By Liz King and Raymond Pun 

Raymond Pun recently spoke with Liz King, the Humanities Librarian at Alkek Library in Texas State University. Liz shares her techniques for connecting information literacy to things they do every day, how she overcomes misconceptions about the nature of research in the humanities field, and which resources she leans on when designing instruction.

Data literacy is defined as the ability to read, interpret, understand and create data as information. We’ve written a blog post on how to teach data literacy using Credo including tips and assignments to engage with your students. A great resource for delving even deeper is the new open access publication, Creating Data Literate Students  (2017) edited by Kristin Fontichiaro, Jo Angela Oehrli, and Amy Lennex.

By Ann Matsushima Chiu and Raymond Pun

Zines are fascinating primary sources for self-expression, creativity, engagement, and research. They are self-published work that often include a variety of texts and images on any topic such as health, literature, activism, science fiction, and many more. Providing useful perspectives, some are written by marginalized voices not often included or cited in scholarly resources. By encouraging readers to visualize and reconsider topics, zines can help people reflect upon their own experiences and the experiences of others. Many libraries have added zines into their collection, with some even organizing zine-events where participants can create their own zines. In this interview, Librarian Ann Matsushima Chiu shares her experiences supporting zines in library instruction and programming.

By Lisa Campbell and Raymond Pun

In this interview, FYE correspondent Ray Pun speaks with Lisa Campbell, an academic librarian at the University of Florida, about her work supporting first year students. Lisa talks about collaborating with student support programs such as AIM and PODEMOS, and discusses her strategy for overcoming the challenges of providing instruction at an institution with such a large student population.

The International Federation of Libraries and Associations (IFLA) World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) 2018 just ended last week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Over 3500 attendees came to this year’s conference in Malaysia. Participants came from all over the world including Myanmar, Brazil, New Zealand, Serbia, Sierra Leone, and Spain, and the topics of discussion ranged from scholarly communication to sustainability to linked data.

By Christal Young and Raymond Pun

FYE Correspondent Ray Pun spoke recently with Christal Young of USC Libraries about her work supporting first year experience programs through a number of creative activities and engagements. In this interview Christal shares her thoughts on the importance of the library’s role in facilitating connections for students who are new to campus through many interactions and services including a virtual hub.

Last week, I attended the 5th annual LILi Conference held at the Glendale Public Library in California. The theme was, “It’s Not Just Academic: Bridging Gaps with Information Empowerment in All Libraries” and explored information literacy services and programs provided by different libraries including public, academic, school, and others.

If you’re looking for creative ways to prep for your upcoming library instruction, consider checking out Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers (2018) by Mike Caulfield, director of blended and networked learning at Washington State University Vancouver and head of the Digital Polarization Initiative of the American Democracy Project. From fact-checking Wikipedia, to finding original sources of a viral social media post, to identifying owners/creators of websites, this open access publication makes for a great starting point when teaching research techniques.

Looking for a good book to read during the summer? Here are some recent publications in the LIS field that might get you thinking of new practices, theories, and services to consider for your academic community in the fall!

Last week, the San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) brought together comic art and graphic novel fans, illustrators, artists, gamers, celebrities, educators, and librarians. Numerous events and seminars across the San Diego Convention Center and the San Diego Central Library (SDCL) covered diverse topics ranging from “Designing the Costumes of Wakanda” to “A Crash Course to European Comics.” This conference provided a great opportunity for librarians seeking to learn more about the latest publications, trends, and scholarly works on comic research.