Digital Equity at LibLearnX 2023

Coming up Jan. 19-22, ALA’s LibLearnX is happening in Baltimore!

There’s a great slate of sessions, speakers, and vendors lined up. Here are some scheduled items of particular note for digital inclusion practitioners.

Saturday, Jan. 20

10:20am-10:50am	ChatGPT is a Liar and other Lessons Learned from Information Literacy Instructors
Ideas Xchange	Wondering where generative artificial intelligence (AI) fits in information literacy instruction? This session will share findings from a recent survey of library professionals on how they are already teaching about and using AI powered ChatGPT in information literacy instruction and where they see potential opportunities and areas of concern. As we explore the topic we will cover issues ranging from what generative AI is and is not, “hallucinated” information, deep fakes, misinformation, biased training data, documenting use of AI, privacy, copyright and costs.
1:00pm-2:00pm	Using Federal Funds to Move from Digital Equity Plans to Implementation
Learning Lab	The federal government is making historic investments in advancing digital equity, literacy, and inclusion so every American can affordably access and successfully use high-speed internet access to achieve their economic, educational, and social goals. Learn how your library can benefit from these historic federal investments and how you can leverage federal, state, and local funding to support your library’s and community’s digital inclusion goals.
1:00pm-4:00pm	How to Navigate Privacy Issues Involving Youth and Technology
Accelerator	Children and teens may come to your library to play games on a library X-box, do homework on a school-issued Chromebook, or record TikToks on their smartphone. How do you navigate the privacy issues that inevitably arise when child and teen patrons engage with technology? This interactive accelerator session walks participants through a privacy literacy toolkit designed to help librarians navigate privacy issues and model for children and teens what it means to engage with technology in socially appropriate ways.
2:30pm-3:30pm	Building a Digital Equity Strategy from the Ground Up
Learning Lab	Successful digital equity initiatives require long-term strategy and vision combined with on-the-ground flexibility and agility. Our library staff has leveraged the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), Long Term Device Lending programs, and technology education to address the digital divide in our communities. Faced with the familiar chicken-egg conundrum of tackling digital equity and teaching digital literacy to those who are the least equipped for both, learn how our library combined old-fashioned outreach with emerging technology solutions to address the issues we are hearing about from our branches and our customers.
4:00pm-5:00pm	Chatbot-based Learning Activities Mapped to ACRL’s “Searching as Strategic Exploration” Frame Knowledge Practice
Learning Lab	This train the trainer program incorporates new advances in generative AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, into a database searching skills workshop setting. The activities in this program take place in the ChatGPT environment, and do not require any previous database searching experience. While broadly geared towards information seekers reviewing literature in health fields, participants will be able to modify and adapt the example prompts to meet the needs of information seekers at their home institution.

Sunday, Jan. 21

10:00am-11:00am	Upholding Trans Patron Privacy & Information Access
Learning Lab	Drawing from the expertise of the Intellectual Freedom Committee’s Privacy Subcommittee and the Rainbow Roundtable, this session will empower you and your institution to be more effective library workers and allies. This presentation will include small group brainstorming, innovative anti-surveillance programming and service ideas, and relevant example scenarios to get attendees discussing and networking.
12:15pm-12:45pm	Libraries as a Resource Hub: How the Nashville Helps Website Connects Patrons to Providers
Ideas Xchange	The Adult Literacy Department at Nashville Public Library developed a one-stop-shop for helping Adult Learners overcome barriers keeping them from being lifelong learners. Nashville Helps is a quick collection for providing help to members of Davidson County in need of housing, healthcare, childcare, tutoring services, access to food pantries, adult learning classes, U.S. Citizenship, and so much more.
1:00pm-2:00pm	Stronger Together: A Summary of Priorities and Best Practices from National Heritage Month EDI Symposiums
Learning Lab	As part of our longstanding commitment to ALA’s affirmation of EDI through the Library Bill of Rights, the San Jose State University School of Information will share two years’ worth of library EDI best practices gathered through our free online heritage month symposia featuring leaders throughout the LIS field.
2:00pm-5:00pm	You Had Me at Hello! Renovating Libraries for Inclusion
Accelerator	How do you renovate a library for the missing patron – the patron whose needs are not met by the current space? Whether that’s a student with special needs, an immigrant, a working parent, a disabled senior or a freelancer, there are some people in every community who have space needs that your current library doesn’t satisfy.
2:45pm-3:45pm	Digital Inclusion: The New Core Service
Learning Lab	Digital inclusion has always been part of library services; now it’s time to embrace it as core to our missions. This session provides a 4 step process to devise actionable services for a digitally equitable future. Resources provided in the workbook include a cheat sheet for broadband jargon and acronyms, strategic questions for cutting through highly technical conversations and staying focused on patron services, and a find-and-replace vocabulary tool to help you maximize buy-in from partisan groups.
4:00pm-5:00pm	Circulating Roku Devices with Premium Subscriptions
Learning Lab	As more films and television shows bypass physical release and are made available only through streaming services, libraries need to find ways to get their patrons the content they’re demanding. By circulating Roku devices pre-signed in to specific premium streaming platforms, specifically Acorn TV, Apple TV+, BET+, Discovery+, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Paramount+, Peacock Premium, and Prime Video, libraries can bring this much hyped content to their communities.
4:00pm-5:00pm	Navigating AI in Education through a K-12 Librarian’s Lens
Learning Lab	AI will not only enable students to become more informed and become responsible users of technology, but also more effective creators of technology content. Librarians in this session will engage in meaningful dialogue and learn from other librarians who are paving the way to support educators in their schools in using AI technology that advances lifelong learning while meeting the diverse learning, cultural, and social-emotional needs of individual students.

Monday, Jan. 22

9:45am-10:15am	Using Machine Learning Technology to Make Unique Collections More Accessible
Ideas Xchange	Learn about the Library of Congress’s experimental and ongoing project to test and compare three widely used and economical handwritten text recognition (HTR) tools for converting 1 million minimally descriptive handwritten folder labels into machine-readable text. Three machine learning API services are described and compared, as well as potential implications for large-scale transformation of handwritten metadata into fully searchable, machine-readable text will be explored.
10:00am-10:20am	Empowering Future Scholars Through High School Information Literacy Workshops in Academic Libraries
ShopTalk	At a time when calls to remove books from school libraries abound, academic libraries can serve as vital sanctuaries for students to explore diverse materials and viewpoints, all while having a blast. Familiarizing students with college-level research tools early on can ensure a smooth transition to college and a successful first year. Attendees will learn how to create a student-centered experience that not only imparts essential information literacy skills but also leaves students feeling like they’ve had the full college experience in just half a day.
10:30am-11:00am	Teaching about Bias and Trust in a Politically Charged Environment
Ideas Xchange	In this interactive session, hear how librarians at three libraries used evidence-based strategies to help students recognize bias in media sources, while also instilling trust in reliable, fact-based institutions. The presenters will share their strategies and perspectives for teaching these important skills in a state where the political landscape leans heavily toward a single political party.

To see the full schedule, visit https://2024.alaliblearnx.org/.

See you there!