Paul Jewell

Australia’s public libraries are thriving as the cost of living rises. We can’t afford to lose them A new report shows that visits to Australian public libraries are up 10% – though funding is down. They provide everything from books and internet to help with CVs.

'Libraries are nothing less than our secret weapon in the war against ignorance and isolation.'

Lovely piece on the important value well-resourced libraries have for community connections, digital literacy and social cohesion.

theconversation.com/australias-p...

#Libraries #Literacy #SocialGood

Viva la Revolution! Taking our knowledge back

It's still #OpenAccessWeek and a great session tomorrow looking at who owns and controls research, scholarly publishing and our communal knowledge @oaaustralasia.bsky.social

oaaustralasia.org/open-access-...

#OpenAccess #Research #Libraries #Knowledge

Why Libraries Matter More Than Ever:

In challenging times of book bans and #GenAI when information literacy & critical thinking are essential libraries play a vital role in supporting communities
Recording via @sydney.edu.au

www.library.sydney.edu.au/about/news/r...

#Libraries #InfoLit #Knowledge

The Project Information Literacy Archive Project Information Literacy (PIL) was a nonprofit research institute based in the San Francisco Bay Area that published a series of 14 open-access research reports between 2008 – 2025, before closing...

I was also very grateful to work with Alison last year to arrange PIL Tour 2024 a speaking tour across four Australian cities showcasing the latest PIL research How Information Worlds Shape Our Response to Climate Change.
projectinfolit.org/publications...
#PILTour #InfoLit #Libraries

PIL was a nonprofit helping librarians & educators understand how students engage with info. Their research inspired my teaching & shaped my info literacy practice. I’ve used PIL reports for years to improve library instruction. #InfoLit #Libraries #PIL

The Project Information Literacy Archive Project Information Literacy (PIL) was a nonprofit research institute based in the San Francisco Bay Area that published a series of 14 open-access research reports between 2008 – 2025, before closing...

Project Information Literacy (PIL) Farewell:

With deep regret I share that #PIL will end as an active #research institute in 2025.

Founder Alison Head said “The primary reason is that funding has become increasingly difficult to secure.”

PIL reports here projectinfolit.org
#InfoLit #Libraries

Always Carry A Book

#Books #Libraries

Two students in a school library

About time we reignite 🚀 Friday Library Quiz:

1. Can you guess which new series this Library appears in?

Bonus point: Which British city is the school library set in?

#FridayLibQuiz #Libraries

ChatGPT's Impact On Our Brains According to an MIT Study The study, from MIT Lab scholars, measured the brain activity of subjects writing SAT essays with and without ChatGPT.

Librarians and educators: focusing on critical thinking skills will be at the forefront of future Gen AI Literacy for students and citizens.

ChatGPT May Be Eroding Critical Thinking Skills, According to a New MIT Study

time.com/7295195/ai-c...

#GenAI #HigherEducation #Libraries #CriticalThinking

Information Warriors, Unite | American Libraries Magazine As we saw with the executive order calling for the elimination of IMLS, libraries—and everything we value—are under attack.

Core values of libraries and society:

Information Warriors, Unite
Librarians must continue to uphold, protect, and defend democracy

americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2025/05/01/i...

#Libraries #FreedomofSpeech #InformationAccess

Trump abruptly fires librarian of Congress in latest purge of government Carla Hayden, first woman and first African American to hold post, dismissed in terse email on Thursday night

Look out next they'll be burning the books!

#Libraries

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

‘Libraries & archives embracing indigenous ways of knowing: bringing a social justice lens to build reciprocal relationships, truth telling, emotional wellbeing & care to transform the colonial project.’

Awesome insights from @kirstenthorpe.bsky.social #IndigenousLibrarianship
#Libraries #CritLib

It's International Workers Day ✊

Solidarity to all our Library and Book Workers

#MayDay #Libraries

Trump-style book censorship is spreading – just ask British librarians | Alison Hicks UK school librarians are also coming under pressure to remove books from their shelves, says Alison Hicks, associate professor in library and information studies at UCL

Book banning and bracing our communities:

‘In this age of digital exposure and misinformation, librarians play a more vital role than ever.’

