations from the event (slides)
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Schedule of events
9:30 a.m. Refreshments & Mingling
10:00 a.m. Welcome
Shanti Freundlich, Associate Director for Library Learning & Assessment, Associate Professor, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Joe Sikowitz, Executive Director, Fenway Library Organization
10:05 a.m. Keynote & Workshop: Empowering Higher Education; Harnessing Generative AI, Addressing Bias, and Promoting Information Literacy
Jessica Condlin, Social Sciences Librarian, Lesley University
12:00 p.m. Lightning Rounds
Thinking Critically About AI Literacy: Instruction and Assessment in First-Year Engineering Classes
Callie Cherry, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Wentworth Institute of Technology
The Hater’s Guide to Artificial Intelligence
Alexis Dhembe, Systems Librarian, Fenway Library Organization
Show, Don’t Tell: Interactive Demonstrations of GenAI for Diverse Users
Kat Good-Schiff, Instructional Services and Outreach Librarian, Springfield Technical Community College
12:30 p.m. Close
FLO Information Literacy Event Planning Committee
Keynote & Workshop
Empowering Higher Education; Harnessing Generative AI, Addressing Bias, and Promoting Information Literacy
In the ever-evolving landscape of emerging technologies, the intersection of generative AI, bias awareness, and information literacy presents both opportunities and challenges, particularly in higher education. This presentation delves into the complexities of these topics and explores their implications for academia. As these technologies continue to evolve, information literacy is of paramount importance. This presentation aims to provide knowledge about the inner workings of generative AI and Large Language Models to bridge the understanding of algorithmic bias within emerging technologies.
Jessica Condlin (she/her), MLIS, Social Sciences Librarian, Lesley University
Jessica Condlin earned her MLIS from Simmons University. She has worked in both public and academic libraries and is currently working as a reference and instruction librarian for the Social Sciences at Lesley University. For the past year she has served on Lesley’s AI Committee and in February 2024 was elected to Vice Chair of the committee. She has presented on Generative AI and Large Language Models to both the faculty and students at Lesley University as well as to the FLO AI Community of Interest.
Lightning Rounds
Thinking Critically About AI Literacy: Instruction and Assessment in First-Year Engineering Classes
During the Fall 2023 term, Callie Cherry collaborated with Dr. Uri Feldman to design an AI literacy module in his first-year engineering course. This multi-session module consisted of lessons on evaluating AI tools and content and enabled students to think critically and independently about how AI will impact their careers as engineers. In assessing this instruction module, they determined that the lessons empowered students to make their own decisions about AI with an informed perspective.
Callie Cherry, (she/her), MLIS, MA, Reference & Instruction Librarian, Wentworth Institute of Technology
Callie Cherry is a Reference & Instruction Librarian, the liaison to the School of Architecture & Design, and the Library exhibits coordinator at Wentworth Institute of Technology. She holds a Master of Library Science and a Master of Arts in Art History with Museum Studies from the University of Denver. Her research interests include artificial intelligence literacy; critical pedagogy; diversity, equity, and inclusion in collection development.
The Hater’s Guide to Artificial Intelligence
AI, as many breathless press-releases will tell you, is full of nearly infinite possibilities. But what about the drawbacks, and what did it take to get here? This lightning talk will discuss some of the 'behind the scenes' aspects of AI and what resources are required for machines to learn.
Alexis Dhembe (she/her), MLIS, Systems Librarian, Fenway Library Organization
Alexis Dhembe joined FLO in April 2022 as the Systems Librarian. Prior to joining FLO, she worked at Lesley University and Harvard University. In her free time, she likes sewing, knitting, and dogs (especially hers).
Show, Don’t Tell: Interactive Demonstrations of GenAI for Diverse Users
This talk will report on four introductory workshops that Kat Good-Schiff led on the potentials and pitfalls of ChatGPT & Gemini for faculty, staff, and students at a community college. Collaboration was key to promote the sessions, and a flexible, interactive format ensured that participants learned helpful and relevant information in a reflective way that encouraged further exploration.
Kat Good-Schiff (she/her), MFA, MLIS, Instructional Services & Outreach Librarian, Springfield Technical Community College
Kat Good-Schiff is the Instructional Services & Outreach Librarian at Springfield Technical Community College (STCC). A member of FLO’s AI community of interest, she has been exploring and sharing generative AI’s potentials and pitfalls with her campus community for over a year. Prior to STCC, she was a public librarian for four years and worked as a writer, editor, and project manager in the fields of nonprofit marketing and health communication.
Thank you to all who participated in this event! The following resources have been collected by Erin McCoy, keynote speaker, about Information Literacy and OER.
Keynote Slides
OER: What have you done for me lately?
