Information users should also consider themselves information creators, reusing and re-purposing discovered content in different formats. Learners should understand how their discipline’s processes produce, reproduce and disseminate scholarly material. Learners consider their contribution to the body of knowledge through their original work and discipline’s scholarly conversation community of practice.
Personal
During lockdown, I have been creating quizzes, which is almost as enjoyable as taking part in them. This requires research, such as the one where I was finding photos of worldwide landmarks during lockdown. Some were easy such as musicians in films and TV, films based on video games and place names in song titles: that's what Wikipedia is made for! However the more difficult ones were anniversaries in 2021 (Ian Holm would have been 90 next year 😢), songs for our times (such as Don't Stand So Close to Me, Ghost Town, You Can't Touch This, It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine) and my personal favourite Que Sera Sera) and technology predicted by fiction (did you know the author William Gibson invented the word cyberspace?). It was all about how to find the information and then repurposing it into quiz questions. It was easier to search for the information in a way than searching as part of my work as there was a lot out there, but it was more difficult to find accurate sources and use the right search terms. Plus the process and structure of the content was set by me, so there was more scope to work with. I tried to theme the quizzes, such as Cambridge, doing three quizzes per week: one wordy quiz such as missing vowels, one general knowledge with questions and one picture quiz. I've had to revise some of the quizzes to make them fit; the technology predicted by fiction was going to be questions, but it had to change to alternate letters removed as I couldn't make the information I'd found into questions, without them being incredibly difficult anyway.
Finally, sending them proved more difficult as I used Word documents initially, but my edition of Word wasn't compatible with everyone's, so I changed it to PDFs, which has been working fine. I generated enough interest that instead of only my brother sending them to his work colleagues, which is where it started; I got exasperated by them using the ones from The Sun and the Daily Mail; it branched out to family and friends, and now the most applicable ones are going out to my A&H librarian colleagues. I've been broadening the audience through word of mouth. Getting such great feedback, making sure I'm pitching the questions at the right level and choosing appropriate subjects and fun themes has given me such a great confidence boost at this difficult time and has been giving me a welcome distraction. I'm going to do some book-themed questions next, just for my colleagues, or maybe even library-themed, if I can...
Professional
I wrote a series of articles for CILIP Update magazine, before the mass exodus; now I barely know anyone who suscribes anymore. I did it that way as it was a quick turnaround from submission to publication: ebook information can go out of date very quickly, plus I avoided the saga outlined in the Nature article. The articles were repurposed from my PG dissertation for my librarianship degree. I was told not to let all that research go to waste. I suppose my perspective was unique at the time, focusing on the industry and the librarian perspective, not the student experience. The magazine is less formal than academic journals, so I tried to make them entertaining, comparing choosing the right ebook model and platform to dating for instance. The structure and processes were set by the editor and the publication's house style, so working under such restrictions made the writing much simpler. The managing editor and I worked out the length of the articles, the timetable of when each would be published and I found free to use, creative commons images, then worked with the editor to choose the best image for the piece to fit the page. Everyone I worked with was a woman incidentally, apart from the images guy, so I was surprised to read Chawla's article on underrepresentation of women in peer review, but less surprised about the underrepresentation of non-Westerners.
Once I realised how locked down the articles were, only readable through the magazine to subscribers; I thought they'd also go on the website and as blog posts; I made them open access by checking with the editor who let me put them on my LinkedIn page. If you're interested, here they are: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahburton3/. The whole process showed me how naive and inexperienced I am, leaving me feeling a little lacking in self esteem. But after the publication there was a lot of great feedback and interest. I was asked to do some presentations at a conference and various meetings. I repurposed the articles into presentations for a formal conference in London and for library peers. There was a lot of repurposing into different formats and for different audiences going on! From dissertation, to articles, to presentations. Although it was a few years ago, the presentation is sadly still applicable as it covers the broad strokes:
P. S. Thank you for highlighting that Claire Sewell's book is accessible as an ebook, I will certainly read the whole of it and not just one chapter.
Friday, 26 June 2020
Friday, 12 June 2020
The Framework Five - Managing Information
Posted by
sblib
at
17:03
Labels:
Beatrix Potter,
Framework Five,
Information Literacy,
Microsoft,
Zotero
0
comments
Learners engage with relevant information in their
disciplines, develop workflows and strategically handle many information formats,
demonstrating identification, collection and collation. When creating and using
information, learners will understand value and ethics. Learners should appropriately
attribute, citing their sources and develop practical skills to manage their
range and variety.
Personal
I collect Beatrix Potter figures; it's a tradition started by my Granny who gave me a figurine as a present when I was young knowing I loved the books. After she died, my family has continued to give them to me as presents. I have more than 70 now and when it became difficult for my family to keep track of the ones I have, I started to create a list. When I learned my cousin had an accident where some of hers fell off her shelf and got damaged, I thought for insurance purposes I should document them. So I took two photos of each figure: one of the figure itself and one of the bottom where the maker's mark is stamped. Then I input the information into an Excel spreadsheet. When I was given a published collector's guide, I used it to identify the stamps, the variations in age and style and how much each figure is worth. It was also useful to work out which figures I didn't have already and which I would like. I looked at the pictures to see which I prefer and made a wish list. However that guide book quickly became out of date and a new one wasn't published. So I discovered a more recent list which has updated prices for the figures on the internet. So the Excel spreadsheet holds all the information on the figures I have, plus the ones I still need, their age, make, stamp and of course value. I have put it on the cloud as well for insurance purposes in case I lose the hard copy on my computer. It has been very successful for myself, my family has appreciated it as well because they know how much they should pay and it has meant I have been receiving far more figures!
