By Lauren Smith (Research Associate, University of Strathclyde) at MMIT 2015

1. Lauren Smith | @walkyouhome
Using Social Media to Address
Professional Issues in LIS

2. An ‘individual’ perspective on
social media rather than
institutional use of social media

3. What I Do…
• Research Associate, School of Education, The University of
Strathclyde:
Researching the efficacy of interventions for access to higher
education for young people
• Doctoral Researcher, Department of Computer and
Information Sciences, The University of Strathclyde:
Researching young people’s experiences of political
information and the role of critical information literacy in
supporting political agency
• Independent Researcher, CILIP ILG Research Bursary:
Researching Scottish school librarians’ experiences of
supporting pupils’ information needs during the Scottish
Independence Referendum and General Election

4. On Social Media…
• Library advocacy
• Discussing LIS issues
• Tweeting for SLIC
• Source of information
• Being a general pain
• Knitting/sewing
• Cats

5. Ethical Principles
• Concern for the public good
• Commitment to intellectual freedom
• Commitment to access to information
• Promoting equal opportunities and human rights
• Equitable treatment of users
• Commitment to professional development

6. Library advocacy
is an issue of the
public good

7. Voices for the Library
• Launched website in September 2010
• Founders met on Twitter
• Supported by CILIP, Unison, The Reading Agency
• Initial sponsorship from Credo Reference,
ExLibris, Encyclopaedia Britannica
• www.voicesforthelibrary.org.uk
• @VftL_UK

8. Voices for the Library aims to provide the
facts about the public library service and the
role of professional librarians in the UK, and
to provide a space for library users to share
their stories about the difference public
libraries have made to their lives.

9. We also aim to support and provide a
platform for the many public library
campaigns that have sprung up across the
country in defence of the public library
service. We aim to provide a link to these
campaigns and to draw attention to some of
the battles that are being fought.

10. Options for Local Authorities
• Closures
• Volunteers
• Privatising / outsourcing
• Trusts
• “Efficiencies”
• Cuts to opening hours
• Sometimes connected to broader policy,
sometimes reactionary

11. We use social media…
• To crowdsource our manifesto
• To publicise our site, opinion pieces etc.
• Communicate with campaigners
• Communicate with the press
• Offer a point of contact
• Raise awareness of campaigns and events
• To crowdfund projects like Library A to Z

12. Materials can be downloaded
from the
Library A to Z website,
including:
• Illustrations
• Book (print and e-book)
• Greetings cards
• Posters - editable Adobe
Illustrator files and sample
PDF files
Download the materials from
Dropbox.
The illustrations are also
available on Flickr.

13. Questioning LIS
practice and policy is
necessary for the public
good

14. Radical Librarians Collective
• Talking about:
– LIS qualifications
– Professional divide
– Communicating with users
– Equity of access
– User experience
– Critical pedagogy
– Gender issues
– Users as ‘customers’

15. Radical Librarians Collective aims to offer a
space to challenge, to provoke, to improve
and develop the communications between
like-minded radicals, to galvanise our
collective solidarity against the marketisation
of libraries and the removal of our agency to
our working worlds and beyond.

16. Radical Librarians Collective is not owned
by a single group or individual. It is not
centrally run by committee. Anyone can
host or organise a Radical Librarians
Collective event (provided it reflects the
concerns expressed above) and anyone
can contribute to the ongoing discussions.

17. • Annual gatherings
• Regional groups
• Journal of Radical Librarianship
• Radical research
• Cataloguing parties
• Cryptoparties
• #radlibchat
• @RadicalLibs

18. #radlibchat
#radlibchat is a monthly online chat about an
article or research paper relevant to the
principles upon which Radical Librarians
Collective operates. Articles will be Open
Access only to ensure everyone can engage
whilst also showing support for the Open
Access model.

19. Collaborative Work
• Radical research - #critlib research interest
matchmaking and #radlibs
• Co-authoring journal articles
• Sharing practical experiences and advice
• Keeping up to date with relevant events
internationally

20. • Co-authored journal article with Kevin Sanders
and Stuart Lawson
• Collaborated online for planning and writing
• Written in Google Docs
• Published Open Access
Lawson, S, Sanders, K, Smith, L. (2015). Commodification of the Information
Profession: A Critique of Higher Education Under Neoliberalism. Journal of
Librarianship and Scholarly Communication 3(1):eP1182.
http://dx.doi.org/10.7710/2162-3309.1182

21. Filtering in Libraries
• Standardised packages
• Often controlled by central IT
• Theoretically possible to remove
• Complicated policies
• Prevents access to information
• Blocked content includes LGBTQ information

22. FoI Requests
• To all the local authorities in the UK
(using WhatDoTheyKnow)
• Asking them:
– What filtering software they use
– How much it costs
– What categories/sites it blocks
– What policies are in place for people to request access
– How often people have requested access

23. Initial Results
• Most authorities use filtering software
• Most (!) were happy to release information
• It’s usually whatever the council uses
• Filters are pre-determined
• People usually have to make specific
requests to IT for unblocking
• Few people ask for that
• Data not held about how many times sites
have been blocked

24. Digital privacy is an
issue of intellectual
freedom

25. Library Freedom Project
• Directed by Alison Macrina (@flexlibris)
• Privacy toolkit for librarians
• Online privacy classes
• Digital Rights in Libraries Conference (DRIL)
• Tor exit relays in libraries

26. Privacy-protecting browser plugins
• Disconnect: blocks malware and tracking
• AdBlock Plus: blocks tracking, malware
domains, banners, pop-ups and video ads
• HTTPS Everywhere: browser extension that
encrypts communications
• Privacy Badger: blocks spying ads and invisible
trackers

27. Tor is a service that helps you to protect your
anonymity while using the Internet. Tor is
comprised of two parts: software you
can download that allows you to use the
Internet anonymously, and the volunteer
network of computers that makes it possible
for that software to work.
Tor

28. An exit relay is the final relay that Tor traffic
passes through before it reaches its destination.
Exit relays advertise their presence to the entire
Tor network, so they can be used by any Tor users.
Because Tor traffic exits through these relays, the
IP address of the exit relay is interpreted as the
source of the traffic. If a malicious user employs
the Tor network to do something that might be
objectionable or illegal, the exit relay may take the
blame. People who run exit relays should be
prepared to deal with complaints, copyright
takedown notices, and the possibility that their
servers may attract the attention of law
enforcement agencies.

29. Literacy is an issue of
human rights

30. Literacies and Pedagogy
Information
literacy
Media
literacy
Digital
literacy

31. Literacies and Pedagogy
• Hybrid Pedagogy blog and twitter @HybridPed
• #s from education and LIS conferences
• Thinking about digital pedagogy, implications
of new technology, rationale behind engaging
with it

32. Supporting our
colleagues is an issue of
solidarity

33. My Network
Image from NodeXL

34. Online Professional Networks
• Geographically dispersed
– Internationally as well as nationally
• Limited budgets
– Keeping up with conferences and events online
• Niche expertise
– Finding those few people into your stuff too!

35. Social media is being used for…
• Sharing information
• Engaging in discussions
• Forming opinions
• Making unheard voices heard
• Collaboration
• Upholding professional ethics

36. Thank You!