Lightning Talks
| Date | Event - Location | Description |
|---|---|---|
| May 14th |
Information Literacy Active Learning Conference Emmanuel College, Fenway Room |
The event will include an active learning workshop followed by a panel with time for discussion. It will feature instructors from the Dartmouth Librarians Active Learning Institute (LALI).
10:00 – 10:30 Registration and morning refreshments 10:30 – 10:35 Welcome 10:35 – 10:55 Keynote speaker (Annie Soisson) 10:55 – 11:10 Break 11:10 – 11:30 Panel Discussion 11:30 – 11:40 Questions for the panel and speaker 11:40 – 12:40 Active Learning Workshop (LALI) 12:40 – 1:00 Q&A/Wrap Up |
| Date | Event | Description |
|---|---|---|
| May 11th | Information Literacy Instruction and Assessment |
Please join us for the next Fenway Library Organization, Information Literacy COI event centered on the intersection of information literacy instruction and assessment. We will start the morning hearing from our keynote speaker, Megan Oakleaf, Associate Professor in the iSchool at Syracuse University where she teaches “Reference and Information Literacy Services” and “Planning, Marketing, and Assessing Library Services.” Her research interests include outcomes assessment, evidence-based decision making, information literacy instruction, information services, and digital librarianship. She is the author of the Value of Academic Libraries Comprehensive Review and Report and Academic Library Value: The Impact Starter Kit.” Megan will be presenting via Zoom webconferencing. Later in the morning we will have a panel discussion with an interesting balance of perspectives between librarians providing instruction, library administrators, faculty, and learning technology innovators. Our panelists include: Elizabeth Berman, Assistant Director, Tisch Library, Tufts University Shanti Freundlich, Online and Educational Technology Librarian, MCPHS Juval Racelis, Assistant Professor, Wentworth Institute of Technology Tes Zakrzewski, Learning Innovation & Technology Director, Wentworth Institute of Technology |
| Date | Event | Description |
|---|---|---|
| January 19th |
Not Throwing Away My One-Shot: Implementing Critical Information Literacy Pedagogy in One-Shot Instruction |
Sometimes librarians only get one shot to connect with their users in instruction sessions. How can staff make the most of these one-shot sessions and still incorporate critical pedagogy? Explore this question in a conversation with a panel of library and information science staff, and in a hands-on discussion workshop. Critical pedagogy in librarianship means providing users with an understanding of the power structures behind information production and with the research skills and thought processes to find resources that go beyond the peer-reviewed journal, to include content from diverse contexts, nontraditional media, or other valuable materials outside the typical publishing hierarchy. This event will feature a round-table panel discussion with an introduction to the concept of critical pedagogy and how to incorporate these ideals into one-shot instruction sessions. Explore the challenges librarians face in incorporating critical pedagogy into their educational services and learn more about the strategies for overcoming these obstacles. Panelists include: Dawn Cadogan and Caro Pinto, chapter authors for the ACRL Handbook of Critical Library Pedagogy, Shanti Freudlich the Online and Educational Technologies Librarian at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Maric Kramer the Academic Outreach Librarian for the Social Sciences at Brandeis University, and Dawn Stahura the Research and Instruction Librarian for Social Sciences and Zine Librarian at Simmons College. |
| September 27th | Trivia Fun Night! | Please join us for an evening of trivia, chatting, and networking to start your semester off right! |
| Date | Event | Description |
|---|---|---|
| October 5th | SpringyCamp Virtual Conference 2016 | For those who use Springshare products, such as LibGuides, or those who would like to learn more about these products, SpringyCamp is a series of free, virtual sessions presented by librarians and users of Springshare tools and products. |
| November 2nd | Taking Stock: Best Practices for Designing Library Learning Space Today |
In this presentation, the Director of Project Information Literacy (PIL), Alison Head, presents qualitative findings from their latest study on library learning space design, which is part of a new research initiative at PIL called "The Practitioner Series." During 2016, PIL team of researchers conducted 49 in-depth interviews from 22 different academic library projects in the U.S. and Canada, including two projects in Massachusetts at Stonehill College and Northeastern University. The session will feature a discussion about what library learning space means today, based on coding results from the interviews, and what best—and worst—practices librarians and architects have learned from their recent projects. Attendees will learn how students' information and learning needs are being met so they can make informed decisions about, and investments in, their own library projects. Alison Head, Ph.D. is an information scientist and social science researcher. She is founder and director of the national and ongoing research study, Project Information Literacy (PIL), a study of college students' research habits in the digital age. She is a Fellow at the metaLAB at Harvard University and a Visiting Scholar in University Libraries at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Since 2009, she and her small research team have interviewed or surveyed over 13,000 U.S. college and university students at 60 different US institutions. A research report from the library learning space study will be released in the mid-November 2016. |
To join the Information Literacy mailing list, visit https://list.flo.org/postorius/lists/coi-information-literacy.list.flo.org/.