Professional
Like many librarians, I use bibliographic software such as Mendeley or Zotero. I prefer Zotero as it was what I used during my library degree and I taught it during my time at Cambridge Judge Business School in 1-2-1s with students, during live demos in lecture theatres and small group teaching at Homerton College. We always made sure to emphasise that students should get familiar with the software and set it up as early as possible because it would be too late when it came to writing the first essay or assignment. The best work flow is to save everything you look at as you're doing your readings, your research and your searches. Creating folders for subjects, courses or assignments helps organise the sources better and it's easier to find what you need. I also used a Word document alongside it, typing or copying and pasting useful quotes, making sure to add the page numbers with them. This meant I had readymade citations and bibliographies when it came to writing my essays and projects. At Cambridge Judge Business School, we also had a team account and we saved interesting articles, books and electronic resources into it, such as for our Harry Potter themed teaching sessions.
It was as successful as it could be depending on the limitations of the software; it's good practice to check Zotero once you save the item that it had saved properly and make any edits to the information to make sure it was correct, had all the information that was needed and there weren't any weird errors or capitalisation. It also doesn't always recognise the item type, so you save it as a webpage and make the changes yourself manually. Then, when it came to adding the citations and bibliographies from Zotero into Word, they would be accurate. It has been very useful both personally and professionally for me, the teams I worked with and for the students.
In reading this all for thing four and writing this piece, it has made me realise I am equally at home managing information professionally and personally, in all aspects of my life. My examples demonstrate how I have worked with everyone in my life in a professional context and at home. Managing information in an ethical way comes naturally to me as I am a perfectionist, wanting to have all the information possible to hand, giving credit where it's due and needing to know where the information has come from. I feel this part of information literacy is where I'm strongest.
Tuesday, 28 April 2020
Coronaverse
The Times diary TLS was asking for coronaverses, rejigging famous poems for the current circumstances. Mine was too long to use, but I got a lovely email back from someone at The Times. It is based on Ozymandias by Shelley:
I met a jogger on a lonely run,
Who said— while two metres from me – “people
stroll in the local parks… Near them, in the sun,
Half asleep a couple lies, whose love,
And lack of care, and sneer of selfishness,
Tell of their heedless concern for the rules.
They may yet survive, but might cause lifeless others,
They mock the hands that help them, these fools
And in the history books, these words could appear:
‘My name is not important, my words more so;
Look on society and despair!’
Only lessons remain. Stop the decay
Protect the NHS, care for its kin
Or the future will rue our today.”
I met a jogger on a lonely run,
Who said— while two metres from me – “people
stroll in the local parks… Near them, in the sun,
Half asleep a couple lies, whose love,
And lack of care, and sneer of selfishness,
Tell of their heedless concern for the rules.
They may yet survive, but might cause lifeless others,
They mock the hands that help them, these fools
And in the history books, these words could appear:
‘My name is not important, my words more so;
Look on society and despair!’
Only lessons remain. Stop the decay
Protect the NHS, care for its kin
Or the future will rue our today.”
Tuesday, 14 April 2020
Commemoration day
Posted by
sblib
at
16:25
Labels:
anxiety,
bluebells,
community,
coronavirus,
Costa Rica,
family,
holiday,
home,
travelling,
uncertainty
2
comments
![]() |
| The Cambridge sky drawer strikes again |
Today would have been my first day back at work after the holiday, the holiday that for many reasons, mostly health but not financial, fortunately didn't happen. It's also the holiday I am mourning as it had been part of my life for almost two years; we'd been planning it ever since we went to Costa Rica to visit my family last time. It's difficult not to think about where we’d have been
each day if the holiday had gone ahead, but everyone was thinking the same,
what would they have been doing if the restrictions weren’t in place. Plus, even if the borders weren't closed the day before we were due to leave, the holiday would have been so different, spent in lockdown with restaurants shut, places closed and beaches forbidden, but at least we would have been together.
![]() |
| Starling on Ditton Meadows |
I have been reminded of it constantly, by us undoing all the bookings, trying to get our money back, in the big pile of things we were going to take out with us, in my niece's recent birthday celebrated virtually rather than in person. It's also in the small things, every time I look at my medications, contact lenses and toiletries I had stockpiled to make sure I had enough, all fortunate now, as well as the haircut I had just before we were due to fly. All have come in useful now we're in lockdown.
