Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe and explore the current state of internet regulation through content filters in Swedish public libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

Data was collected through an electronic survey directed to library managers of Sweden’s 290 main municipal libraries. 164 answers were returned, yielding a 57% response rate. The analysis comprises descriptive statistics for quantitative data and an activity theory approach with focus on contradictions for qualitative counterparts.

Findings

In total, 33% of the responding libraries report having content filters; 50% have not; and a surprising 18% do not know. There is a strong correlation between internet misuse and positive attitudes towards filters, and, reversely, between lack of misuse and lack of active stances concerning filters. Rather than seeing this as weakness, the authors suggest that there is strength in a context-bound flexibility open to practical experience and weighting of values, ethics, legislation and local circumstances. More troublesome indications concern the high deferral of decision-making to local authorities (municipalities) whereby libraries are left with limited insight and influence.

Research limitations/implications

The situation calls for professional organisations to address political mandate questions, and educational programs to strengthen future information professionals’ knowledge of IT in general; filter issues in specific; and local authority decision-making. The study highlights the need of adequate information professional competences and mandates to decide on and oversee internet regulation.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first internationally published study on content filters in Swedish public libraries.

Information literacy research is growing in importance but has been critiqued for remaining focused on practical topics of interest and attainment approaches to practice. Prior attempts to conceptualise information literacy have also often taken place without a comprehensive understanding of the ontological or epistemological foundations of theoretical work. The aim of this panel is to critically examine theory development and use within information literacy research through discussing the ways in which understandings of information literacy, including how it happens and how it shapes social life, are both enabled and constrained through critical, sociomaterial and discursive theoretical approaches. Providing a space to discuss and reflect on the impact of theory on information literacy scholarship, this panel creates a focal point for researchers, practitioners and students interested in the constructionand advancement of conceptually rich information literacy research and practice.

The Local Information Working Group (LIWG) of Thailand’s provincial university libraries holds main responsibility for digitising Thai local information (LI), a resource that shares many characteristics with what in other contexts is described as Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK). This study therefore explores how the digitisation activities of the LIWG correlate with claims of culturally responsive and responsible ILK representation, and how this work can be understood through the perspective of Bhabha’s Third Space. The study is based on interviews with 23 LIWG members, collected in 2016–2017. A guided, qualitative content analysis focused on uncovering themes of digitisation tools and methods with Third Space relevance as supporting or hindering essentialism, fixity and hybridity in LI representations. The findings illustrate that whereas the digitisation itself, field studies, language choices and outreach activities offer certain Third Space potential, this is underdeveloped and largely circumstantial. Third Space potentials are further likely to be restricted or hindered by uneven distribution of internet access, digital literacy, standard Thai proficiency and university/academic library accessibility among the Thai public in general and LI holders in particular. Overall, marginalised groups are excluded, and LI holders are positioned as passive contributors and recipients of digitised LI, suggesting a reversed sort of ‘self-essentialism’ on behalf of the dominant culture. In conclusion, two aspects in particular require further attention for libraries engaging with digitisation of ILK types of resources: the inclusion of national, societal level participation into participatory approaches; and the incorporation of functionalities for user interaction, holistic knowledge representation, multiple languages and cultural protocols into ICT for representation and use. The study provides a unique application of Third Space as analytical perspective on library digitisation of LI/ILK types of resources. Methodologically, the study is case specific, limited to a cross-section in time, and to data from interview accounts of LIWG members.

Local information (LI) in Thailand covers resources related to Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK), and cultural heritage. Thailand’s provincial universities have the national responsibility of digitising LI, enforced through the Provincial University Library Network’s (PULINET’s) Local Information Working Group (LIWG). The aim of this study is to explore how the LIWG’s digitisation activities contribute to the shaping of LI as national concern and resource. Empirical data come from interviews with 23 LIWG professionals in 2016–2017. A qualitative content analysis is performed within an overall activity theory framework with emphasis on overt and unobtrosive manifestations of contradictions through a combination of Engeström’s and Blackler’s typologies. The results show that primary contradictions exist in the form of incompatible conceptions of LI between individual group members and the group’s consensus-oriented LI definition. Secondary contradictions emerge as incongruences between group members’ general conceptions of LI, and specific digitisation activities of the LIWG. In general, LI is conceptualised as dynamic, situated, collective, culture-nature integrated resources with strong applied-use value, in line with international ILK definitions and agendas. The actual LIWG activities, however, circumscribe this conception through a restricted focus on formal regional delimitations; prominent objects; societally desirable expressions; and an academic/research framing. Overall, the findings illustrate that the LIWG’s activities contribute to shape LI as a tool for national social and cultural unity that exclude marginalised groups and societally undesirable LI expressions. In these activities, the primary and secondary types of contradictions are hidden and counteracted, rather than used as constructive opportunities for learning, change, and development. The study provides a unique, internationally framed, perspective on LI and related digitisation activities in Thailand. Methodologically, the study is case specific, limited to a cross-section in time and to data from interview accounts of LIWG members.

