Update, 9/4/15: Please see a write-up of the session in “ACRL in San Francisco: ACRL Programs at the ALA Annual Conference” in College & Research Libraries News, September 2015.
Are you headed to ALA Annual in San Francisco?
We’re participating in a session organized by ACRL’s Arts Section, Framing and Enhancing Visual Literacy: Using the New ACRL Framework to Develop Effective Art Instruction, Saturday, June 27, 2015, 1:00-2:30, Moscone Convention Center 3006 W.
Hope to see you there!
The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative recently released “7 Things You Should Know About Visual Literacy.” As usual, the brief is a jargon-free overview of the topic as it relates to teaching and learning. It’s worth reading, and provides fodder for conversations with colleagues and faculty. If you’re short on time, here are the high points from each of the “7 Things:”
Spring conference season is upon us. If you’re making the rounds, check out these events of interest to visual literacy scholars and practitioners at VRA, ARLIS, and ACRL:
Visual Resources Association Annual Conference, Denver, March 11-15, 2015:
Following the popular Visual Literacy Case Studies session that premiered at the 2012 annual conference and continued in 2013, this session follows that same purpose while expanding the definition of “visual literacy”. As background, a term first coined in 1969, visual literacy “is a set of abilities that enables an individual to effectively find, interpret, evaluate, use, and create images and visual media. Visual literacy skills equip a learner to understand and analyze the contextual, cultural, ethical, aesthetic, intellectual, and technical components involved in the production and use of visual materials. A visually literate individual is both a critical consumer of visual media and a competent contributor to a body of shared knowledge and culture” (Association of College and Research Libraries, “Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education). This year’s projects include re-imagining one of the nation’s largest postcard collections through creative instruction design, an exhibition of faith-based photography that poses difficult challenges to viewer interpretation, and two projects in the UK to encourage first-year art student research in areas outside their usual subject areas and an effort to have diverse faculty introduce images into their teaching, practice, and research.
Visual Literacy (Part 2) & Visualization
Methodological approaches to teaching and applying visual literacy have evolved exponentially in recent years, with discussions around image interpretation rapidly expanding to address new and more diverse challenges, audiences, and technological innovations. The implementation of measurement tools and standards is, at best, a moving target, requiring inventive and fluid strategies. Visual literacy teaching and use practices bridge new disciplines, from Anthropology and Sociology to Physics and Biology. This rapidly changing landscape has further invigorated the dialog and generated exciting advances.
This session aims to shed light on both hurdles and innovations to visual literacy. There will be three approaches to visual literacy as it appears in very different environments, but each presentation seeks to establish meaningful ways to analyze varied components of visual materials based on specific audiences. The director of the Visual Arts Data Service at the University for the Creative Arts will present research on data management practice as applied to the visual arts. A researcher and archivist will explain how a visual information retrieval system could be implemented in archives, and how it differs from text-based searching. A collaborative team from Lewis & Clark, a small liberal arts college, will discuss case studies from a number of visual literacy workshops designed for different disciplines and levels.
Art Libraries Association of North America Annual Conference, Fort Worth, March 19-23, 2015:
The President’s Choice session will present the Code of Best Practices published by the College Art Association in February 2015. This publication presents a clear set of guidelines about the responsible use of copyrighted materials by identifying instances in which the doctrine of fair use may be applied. The ARLIS/NA President and the Public Policy Committee Chair will welcome distinguished guests: Peter Jaszi, the principal author of the Code and a leading authority on copyright and fair use along withAnne Collins Goodyear and Maxwell L. Anderson, two other leading proponents of fair use in the museum community. A Q&A will follow the presentations.
Association of College and Research Libraries National Conference, Portland, March 25-28, 2015:
Visual LIteracy Synthesized: A Content Analysis of Syllabi to Build a Better Visual Literacy Course
This paper and presentation will propose a master syllabus template for visual literacy courses for the purpose of sharing best practices with fellow librarians and educators to use in their own curriculum development. It will include recommended readings, activities, assignments, software, rubrics, and other relevant materials. Current pedagogical practices in the field of visual literacy will be discussed, and audience feedback and discussion will be welcomed.
When the Question Means More than the Answer: Facilitating Inquiry to Improve Research
At the heart of every good research project is a question worth answering. In this session, we will discuss three frameworks librarians can employ to help students cultivate meaningful research questions: PICO, a strategy used in evidence-based practice; guided inquiry, used to identify prior knowledge and gaps in understanding; and concept mapping, used to help students visually identify connections between ideas. Attendees will leave with practical ideas they can incorporate into their own classrooms.
We know that inclusive design helps users traditionally defined as disabled, but we often overlook how it enhances learning for all users. In order to highlight the importance of visual and inclusive design in online pedagogy, we will discuss our experience drawing on principles of inclusive design to create a digital learning tool. This presentation will highlight elements of inclusive and visual design crucial to increasing both accessibility and learning in online instructional materials.