![]() |
| Blossom on our Bramley apple tree in our back garden |
However I'm owning this grief and the world is grieving due to tragic bereavement, but also the loss of not being to spend birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, Mother's Day and Easter together, the loss of being able to do what we want, when we want. My grief just happens to be more specific, which actually helps having something to focus it on. The holiday grief I'm experiencing is mostly though in the loss of having something to look forward to. Now everything is uncertain. I'm uncertain when I will see my family again in person, when I can hand over the stack of presents, but also when all this is going to end. Everyone's in the same boat I know, but that knowledge doesn't help.
![]() |
| A heron hunting on the River Cam |
So in the interest of having something to look forward to, I have made plans to commemorate the things that will no longer happen, it will give the grief some closure. For Easter, I rewatched the film Peter Rabbit as we cannot see the sequel yet now. For my birthday, I won't watch Black Widow in the cinema now, instead I will rent the recent film of Emma and watch it at home. When Eurovision, the Wimbledon final, the Olympics and Glastonbury (not that I got tickets) were supposed to happen, I will watch programmes to celebrate them; I have the 2012 London Olympics DVD and I'll watch the triumphant opening ceremony again, our last great national event. I also have the 2008 Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on DVD, so I'll watch that too; I can't say rewatch as I missed some of it; I was on holiday and we had to go out for dinner, but the match was still going, so we went to the restaurant and they kindly let me eat while watching it in the bar: as I remember it my family joined me for the end of the match with their desserts.
![]() |
| The bluebells we planted |
My anxiety disorder thrives on uncertainty, so I need things to look forward, to hang onto, so all this will help for now, it takes me to July at least. I am also writing notes for a blog post about my experiences of this time living with an anxiety disorder, but in the past tense, which gives me hope. On a day-to-day basis, I have my daily nature/Pokemon/exercise walk, my beautiful back garden with its blossoming apple trees and numerous birds, and my birthday bluebells, if we can keep them alive that long! Because this will end, it's the not knowing that's the hardest part. All the photos in this post were taken by me over the Easter bank holiday weekend.
![]() |
| The sky drawer's Easter message + = love |
Thursday, 26 March 2020
The Framework Five - Critical Assessment
Posted by
sblib
at
16:03
Labels:
anxiety,
Cambridge University,
endometriosis,
facebook,
Framework Five,
Information Literacy,
library,
mental health,
social media,
Twitter,
vertigo,
vestibular
0
comments
Summary
Critical assessment takes into account the origin, context and suitability of the information being studied, how it is influenced by not only the creator, but everyone involved in handling and disseminating it. These factors determine the authority and therefore credibility of the source of information, the most important assessment.
Personal
There are some very timely examples of critically assessing information I could use as my example: politics such as "he who I don't like to name" (could be one of two people in power to be honest) and Brexit; healthcare with the coronavirus; science with climate change. However all those are depressing and can be downright scary, especially now it seems the whole world has changed. I prefer not to dwell on them too long and the world of misinformation is massive and complex when it comes to these subjects, so this post would be very long otherwise.
I could be very British and talk about the weather, specifically weather apps as they seem to vary wildly, particularly about whether it will rain. But I'm going to get personal, hopefully not too personal. I have three chronic health conditions, meaning I have to live with them as they are not going to go away: anxiety, a vestibular problem and endometriosis. For two of which, I've had to fight the system for treatment and if I hadn't done my own research, I may not have been diagnosed in the first place. So it's something I feel I can talk about with some passion and authority, something I've proved myself in being adept at critically assessing information, but it wasn't always the way. Doctors can easily dismiss things you've looked up on the internet and don't like self-diagnosis, at least in my experience. When it comes to your health, you know when something is wrong; you know yourself, your body and your symptoms best. So you have to become an expert very quickly and advocate for yourself.
Without going into too much detail, my endometriosis has an "unusual presentation of symptoms" and vestibular conditions are hard to diagnose; you tend to get given the easiest answer and told there's nothing they can do. I have explained my vestibular journey in more detail on my blog before: Bittersweet Victory. Just click on the anxiety tag to see my numerous posts about anxiety, but this one is a good place to start: My Past, Present and Future. The endometriosis is a new thing, even though I've probably been living with it for many years, so I haven't written much about it yet.
In the beginning, I thought healthcare professionals knew best and deferred to them. I didn't ask enough questions, or the right questions, assuming what they were telling me was correct. I always have a problem with figures of authority, quailing in front of them. I should have critically assessed the situation, their situation. I should have taken into account the little time they had, the fact they weren't a specialist in the field and whether they were doing the right tests to critically assess my symptoms to prove their assertions.
When I spoke to a specialist, they said what the previous doctor had told me was wrong. I was sent back and forth, given different diagnoses. When they gave me another diagnosis and told me there was nothing they could do, I researched it and discovered it didn't fit as there was one essential symptom I was missing, cross-checked it on numerous websites, some very academic full of sciencey terms I didn't understand. I looked them up and learned the lingo so I could speak their language when I saw them next to show them I'm serious: I am a mix of stubbornness and curiosity at the best of times and it stood me in good stead. I got a test done off my own back, returned with the results and with irrefutable evidence, they couldn't ignore me. I had to push for treatment and when I found the right person, the person who was willing to listen and didn't just dismiss me, I asked all the questions. I asked what tests they were doing and why, got them to explain the results.