Template for the Swedish national survey questionnaire directed to long-COVID / post-COVID sufferers in Swedish Facebook groups. The survey comprises questions on demographics, background factors, symptoms and changes over time, health impacts, information needs and practices, and validated scales for rating certain symptoms. The survey was produced for the research project CiLC-S - Crowdsourcing Long-COVID Sweden, and conducted in 2021. The survey is designed for anonymous participation and open digital methods distribution through social media and web channels.

We describe in this extended abstract the emergent, multi-disciplinary research project CiLC-S – Crowdsourcing Long COVID Sweden. The information science related part of the project aims to explore i) information needs and strategies of persons afflicted by long term health problems after a COVID-19 infection, and ii) alternative digital methods for inclusive, safe and efficient data collection for research and social response in the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this presentation is to introduce the project and share some early ethical and methodological experiences as a foundation for discussions of current and future possibilities for information science research to respond to individual and societal information needs in the COVID-19 pandemic and similar large-scale social crises through innovative research questions and data collection methods.

Purpose: Representations of time are commonly used to construct narratives in visualisations of data. However, since time is a value-laden concept, and no representation can provide a full, objective account of “temporal reality”, they are also biased and political: reproducing and reinforcing certain views and values at the expense of alternative ones. This conceptual paper aims to explore expressions of temporal bias and politics in data visualisation, along with possibly mitigating user approaches and design strategies. Design/methodology/approach: This study presents a theoretical framework rooted in a sociotechnical view of representations as biased and political, combined with perspectives from critical literacy, radical literacy and critical design. The framework provides a basis for discussion of various types and effects of temporal bias in visualisation. Empirical examples from previous research and public resources illustrate the arguments. Findings: Four types of political effects of temporal bias in visualisations are presented, expressed as limitation of view, disregard of variation, oppression of social groups and misrepresentation of topic and suggest that appropriate critical and radical literacy approaches require users and designers to critique, contextualise, counter and cross beyond expressions of the same. Supporting critical design strategies involve the inclusion of multiple datasets and representations; broad access to flexible tools; and inclusive participation of marginalised groups. Originality/value: The paper draws attention to a vital, yet little researched problem of temporal representation in visualisations of data. It offers a pioneering bridging of critical literacy, radical literacy and critical design and emphasises mutual rather than contradictory interests of the empirical sciences and humanities. © 2021, Veronica Johansson and Jörgen Stenlund.

Purpose The article introduces selected theoretical approaches to time and temporality relevant to the field of library and information science, and it briefly introduces the papers gathered in this special issue. A number of issues that could potentially be followed in future research are presented. Design/methodology/approach The authors review a selection of theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of time that originate in or are of particular relevance to library and information science. Four main themes are identified: (1) information as object in temporal perspectives; (2) time and information as tools of power and control; (3) time in society; and (4) experiencing and practicing time. Findings The paper advocates a thorough engagement with how time and temporality shape notions of information more broadly. This includes, for example, paying attention to how various dimensions of the late-modern time regime of acceleration feed into the ways in which information is operationalised, how information work is commodified, and how hierarchies of information are established; paying attention to the changing temporal dynamics that networked information systems imply for our understanding of documents or of memory institutions; or how external events such as social and natural crises quickly alter modes, speed, and forms of data production and use, in areas as diverse as information practices, policy, management, representation, and organisation, amongst others. Originality/value By foregrounding temporal perspectives in library and information science, the authors advocate dialogue with important perspectives on time that come from other fields. Rather than just including such perspectives in library and information science, however, the authors find that the focus on information and documents that the library and information science field contributes has great potential to advance the understanding of how notions and experiences of time shape late-modern societies and individuals.

This report presents the work of a European Commission Expert Group established to advise on specific ethical issues raised by driverless mobility for road transport. The report aims to promote a safe and responsible transition to connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) by supporting stakeholders in the systematic inclusion of ethical considerations in the development and regulation of CAVs.