The International Visual Literacy Association (IVLA) will be devoting an upcoming issue of the Journal of Visual Literacy to the ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Please consider submitting a proposal! Deadline is March 20, 2015
From IVLA:
The Journal of Visual Literacy (JVL) invites manuscripts for an analysis of the 2011 ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education The Association of College and Research Libraries is a division of the American Library Association. We recognize there are other visual literacy standards developed by different organizations in higher education. We seek manuscripts that explore empirical, theoretical, research, practical, or applied aspects of visual literacy for library and information science and services and visual literacy standards developed by other disciplines. With the proliferation of visual information, research has indicated that the need to incorporate visual literacy into the curriculum of higher education is one of the most pressing tasks. ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education recognizes this need and invites educators, scholars, researchers, information professionals, and students to engage visual literacy in higher education. Scholarly research contribution to the JVL enhances the implementation of visual literacy standards in the curriculum, research, and learning for a lifelong learning journey.
JVL reflects the eclectic nature of the membership of the International Visual Literacy Association (IVLA) and publishes articles on a wide variety of topics on visual literacy. JVL is a refereed, scholarly journal that provides an open forum in which researchers and practitioners can explore the evolving field of visual literacy.
The ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education highlight the academic librarian’s role in visual literacy, but important questions remain unanswered. How do librarians implement the Standards? How do they engage with visual literacy? And where do they even begin?
The VLTF is tackling these questions and more in a forthcoming book tentatively titled Visual Literacy for Libraries: A Practical, Standards Based Guide, to be published by ALA Editions. We’ll share proven approaches for applying, teaching, and promoting visual literacy in a library context. Our goal is to provide readers with the tools, strategies, and confidence to apply visual literacy to their work.
We will go beyond introducing librarians to the basics of visual literacy. From techniques to make instruction more engaging, to tools for increasing personal confidence while working with images, we will show how to integrate visual literacy concepts into professional practice.
Stay tuned for developments on this exciting project!
Are you headed to ALA in Las Vegas? Check out the Image Resources Interest Group (IRIG)’s program and meeting on Saturday, June 28, 1:00-2:30, Las Vegas Convention Center, Room N101. Lots on the agenda for those of us interested in images and visual literacy! VLTF members Ann Medaille and Nicole E. Brown will be on hand to provide updates and answer any questions about the Visual Literacy Standards.
Image Resources Interest Group (IRIG) Meeting Agenda – Las Vegas, June 28
Please join us for the ACRL IRIG Meeting on Saturday, June 28 from 1-2:30 pm in Las Vegas.The meeting will take place in the Las Vegas Convention Center in Room N101.
The session will begin with lightning round talks from the following presenters:
Courtney Baron, University of Georgia
“Institutional Repositories: Powerful Tools to Preserve MFA Work”
Nicole LaMoreaux, LIM College
“Beneath the Fold: The Value of Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) Archive and Vogue Archive within an Academic Library”
Ann Medaille, University of Nevada, Reno
“Learning Visual Literacy Skills through Digital Story Creation”
Stephen Patton, Indiana State University
“MDID or Don’t”
Jenna Rinalducci, George Mason University
“Tactile Texts: Transforming Artist Books for the Online Environment”
Tiffany Saulter, Indiana University Bloomington
“Image as Record: The Zine Collection at the Fine Arts Library”
Krista White, Rutgers University
“Digital Imaging Specifications and the Management of Digital Storage Needs”
Following the presentations, members of the Visual Literacy Task Force will provide an update on the Visual Literacy Standards.
Questions? Contact
Kristina Keogh
Convener, Image Resources Interest Group
Head, Fine Arts Library
Indiana University, Bloomington
1133 E. 7th St.
Bloomington, IN 47405
812.855.5743
LIRT’s Top Twenty Instruction Articles for 2013 is out, and we’re honored to report our article, “Visual literacy Standards in Higher Education: New Opportunities for Libraries and Student Learning” is on the list. Thank you to the selection committee for this recognition!
Amanda H. Brown, Barbara Losoff, and Deborah R. Hollis shared ways to incorporate visual literacy instruction into science classes in a recent article that they wrote for portal: Libraries and the Academy: “Science Instruction Through the Visual Arts in Special Collections.” The authors demonstrated how to creatively use scientific images from Special Collections to teach skills related to defining and articulating the need for images (Visual Literacy Standard 1) and interpreting and analyzing images (Visual Literacy Standard 3).
VLTF members recently contributed to ACRL’s Keeping Up With… series with a brief on Visual Literacy. Check it out here!
On April 4, Nicole E. Brown presented “Teaching Research With Images: Integrating Visual & Information Literacy,” as part of a panel session, Eyes Opened: Visual Resources for Visual Literacy at the The 2013 Visual Resource Association’s Annual Conference in Providence, Rhode Island. Slides are available here.
ACRL Visual Literacy Standards 