When it came to the second diagnosis of endometriosis, I visited practically every department of the hospital so they could rule everything else out first. I didn't accept what they told me each time, knowing everyone is fallible, even doctors, and pushed for more, knowing what they were saying wasn't right. I critically assessed every person I spoke to, ensuring they had the authority to back up what they were telling me. I quietly defied them and did my research afterwards. They didn't listen to me, so I let them go through the motions, doubting myself. I held my ground, more in desperation than anything else. When they ultimately came up with nothing, that's when they listened to me, they were finally in the right place to listen. I came with a carefully rehearsed speech and proof from an authoritative website. I was proved right and it goes to show, sometimes the authority comes from you and not external sources.
My critical assessment during these medical journeys each took years, comprising the critical assessment of the doctors and specialists themselves, their job titles, specialisms and whether this was just their opinion or they had information to back it up from tests and other sources. I then did my own research, using books, websites and yes, blogs. Blog posts were especially useful for other people's experiences and other avenues to research, some even had links to read and advice. Finally, which leads me to my professional example, I joined a Facebook group for support and shared experience for better understanding of what living with the condition is like.
Professional
In comparison, my professional example will seem downright boring and far less dramatic. It can be fun though as it's about social media. Social media is all about people and individual accounts, on Facebook, Twitter or whichever platform you're using. You can use hashtags and lists all you like, but it still comes down to the individual account. Twitter in particular becomes unwieldy very quickly the more accounts you follow. So now I use Hootsuite (other social media managers are available) to manage it better, and I've created Twitter lists on topics. I can separate social media accounts into three categories: macro, micro and mono.
First there is the macro, an account that covers a lot of people, or sites, such as the UL Twitter account; it may be one library, but it is vast and covers a wide range of collections, not to mention people. Then there is the micro account, one library such as the MMLL Instagram account or Classics library Twitter account. Finally, there is the mono account, one single channel, for one single person, such as my own Twitter account. So you have to take into account who they are representing, the context they are based in and who may be behind the account.
I have curated these streams and lists myself, populating them with people and places I know in real life, so I have critically assessed them in person and know what they are an authority on. Others I know by reputation, such as Orkney Library and know they have built up authority through other's opinions. Lastly, there are the recommended accounts, those accounts I have been referred to by people I trust.
Social media is a great source of information, but you have to know where it's coming from. So even the accounts I have critically assessed and deemed good, I still assess the information they provide. I don't take much notice of retweets unless they have made a comment. Tweets with links and images I can be easily swayed by, especially those with a suitable gif or meme; it makes their tweet or post seem more credible.
Critical assessment is key in social media as there is a lot of misinformation out there, but also it can be a great big echo chamber where you only see the information that follows your cognitive biases, that agrees with you, in more ways than one. So don't surround yourself with people like you, curate your sources wisely.
Themes
Again, my information sources are centred around people: information from doctors and healthcare professionals, and information from individual social media accounts. I assess them by their job, professional knowledge of them and whether I have met them in real life. I feel more confident critically assessing information professionally as there are processes and policies to follow, known authoritative sources and places to use, as well as people to ask. You feel on surer ground.
Critical assessment takes into account the origin, context and suitability of the information being studied, how it is influenced by not only the creator, but everyone involved in handling and disseminating it. These factors determine the authority and therefore credibility of the source of information, the most important assessment.
There are some very timely examples of critically assessing information I could use as my example: politics such as "he who I don't like to name" (could be one of two people in power to be honest) and Brexit; healthcare with the coronavirus; science with climate change. However all those are depressing and can be downright scary, especially now it seems the whole world has changed. I prefer not to dwell on them too long and the world of misinformation is massive and complex when it comes to these subjects, so this post would be very long otherwise.
I could be very British and talk about the weather, specifically weather apps as they seem to vary wildly, particularly about whether it will rain. But I'm going to get personal, hopefully not too personal. I have three chronic health conditions, meaning I have to live with them as they are not going to go away: anxiety, a vestibular problem and endometriosis. For two of which, I've had to fight the system for treatment and if I hadn't done my own research, I may not have been diagnosed in the first place. So it's something I feel I can talk about with some passion and authority, something I've proved myself in being adept at critically assessing information, but it wasn't always the way. Doctors can easily dismiss things you've looked up on the internet and don't like self-diagnosis, at least in my experience. When it comes to your health, you know when something is wrong; you know yourself, your body and your symptoms best. So you have to become an expert very quickly and advocate for yourself.
Without going into too much detail, my endometriosis has an "unusual presentation of symptoms" and vestibular conditions are hard to diagnose; you tend to get given the easiest answer and told there's nothing they can do. I have explained my vestibular journey in more detail on my blog before: Bittersweet Victory. Just click on the anxiety tag to see my numerous posts about anxiety, but this one is a good place to start: My Past, Present and Future. The endometriosis is a new thing, even though I've probably been living with it for many years, so I haven't written much about it yet.