In the past few years, ethical questions associated with connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) have been the subject of academic and public scrutiny. A common narrative presents the development of CAVs as something that will inevitably benefit society by reducing the number of road fatalities and harmful emissions from transport and by improving the accessibility of mobility services. In contrast, this report applies a Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) approach to CAVs. This approach recognises the potential of CAV technology to deliver the aforementioned benefits but also recognises that technological progress alone is not sufficient to realise this potential.

To deliver the desired results, the future vision for CAVs ought to incorporate a broader set of ethical, legal and societal considerations into the development, deployment and use of CAVs. To this end, this report presents a set of 20 ethical recommendations concerning the future development and use of CAVs. These recommendations are grounded in the fundamental ethical and legal principles laid down in the EU Treaties and in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Rapporten Skyddsvärden i vågskålen: Internet på folkbibliotek -– ideologi, juridik och praktik beskriver aktuella förutsättningar och strategier för tillhandahållande och användning av internet i svenska folkbibliotek. Rapporten bygger på en nationellt heltäckande enkät till samtliga huvudbibliotek i svenska kommuner samt ett mindre antal intervjuer med tillhörande dokumentstudie. Undersökningen har i synnerhet aktualiserats av två viktiga juridiska förändringar under 2018: inrättandet av EU:s allmänna dataskyddsförordning (GDPR) som svensk lag, samt ett tillägg i offentlighets- och sekretesslagen om utökning av tidigare bibliotekssekretess för uppgifter om lån och reservation till att även inkludera uppgifter om användares användning av informationsteknik. Studiens resultat sätts in i aktuellt biblioteksideologiskt och juridiskt sammanhang genom en omfattande litteraturstudie. Rapporten innehåller även bidrag från jurist Jonas Holm och presenterar därigenom direkta svar på specifika biblioteksjuridiska problem och oklarheter som framkommer i undersökningen, liksom en övergripande juridisk kommentar till de svåra tolkningar och gränsdragningar som uppstår i mötet mellan bibliotekets verksamhet, uppdrag och reglerande lagstiftning avseende tillhandahållande och användning av internet. Undersökningens resultat visar att användningen av internetfilter förefaller ha ökat med cirka 20 % under de senaste 20 åren, och att biblioteken i relativt stor utsträckning är utelämnade åt kommunens it-avdelningar för viktiga beslut om formerna för tillhandahållande av internet. Samtidigt framkommer att bibliotekens huvudsakliga kompetens och medvetna strategier för reglering av internet och skydd av användarnas integritet alltjämt till största delen handlar om det som syns och kan åtgärdas i det fysiska biblioteksrummet. Dessa båda tendenser samverkar till att transparensen för vad som gäller avseende villkor för internetanvändning och personuppgiftsbehandling vid tillhandahållande och användning av internet i biblioteket är mycket låg för såväl biblioteken själva som dess användare. Bristen på nationell samordning och tydliga riktlinjer för ansvarsfördelning samt formella plattformar för samverkan mellan kommun/it-avdelning och bibliotek utgör hinder för insyn, större ansvarstagande och medvetna åtgärder. Som slutsatser förordas i rapporten ökad utbildning för bibliotekarier och studenter i biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap i frågor om internet, intellektuell frihet och personlig integritet (informationsteknik och digital kompetens, datakompetens samt kritisk kompetens); ett ökat ansvarstagande från bibliotekens sida vad gäller användarutbildningar i motsvarande frågor; politisk lobbying från biblioteksrepresentanters sida för att säkra medvetenhet om bibliotekens uppdrag och vikten av tillhandahållande även av internet, samt för upprättande av likvärdiga villkor för insyn 12 och medbestämmande i kommuners och it-avdelningars besluts- och hanteringsmandat avseende internetfrågor; ökat stöd till och insatser i forskning om och utveckling av transparenta och pedagogiska gränssnitt och andra verktyg som synliggör struktur och villkor bakom internetrelaterade tjänster och verktyg för användare; samt stöd för utveckling av tydliga integritetspolicyer och användarregler för internetanknutna system och tjänster i biblioteket.