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Thanks @alisonhicks0.bsky.social

#bookbans #misinformation #libraries

Long Shot kinda day

#Pioneers #Trojan

Open Education Advocacy and Action:
Awesome talk by Dave Ernst from @openednetwork.bsky.social on the OER journey and strategies for librarians engaging with educators.
And great role play with @ashthelibrarian.bsky.social
#OERCollective #Libraries #OpenAccess #OpenTextBooks

LARK logo and details of webinar: Connections and Collaborations in Public Libraries: LIS Research on wednesday April 9, 1-2pm

Librarians 📣
Join in this special #LARK webinar event looking at library practice-based research:
Connections and Collaborations in Public Libraries: LIS Research with @kayoddone.bsky.social & @drjanegarner.bsky.social
lark.alia.org.au/event/webina...
@larkollektive.bsky.social
#Libraries #Research

Cover of book Open Education Down Under

Open Education DownUndOER:
Great collection of case studies showcasing #OpenEducationalPractice
#OpenTextBooks
#OpenAccess
#OpenPedagogy
Thanks @ashthelibrarian.bsky.social and CAUL team

Critical workplace information literacy Laying the groundwork for a new construct, by Dijana Šobota (Vol.17, No.1). [Critical IL Special Issue]

journals.cilip.org.uk/jil/article/...

#InfoLit #CritLib

Participation, Practice, and Publications: Fifty Years of Information Literacy Research and Activity in Australia 2024 marks fifty years since Paul Zurkowski, P. [(1974). The information service environment relationships and priorities. (Related Paper No. 5). National Commission on Libraries and Information Sc...

Great overview of #InformationLiteracy practice & research in Australia from the last 50 years:
New ways of adapting and delivering IL instruction for librarians and educators.
Nice mention of #PILTour2024 thanks @thorpeclare.bsky.social
#Libraries #InfoLit
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Fun time at work this week filming the latest instalments for video series Critical Thinking for Study and Workplace.
Nice partnership with library, teachers, tech team & awesome industry partners.
Can’t wait to share with academics & students to support their teaching and learning.
#LibraryLife

‘In the City there’s a thousand things I want to say to you’

The Jam were & still are 1 of my fav bands. At 15 their music helped me survive suburban adolescence & into a glorious world of bands, fashion & subcultures.

Been reminiscing & playing a lot of Jam vinyl this week.

#RIPRick #TheJam

Drawing of a librarian reading from a book next to the poem 'my heart will not be shushed' I fell for a librarian I asked her to be mine I said 'my love for you is overdue' and she said Fine

'My heart will not be shushed'

Explore, cherish and celebrate your local library today

#LibraryLoversDay poem by Henry Normal

Library workers: see this fab starter pack for LIS research and researchers
#Libraries #Research #LARK

It’s official: Research has found that libraries make everything better. Science has backed up what many of us have long been saying: the library rocks. A study from the New York Public Library surveyed 1,974 users on how the library makes them feel and how it affects t…

The Library Rocks!

“It offers us hope that we can do something, that we can make a change, that we can advance”

lithub.com/its-official...

#Libraries #SocialGood

Cover of open university report with title A Framework for the Learning and Teaching of Critical AI Literacy

Gen AI and refining our 'iterative interactions'
Great report to assist educators & librarians supporting students & citizens #AILiteracy

A framework for the Learning and Teaching of Critical AI Literacy skills
via @openuniversity.bsky.social
about.open.ac.uk/sites/about....

#InfoLit #Libraries

The Information Literacy Starter Pack Join the conversation

Want more Information Literacy in your Bluesky feed?

We have made The Information Literacy Starter Pack, created by and for Information Literacy practitioners, professionals, and peers.

If you would like to be added to the starter pack, just let us know!

go.bsky.app/5nU6Qyq

Fist nations march on Gadigal country (Sydney)

Solidarity on survival day

#GadigalCountry

Running list of library related Starter Packs on Bluesky I joined Twitter 13 years ago and it was a fantastic window to global librarianship and over the years I connected with so many great people and ideas. Anyway you all know the sad story about how T…

Building a big buddy Bluesky library community:

Great collection of starter packs with library folk to follow

christianlauersen.net/2024/11/17/r...

Cheers @clauersen.bsky.social
#Libraries

Me and the kid holding our surfboards on Duesbury beach

Dog catching ball on a beach at sunset

Narooma beach and glasshouse rock formations

Toy library on Narooma beach

‘Standing on the headland
Taking in the scene’
Sunsets, sand, surf, seaside towns and south coast secrets:

Having a lovely week away with the family and pup Asha in beautiful Yuin country Dalmeny.

Even found a Library on the beach!
#LibraryLife #Holidays