![]() |
| Trust me, I'm a doctor |
In the beginning, I thought healthcare professionals knew best and deferred to them. I didn't ask enough questions, or the right questions, assuming what they were telling me was correct. I always have a problem with figures of authority, quailing in front of them. I should have critically assessed the situation, their situation. I should have taken into account the little time they had, the fact they weren't a specialist in the field and whether they were doing the right tests to critically assess my symptoms to prove their assertions.
When I spoke to a specialist, they said what the previous doctor had told me was wrong. I was sent back and forth, given different diagnoses. When they gave me another diagnosis and told me there was nothing they could do, I researched it and discovered it didn't fit as there was one essential symptom I was missing, cross-checked it on numerous websites, some very academic full of sciencey terms I didn't understand. I looked them up and learned the lingo so I could speak their language when I saw them next to show them I'm serious: I am a mix of stubbornness and curiosity at the best of times and it stood me in good stead. I got a test done off my own back, returned with the results and with irrefutable evidence, they couldn't ignore me. I had to push for treatment and when I found the right person, the person who was willing to listen and didn't just dismiss me, I asked all the questions. I asked what tests they were doing and why, got them to explain the results.
When it came to the second diagnosis of endometriosis, I visited practically every department of the hospital so they could rule everything else out first. I didn't accept what they told me each time, knowing everyone is fallible, even doctors, and pushed for more, knowing what they were saying wasn't right. I critically assessed every person I spoke to, ensuring they had the authority to back up what they were telling me. I quietly defied them and did my research afterwards. They didn't listen to me, so I let them go through the motions, doubting myself. I held my ground, more in desperation than anything else. When they ultimately came up with nothing, that's when they listened to me, they were finally in the right place to listen. I came with a carefully rehearsed speech and proof from an authoritative website. I was proved right and it goes to show, sometimes the authority comes from you and not external sources.
My critical assessment during these medical journeys each took years, comprising the critical assessment of the doctors and specialists themselves, their job titles, specialisms and whether this was just their opinion or they had information to back it up from tests and other sources. I then did my own research, using books, websites and yes, blogs. Blog posts were especially useful for other people's experiences and other avenues to research, some even had links to read and advice. Finally, which leads me to my professional example, I joined a Facebook group for support and shared experience for better understanding of what living with the condition is like.
![]() |
| Capt. Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine |
Professional
In comparison, my professional example will seem downright boring and far less dramatic. It can be fun though as it's about social media. Social media is all about people and individual accounts, on Facebook, Twitter or whichever platform you're using. You can use hashtags and lists all you like, but it still comes down to the individual account. Twitter in particular becomes unwieldy very quickly the more accounts you follow. So now I use Hootsuite (other social media managers are available) to manage it better, and I've created Twitter lists on topics. I can separate social media accounts into three categories: macro, micro and mono.
First there is the macro, an account that covers a lot of people, or sites, such as the UL Twitter account; it may be one library, but it is vast and covers a wide range of collections, not to mention people. Then there is the micro account, one library such as the MMLL Instagram account or Classics library Twitter account. Finally, there is the mono account, one single channel, for one single person, such as my own Twitter account. So you have to take into account who they are representing, the context they are based in and who may be behind the account.
I have curated these streams and lists myself, populating them with people and places I know in real life, so I have critically assessed them in person and know what they are an authority on. Others I know by reputation, such as Orkney Library and know they have built up authority through other's opinions. Lastly, there are the recommended accounts, those accounts I have been referred to by people I trust.
Social media is a great source of information, but you have to know where it's coming from. So even the accounts I have critically assessed and deemed good, I still assess the information they provide. I don't take much notice of retweets unless they have made a comment. Tweets with links and images I can be easily swayed by, especially those with a suitable gif or meme; it makes their tweet or post seem more credible.
![]() |
| The Credible Hulk |
Critical assessment is key in social media as there is a lot of misinformation out there, but also it can be a great big echo chamber where you only see the information that follows your cognitive biases, that agrees with you, in more ways than one. So don't surround yourself with people like you, curate your sources wisely.
Themes
Again, my information sources are centred around people: information from doctors and healthcare professionals, and information from individual social media accounts. I assess them by their job, professional knowledge of them and whether I have met them in real life. I feel more confident critically assessing information professionally as there are processes and policies to follow, known authoritative sources and places to use, as well as people to ask. You feel on surer ground.
Monday, 24 February 2020
The Framework Five - Resource Discovery
Posted by
sblib
at
16:34
Labels:
Brontes,
Cambridge University,
Framework Five,
Google,
Information Literacy,
library,
Samuel Johnson,
Veronica Mars
0
comments
Summary
Learning resource discovery skills encompasses an understanding of a wide range of sources and access options, then finding and evaluating information, understanding the different formats and information types, while having the flexibility to adapt according to how they and the discovery process develops.
Successful searching
I have numerous unsuccessful case studies of research from the 10 years or so working at Cambridge Judge Business School given that the students tended to focus on topics that hadn't been done before for their final projects, or there were very niche group projects for markets that weren't markets yet. Instead we gave them information on related markets or industries.