På uppdrag av ledningen vid Institutionen för biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap, Högskolan i Borås, genomfördes hösten 2017 intervjuer med femton strategiskt valda professionsföreträdare för en undersökning om efterfrågade kompetenser idag och trender framöver för webbrelaterade yrken. Resultatet är ämnat att ligga till grund för professionsanpassning och utveckling av nuvarande webbredaktörprogram vid samma lärosäte. Intervjuutsagorna analyserades med en blandning av kvantitativt och kvalitativt orienterad innehållsanalys för att komma åt såväl trender och tendenser som variationer i och motiv för deltagarnas åsikter. Analysen visar på fem huvudsakliga tendenser. Den främsta av dessa är att de mest efterfrågade kompetenserna kan sammanfattas i termer av ”strategiska” och handlar om att kunna se helheter, kopplingar mellan och flöden över olika plattformar, enheter och tjänster i ett större sammanhang, med stor tonvikt på kunskaper om dataanalys och marketing/marknadsföring. Den andra tendensen är att webben och relaterade kunskaper inte längre anses som möjliga eller önskvärda att skilja från andra kompetenser och arbetsuppgifter. Så kallade webbkompetenser kommer istället i ökande grad att ingå som naturliga delar i de flesta arbetsuppgifter och tjänster och tydligare renodling av plattformsöverskridande kompetenser inriktade på content (innehåll), design, utveckling respektive strategi förebådas. Som en tredje och särskilt tydlig fortsättning av föregående tendens framstår uppfattningen att ”renodlat” tekniska kompetenser i form av kodning och programmering har och kommer att fortsätta att särskiljas från övriga arbetsuppgifter i särskilt utmärkande grad. De sista två tendenserna är mindre tydliga, men bekräftar de tidigare: dels att strategiska kompetenser värderas högt, och att webben inte längre bör särskiljas från andra delar i en verksamhet vad gäller kompetenser och arbetsuppgifter; dels att en första utbildningsbas i form av en bred och teoretisk högskoleutbildning, tillsammans med efterföljande spetsutbildningar ”in-house” på företag eller via yrkeshögskola/kvalificerad yrkesutbildning ses som goda förutsättningar för framtida yrkesverksamma i fältet.

Introduction. This paper argues for a reconceptualisation of critical literacy into critical literacies as a merger of respective strengths in two traditions: the elaborate politicised conceptions of critical in associated literacy traditions, and the attention to situated enactments of meaning expressed in literacies approaches. 

Method. Firstly, a selective conceptual review forms basis for the reconceptualisation of critical literacies. Secondly, this reconceptualisation is used to reinterpret a small convenience sample of information practices studies. 

Analysis. Information practices studies are re-interpreted with particular attention to two main aspects of the critical literacies reconceptualisation in terms of evaluative and transformative enactments of meaning. 

Results. The individual studies analysed can be reinterpreted as also describing critical literacies although, due to their alternative framings, not naming them as such and merely comprising a limited range of possible aspects. 

Conclusion. Focus on situated enactments of critical literacy (critical literacies) can provide a topical addition to the analytical focus and explanatory realm of information practices studies. These studies in turn can help further explore the critical literacies concept and formulate relations between normative definitions and local practices. This requires, however, explicit and comprehensive attention to critical literacies beyond and across sites, tools and users in new ways.

The aim of this study is to analyse mutual enactments of critical literacies and social visualisation tools as information resources. The central concept of critical literacies as used here extends and redefines prior critical literacy definitions to denote the pluralistic situated enactments of meaning through which study participants identify, question and transform bias, restrictions and power related aspects of access, control and use in relation to the tools. The study is based on two critical ethnography inspired case studies involving observations, interviews, and contextual inquiry and located in professional settings. Case 1 is centred on how a geographic information system (MapInfo) is used for analysing and preventing traffic accidents. Case 2 is centred on how a dynamic time series animating chart (Trendalyzer) is used for analysing and spreading knowledge about the world’s development. The results demonstrate co-existing critical literacies described in terms of three main directionalities as reactive, proactive, and adaptive, of which the adaptive varieties seem thus far largely overlooked. On the basis of these findings, it is suggested that dominant cognitivist and positivist narratives of visualisations should be replaced with more nuanced alternatives that emphasise the potentials of visualisation tools as evocative and non-blackboxed information resources; i.e., as encouraging new questions and allowing alternative analyses, rather than constructing them as enunciative tools providing true answers. As theoretical contributions, the dissertation argues for a conceptualisation of visualisation tools as representational artefacts and a species of documents actuating information organisation related problems of representation. It also presents a new theoretical construct for the analysis and understanding of the mutual shaping of critical literacies and information resources that includes both cultural practices and actor interests through a combination of sociocultural theories on tools and sociotechnical theories on inscriptions.