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De Brun - LILAC: the view from a first-timer

The author attended the LILAC conference for the first time and was surprised by the passion and excitement of the attendees in their subject area. She felt proud to be part of the library profession as colleagues from around the world enthusiastically shared experiences and learned from each other. The author attended several sessions that provided useful ideas, such as using tablets to deliver library services, evaluating reading lists, and ways to collaborate with faculty to embed information literacy in university programs. She was inspired by keynote speakers who emphasized showing the value of information literacy, understanding health conditions, and the need for students to read and write to develop lifelong learning skills. The author found LILAC to be a full and inspirational event for any librarian involved

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LILAC Conference•Information Literacy•
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LILAC: the view from a first‐timer  Caroline De Brún MA DipLIS MCLIP  Clinical Support Librarian, University College of London  Research student, Coventry University    Although I have attended many conferences, LILAC caught me by surprise. The passion, the  excitement, the belief in their subject area, was exquisite. I have never been to a professional  conference which was quite so energised and yet, comfortably informal. I felt so proud to be a part  of this profession, where colleagues from all continents and sectors, enthusiastically gathered  together to share their experiences, network, and learn.  I attended the following parallel sessions:  The roving librarian: keep taking the tablets, described how they used tablets to deliver library  services in their university. This was really relevant to my current role as we are investigating how  we can use tablets to deliver information skills to health professionals and medical students, and  they shared a useful comparison of the iPad (Apple) with the Asus Eee Pad (Android).  Reading lists – time for a reality check? was a project where the authors analysed what was on  reading lists to see how accurate and relevant they were, and, as a result changed the design to  make them more user‐friendly. This session made me realise how vital librarian liaison with faculty is  for improving the overall student experience.  Librarians and the teaching identity and “Real deal” information literacy were delivered by an  American librarian, who focused on how to improve teaching and shared good ideas, such as the  professional book club that that they have set up, where they spend work time reading professional  books and then discussing how they can put their learning into practice. I thought this was a very  manageable way to apply the evidence to improving practice.  IL for research supervisors, suggested ways to raise awareness of library services, including  “Mingling Mondays” where librarians go to places where supervisors meet, a great idea, because  then you can teach them in surroundings they are familiar with.  Embedded IL University programmes, described a successful collaborative model between faculty  and librarians in Sweden, where academic directors review the whole curriculum before deciding  where information literacy should be embedded.  Does it make any difference? was about a project to evaluate existing training sessions in a Swedish  University, using focus groups between students, faculty, and librarians, with a view to making  practical improvements.  Workforce information literacy was about the changing needs of librarians working in community  colleges in America, which deliver library services to 18‐20 year olds, and now, because of the  economic situation, older adults who are having to re‐train. 
Information literacy in the workplace facilitated an interesting discussion on the phrase  “information literacy”, suggesting an alternative, ‐ i‐capability – and found that terminology might  need to vary for different sectors. This is particularly pertinent in the health sector, where we use  the phrase “information skills training” instead, as “information literacy”, may not be positively  received by qualified health professionals.  In addition to the parallel sessions, there were some amazing keynote speakers. In order of  presentation, Megan Oakleaf, who talked about how to collect the evidence to show the value of  information literacy – my main learning point from Megan, was that if you are tired at the end of the  session, then you are doing too much, and your students are not doing enough. Next, Lord Puttnam,  who made the valuable point that no matter how much you fund the NHS, unless people manage to  understand their conditions and their treatment programmes, the funding won’t make a difference.  And our final keynote speaker, Tara Brabazon, who presented about information obesity and digital  detox. Tara’s presentation was so logical and brave, asking us to insist that students read and write,  because otherwise they won’t develop the necessary information literacy skills for life‐long learning.  LILAC was full‐on from the moment it started to the time we got our packed lunch and were sent  home, with ideas buzzing in our brains, and new colleagues from all around the world with whom to  share experiences. It is a really inspirational event for any librarian who is involved in teaching  information skills.  Caroline De Brún was sponsored to attend LILAC by the CILIP CSG Information Literacy Group.