Fortunately, there are far more case studies to choose from where I was successful, aided by class projects where everyone was researching the same thing, or recurring popular areas of focus such as social media, food or drinks companies and market share data. I could tell you about toilet bowl research guy (more interesting thaan it sounds), the time I had to search for sex toys (careful), diseases in canines (heartbreaking), luxury items (eye-opening) and pet fancy dress (fun).
However there is one that stands out from my time as the designated support librarian for a distant learning course on entrepreneurship because it was a difficult one. To paraphrase a Veronica Mars quote out of context: "No one writes about the ones that come easy."
I won a staff recognition award for my work, largely due to my dogged tenacity in trying to find information; as one of my colleagues said, I don't give up. This time, I almost give up, but I was determined not to leave the student empty handed. The details are vague as it was a long time ago, more than five years ago now! The subject was the equine industry. There was nothing on the databases we subscribe to, nor would there be as they cover broader or more commercial industries. We did eventually get a database that covered more specific industries, but I doubt even that would have had anything. There was nothing on the wider University's resources. I even contemplated contacting the veterinary school, but seeing as though the subject was about transporting horses rather than diseases or injuries, they wouldn't be able to provide any data and the student needed it broken down to numbers being transported by country and region. There were many terms to search by, phrases to use and file formats to find.
Using some smart internet searching (filetype:pdf, site:org and date range), I found a useful website in the ether of the internet, deep in Google search results; never assume the information isn't there if it's not on the first few pages of results. I couldn't provide them with exactly what they needed, but they altered the focus of their research upon discovering the information wasn't out there and I believe their project was the better for it.
Unsuccessful searching
I'm going way back for my case study of unsuccessful searching, back to when I was writing my undergraduate dissertation. However, I didn't want to find anything. That didn't stop me looking extensively though. As I mentioned in the previous case study, sometimes people are looking for a subject that hadn't been done before. Yet I was still surprised to find nothing. Surely I couldn't really have stumbled on a unique topic? My dissertation connected prominent literary figures: Samuel Johnson and the Brontë sisters. There had to be something.
My dissertation was on the search for happiness in the books of Charlotte, Emily and Anne as I found out Charlotte wrote a piece of juvenalia called The Search after Hapiness (sic), which has surprising similarities to Samuel Johnson's Rasselas. I found out immediately that there were no books or articles on the subject, using different combinations of search terms and synonyms. But my topic has few keywords to start with, just the authors' names and their works. I then turned to book chapters. Google Scholar was in its infancy back then, so there might have been more, but I wasn't able to find any reference to them. I've just done a search on the internet and even now, there isn't much, just a few unauthoritative blog posts. Finally, I found one small chapter on the relationship between the Brontës and Samuel Johnson, with a surprisingly cursory mention of Rasselas appearing in Jane Eyre. Luckily, it was in my university library. I did check Copac and Worldcat, as well as other local library catalogues, though it did rely on detailed subject headings, contents and descriptions. I also to my shame checked Amazon when the catalogues failed me to find more information on the book. It all worked out as my dissertation ended up at the Brontë museum at Haworth.
Themes from both case studies
You may not be able to find what you want, but you can find what you need with a little change of focus. Check more than the usual places, go further, think more openly about sources. Resource discovery can be trial and error, don't give up.
Personal vs. professional
When you're looking for other people, for another's research, it adds more pressure. Professionally, I'm more dogged in my support, making sure I've looked everywhere. But that's if I have the time. When you have a student in front of you, sometimes they don't want perfection, they just want the top 5 databases to look at, authoritative or peer-reviewed sources, or just plain good enough. Using Ansley Stuart's tour guide metaphor, librarians don't need to give students all the facts, just the highlights. That helps me feel confident in my work. Personally, I look for perfection in my own research, which shows I'm more insecure. It can even lead me resorting to blogs, forums and social media. It can be time-consuming and exhausting, but thorough!
Reference
Stuart, A. (2019) "Embedded librarianship: the future of libraries." Library Journal, November 19. Available at: https://www.libraryjournal.com/?detailStory=embedded-librarianship-the-future-of-libraries (Accessed: 24 February 2020)
Learning resource discovery skills encompasses an understanding of a wide range of sources and access options, then finding and evaluating information, understanding the different formats and information types, while having the flexibility to adapt according to how they and the discovery process develops.
Successful searching
I have numerous unsuccessful case studies of research from the 10 years or so working at Cambridge Judge Business School given that the students tended to focus on topics that hadn't been done before for their final projects, or there were very niche group projects for markets that weren't markets yet. Instead we gave them information on related markets or industries.
Fortunately, there are far more case studies to choose from where I was successful, aided by class projects where everyone was researching the same thing, or recurring popular areas of focus such as social media, food or drinks companies and market share data. I could tell you about toilet bowl research guy (more interesting thaan it sounds), the time I had to search for sex toys (careful), diseases in canines (heartbreaking), luxury items (eye-opening) and pet fancy dress (fun).
However there is one that stands out from my time as the designated support librarian for a distant learning course on entrepreneurship because it was a difficult one. To paraphrase a Veronica Mars quote out of context: "No one writes about the ones that come easy."
