free the information! – Information Wants To Be Free

It’s not about information literacy: Why people’s risk calculus around COVID has changed

Image credit: Willet on the Beach by Korall inWikimedia Commons I’ve been doing so much thinking, reading, and writing on social media about COVID that I was honestly surprised to…

instruction librarianship libraries online education screencasting Work

Out of sight, out of mind? prioritizing support of online learners

It’s been eighteen years and I can’t believe this is still an issue. In 2005, I started my first professional library job as a distance learning librarian. At the time,…

Conspiracy theory meme from the show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

free the information! librarianship management Work

So I’m a conspiracy theorist now? A call for retraction

I know a lot of librarians get mad about poorly informed articles about libraries all the time. It's rare that I ever really get truly angry about an article. I…

free the information! Higher Ed instruction librarianship online education reference Work

Making Customizable Interactive Tutorials with Google Forms

Please note that the copies of these tutorials have not been updated since 2020 and Google Forms has many new features that have come out since then. In September, I…

intellectual freedom librarianship libraries

When libraries and librarians pretend to be neutral, they often cause harm

Two recent events made me think (again) about the toxic nature of "library neutrality" and the fact that, more often than not, neutrality is whiteness/patriarchy/cis-heteronormativity/ableism/etc. parading around as neutrality and…

ALA free the information! intellectual freedom librarianship libraries

Whose rights matter more?

My dad recently shared with me a book, written by a distant cousin who is a professor in Israel, about her grandmother's immigrant experience and her relatives. Her grandmother just…

ALA free the information! intellectual freedom librarianship libraries open access our digital future

Holding to our values during difficult times

I write a lot in my American Libraries column about library values, particularly those around access and privacy. My latest column (Jan/Feb 17), which should be out soon online just…

ALA free the information! instruction librarianship libraries online education open access

Is the Framework Elitist? Is ACRL?

Many of you who read my blog already know that I came to librarianship from social work, where I was a child and family psychotherapist. As a therapist, one of…

free the information! librarianship speaking

Appreciate your speakers

I have been very fortunate to address librarians nationally and internationally as a speaker. I love sharing my ideas, experiences, and things I’ve learned and meeting other librarians. I have…

about me career free the information! job search librarianship libraries library school management Work

Should the horrible first job search be seen as a rite-of-passage?

I felt really sad when I read Kyle Shockey's post on the Librarian Burnout blog about feeling burnout after library school and being in the midst of the job hunt.…

ALA free the information! intellectual freedom librarianship libraries management open access

The Next Librarian of Congress?

Late last week, I received an email from the culture editor at the New Republic about writing an article on the next Librarian of Congress. It was the first offer…

library school online education our digital future tech trends

Are online MLIS degree-holders “less than?”

When I graduated from library school, I worried about anti-online-degree bias. I worried that people would think my degree was somehow "less than" because I'd done it fully online. I…

assessment community college libraries community colleges free the information! instruction librarianship libraries open access

You could learn a lot from us: community college librarians at ACRL

ACRL was ridiculously amazing this year. I feel energized, affirmed, and hopeful (and completely exhausted and sick since it ended). The programming was so high-quality and relevant that, in most…

free the information! open access

Read your contract: Being OA isn’t enough

So, I missed writing this for Open Access Week, or Fair Use Week, or Open Education Week, but I think these are topics that we should be focusing on every day…

assessment free the information! instruction librarianship libraries

Framework? Standards? I’m keeping it local.

I'm sure most of you have already heard that the ACRL Board has decided to adopt the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. What I think is more interesting…

free the information! instruction librarianship libraries

Peer learning in library instruction

Teaching is such a solitary thing. Sure, you're up in front of a bunch of students, and maybe an instructor if you're doing course-integrated instruction, but the act still feels…

assessment free the information! instruction knowledge management librarianship libraries our digital future research speaking

Reflections on library assessment and the Library Assessment Conference

I wanted to write about the Library Assessment Conference as soon as I returned, but unfortunately, life got in the way. I got barely a week and a half before…

free the information! libraries

Is your big deal a good deal?

We've all suspected it. We've all talked about it. Some have even written and spoken at conferences about it. But now we have hard evidence that there is incredible variation…

It’s not about information literacy: Why people’s risk calculus around COVID has changed

Out of sight, out of mind? prioritizing support of online learners

So I’m a conspiracy theorist now? A call for retraction

Making Customizable Interactive Tutorials with Google Forms

When libraries and librarians pretend to be neutral, they often cause harm

Whose rights matter more?

Holding to our values during difficult times

Is the Framework Elitist? Is ACRL?

Appreciate your speakers

Should the horrible first job search be seen as a rite-of-passage?

The Next Librarian of Congress?

Are online MLIS degree-holders “less than?”

You could learn a lot from us: community college librarians at ACRL

Read your contract: Being OA isn’t enough

Framework? Standards? I’m keeping it local.

Peer learning in library instruction

Reflections on library assessment and the Library Assessment Conference

Is your big deal a good deal?

It’s not about information literacy: Why people’s risk calculus around COVID has changed

On 20 Years of Blogging at Information Wants to be Free

A review of Information Literacy and Social Media by Santamaría and Pfannenstiel

Community Time and Enoughness: The heart of slow librarianship