ILI’s practical workshops this year focus on improving web search skills; understanding the latest developments in scholarly communication; and learning how to edit Wikipedia. All workshops take place on Monday 17 October 2016 at Olympia Conference Centre, London.
WebSearch Academy 2016
Led by Karen Blakeman, Phil Bradley and Marydee Ojala
Changes in web search threaten the ability of information professionals to deliver relevant and reliable results. WebSearch Academy aims to help delegates stay on top of their game by distinguishing themselves from run-of-the-mill searchers. Attendees will discover how to find hidden information, learn what's new and different in the major search engines, and gain tips and techniques directly relevant to their users and library environment.
WebSearch Academy's three leaders will examine what’s new and different in major search engines like Google, Bing and Yandex, as well as investigating how other, lesser-known, search engines can benefit professional researchers. Coverage includes finding hidden information, determining the legitimacy of information on the web, using social media for serious research and protecting your privacy. Other topics include audio and visual search, research using mobile devices, open access, government data and teaching techniques.
101 innovations in scholarly communication - re-designing research support services
Led by Bianca Kramer and Jeroen Bosman of Utrecht University Library, The Netherlands
Every week, we hear of new websites and tools that are designed to support scholarly communication in all phases of the research workflow. Confronted with such rapid changes and developments, how can libraries and librarians keep up to date while expanding and improving the services they provide to researchers?
This workshop takes the research workflow as a starting point, and explores how researchers work is affected by the supply and demand of new tools. In 2015-16 the workshop leaders undertook a global survey of more than 20,000 participants, exploring the tools that are being used in 17 key research activities.
Libraries can use the results of this survey to support licensing decisions, (re)consider tools practiced in information literacy classes, prepare for talks with groups of faculty/PhD-students/ postdocs, see how research practices in their institution compare with national and global trends, and find out their patrons’ stance towards Open Access, Open Science and developments in scholarly communication in general. Above all, they can show that as a library, they want to think with researchers, not for them.
The workshop will explore new tools and services available to researchers, the extent to which researchers (in various disciplines, career stages and countries) actually use these tools, and what this can mean for the way libraries shape research support services.
Wikipedia for newbies
Led by Helen Lane and Stephenie Futch, Fashion Institute of Technology, USA
Wikipedia claims to be the 'free encyclopedia that anyone can edit' but the truth is far more complex than this tagline suggests. The fact is that not all articles are freely editable and not all editors are successful in getting their edits accepted. This workshop is designed for people with little to no experience in editing Wikipedia and will detail best practices in becoming a successful member of the community of Wikipedians.
Topics and hands-on activities will include Wikipedia etiquette, Wikipedia mark-up basics, Setting up your user page, talk and user talk pages, and Wikipedia projects and groups.
By the end of the workshop, attendees will have an understanding of the inner workings of the Wikipedia community. They will also have a newlycreated Wikipedia account and some experience making minor edits to articles including creating citations, uploading images, and using templates.
Workshops take place on Monday 17 October 2016 at Olympia Conference Centre, London. Workshops can be combined with a full conference registration or booked separately. More information here.