![]() |
| Logan (Jason Dohring) from Veronica Mars |
I won a staff recognition award for my work, largely due to my dogged tenacity in trying to find information; as one of my colleagues said, I don't give up. This time, I almost give up, but I was determined not to leave the student empty handed. The details are vague as it was a long time ago, more than five years ago now! The subject was the equine industry. There was nothing on the databases we subscribe to, nor would there be as they cover broader or more commercial industries. We did eventually get a database that covered more specific industries, but I doubt even that would have had anything. There was nothing on the wider University's resources. I even contemplated contacting the veterinary school, but seeing as though the subject was about transporting horses rather than diseases or injuries, they wouldn't be able to provide any data and the student needed it broken down to numbers being transported by country and region. There were many terms to search by, phrases to use and file formats to find.
![]() |
| The wise Gregory House |
Using some smart internet searching (filetype:pdf, site:org and date range), I found a useful website in the ether of the internet, deep in Google search results; never assume the information isn't there if it's not on the first few pages of results. I couldn't provide them with exactly what they needed, but they altered the focus of their research upon discovering the information wasn't out there and I believe their project was the better for it.
Unsuccessful searching
I'm going way back for my case study of unsuccessful searching, back to when I was writing my undergraduate dissertation. However, I didn't want to find anything. That didn't stop me looking extensively though. As I mentioned in the previous case study, sometimes people are looking for a subject that hadn't been done before. Yet I was still surprised to find nothing. Surely I couldn't really have stumbled on a unique topic? My dissertation connected prominent literary figures: Samuel Johnson and the Brontë sisters. There had to be something.
![]() |
| The Search After Hapiness "little book" manuscript by Charlotte Bronte |
My dissertation was on the search for happiness in the books of Charlotte, Emily and Anne as I found out Charlotte wrote a piece of juvenalia called The Search after Hapiness (sic), which has surprising similarities to Samuel Johnson's Rasselas. I found out immediately that there were no books or articles on the subject, using different combinations of search terms and synonyms. But my topic has few keywords to start with, just the authors' names and their works. I then turned to book chapters. Google Scholar was in its infancy back then, so there might have been more, but I wasn't able to find any reference to them. I've just done a search on the internet and even now, there isn't much, just a few unauthoritative blog posts. Finally, I found one small chapter on the relationship between the Brontës and Samuel Johnson, with a surprisingly cursory mention of Rasselas appearing in Jane Eyre. Luckily, it was in my university library. I did check Copac and Worldcat, as well as other local library catalogues, though it did rely on detailed subject headings, contents and descriptions. I also to my shame checked Amazon when the catalogues failed me to find more information on the book. It all worked out as my dissertation ended up at the Brontë museum at Haworth.
Themes from both case studies
You may not be able to find what you want, but you can find what you need with a little change of focus. Check more than the usual places, go further, think more openly about sources. Resource discovery can be trial and error, don't give up.
![]() |
| "Never give up, never surrender" Enrico Colantoni, from Galaxy Quest |
Personal vs. professional
When you're looking for other people, for another's research, it adds more pressure. Professionally, I'm more dogged in my support, making sure I've looked everywhere. But that's if I have the time. When you have a student in front of you, sometimes they don't want perfection, they just want the top 5 databases to look at, authoritative or peer-reviewed sources, or just plain good enough. Using Ansley Stuart's tour guide metaphor, librarians don't need to give students all the facts, just the highlights. That helps me feel confident in my work. Personally, I look for perfection in my own research, which shows I'm more insecure. It can even lead me resorting to blogs, forums and social media. It can be time-consuming and exhausting, but thorough!
Reference
Stuart, A. (2019) "Embedded librarianship: the future of libraries." Library Journal, November 19. Available at: https://www.libraryjournal.com/?detailStory=embedded-librarianship-the-future-of-libraries (Accessed: 24 February 2020)
Friday, 14 February 2020
The Framework Five - Information Literacy regarding ebooks
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Information Literacy,
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From the post and the other readings, I've realised how much information literacy is a part of my life. Knowing the people behind Framework Five and who are likely to be creating the posts and tasks, where those people have come from and where they are now, I know how much authority lies behind it all. Looking at the CILIP definition of information literacy and seeing familiar names such as Emman Coonan and Jane Secker listed as authors, I know how much passion and experience has gone into it. Reading the article about firefighters has made me acknowledge how much of an information literate at heart I am, recognising myself in the author's definition. I rely on people to provide me with information rather than in print or electronically; I go to my brother for technological expertise and advice; I go to my Dad for help with fixing things; I go to my friend Chris for Doctor Who trivia. I suppose that is the simplest form of information literacy, knowing the knowledge and experience of others!
"It allows us to account for the actions and influences of others as information sources and to recognize the importance of accessing information from non-textual sources which give access to embodied or cultural sites of knowledge." p. 84, Lloyd (2005).
The most everyday form of information literacy is when other people ask you to help them, when they ask you questions about something. From what people tell me I'm the most knowledgeable about, I should write about ebooks for this task; I guess you could call me fluent in ebooks. It's not a natural language to learn and frustrating at times in its inconsistency, but it's a language I became fluent in out of necessity. I have written about ebooks before, many times: for academic purposes, for published articles and for work, and so I will again. If you're interested in reading those articles, they're on my LinkedIn page; five years old, the platforms have changed and some of the names, but the articles are unfortunately still very relevant.
I think very critically about ebooks, so when I'm about to make a purchase, I take many things into consideration. I know ebooks are usually complementary to the printed book, unless a distance learner has requested the book and can't get hold of the physical book. It's about finding the balance between print and electronic books, having enough to cover the class or to serve the purpose, such as reading a chapter instead of the entire text. Several factors play a part in defining ebook fluency. My ebook information literacy is informed by years of experience, across multiple libraries, developing a rounded view of ebooks from the supplier, buyer and user perspectives.
You need to take into account the subject of the book and the publisher, as it increases efficiency in the task; I know which possible platform to go to first. I search by shortened title and author in case of changes according to edition. When I find what I'm looking for, I then have to understand the terminology of the ebook model and preferred format as they differ between suppliers, hence the inconsistency. Then I need to know who to send what to so it goes up on the catalogue for everyone to find.
Buying ebooks isn't the only part of this task. I both learned and shared my knowledge via the excellent community of librarians, imparting that knowledge to my team and other colleagues and presented it to peers: you can find the presentation, where the images in this post come from, on Slideshare. In the beginning, it was the legend Sarah Stamford who set me on the right path and then the amazing Jayne Kelly helped me continue my knowledge, encouraging and supporting me in maintaining and developing my fluency.
At first, at least for me, it was just one ebook supplier and then the task developed as new suppliers, platforms and models were brought in. It forced my fluency to adapt as it made the task longer and more complicated, so my information literacy had to develop, as well the need to advise others. I helped users to find, navigate and use ebooks yes, but I also wrote a series of posts to inform others about the state of the ebook industry and my experience as a librarian, along with the views of others. I ran sessions to teach others how to order ebooks and some of the FAQs and issues around them. Disappointingly, it turned into more of a checklist to follow, so I was keen to stress that this is the way I've done it, but find the way that works for you. That is true information literacy, being influenced by others, while also becoming literate enough to make it your own, not only finding, assessing and managing information, but also communicating it and becoming influential yourself.
The ebook landscape is a (hopefully) constantly developing area and the need to keep track of the changes is essential, most recently in terms of accessibility and DRM-free ebooks. It is necessary to anticipate the needs of others and where it will go in the future. My information literacy will have to evolve along with it. So once you have achieved fluency in a certain subject, skill or task, it doesn't mean it will always be that way. Complacency is the enemy to information literacy.
Reference
Lloyd, A. (2005) “Information Literacy: Different Contexts, Different Concepts, Different Truths?” Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 37(2): pp. 82–88. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000605055355. (Accessed: 13 February 2020).
"It allows us to account for the actions and influences of others as information sources and to recognize the importance of accessing information from non-textual sources which give access to embodied or cultural sites of knowledge." p. 84, Lloyd (2005).
The most everyday form of information literacy is when other people ask you to help them, when they ask you questions about something. From what people tell me I'm the most knowledgeable about, I should write about ebooks for this task; I guess you could call me fluent in ebooks. It's not a natural language to learn and frustrating at times in its inconsistency, but it's a language I became fluent in out of necessity. I have written about ebooks before, many times: for academic purposes, for published articles and for work, and so I will again. If you're interested in reading those articles, they're on my LinkedIn page; five years old, the platforms have changed and some of the names, but the articles are unfortunately still very relevant.
![]() |
| The very wise Lao Tzu, my mantra for life |
You need to take into account the subject of the book and the publisher, as it increases efficiency in the task; I know which possible platform to go to first. I search by shortened title and author in case of changes according to edition. When I find what I'm looking for, I then have to understand the terminology of the ebook model and preferred format as they differ between suppliers, hence the inconsistency. Then I need to know who to send what to so it goes up on the catalogue for everyone to find.
Buying ebooks isn't the only part of this task. I both learned and shared my knowledge via the excellent community of librarians, imparting that knowledge to my team and other colleagues and presented it to peers: you can find the presentation, where the images in this post come from, on Slideshare. In the beginning, it was the legend Sarah Stamford who set me on the right path and then the amazing Jayne Kelly helped me continue my knowledge, encouraging and supporting me in maintaining and developing my fluency.
![]() |
| The ebook landscape is an inundated one |
The ebook landscape is a (hopefully) constantly developing area and the need to keep track of the changes is essential, most recently in terms of accessibility and DRM-free ebooks. It is necessary to anticipate the needs of others and where it will go in the future. My information literacy will have to evolve along with it. So once you have achieved fluency in a certain subject, skill or task, it doesn't mean it will always be that way. Complacency is the enemy to information literacy.
![]() |
Lloyd, A. (2005) “Information Literacy: Different Contexts, Different Concepts, Different Truths?” Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 37(2): pp. 82–88. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000605055355. (Accessed: 13 February 2020).
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