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The LIS Forward initiative is addressing the urgent question: As LIS evolves within the context of iSchools, how do we best position our research and education programs to lead the field and the future of libraries? The initiative stems from the recognition that the evolution of iSchools presents opportunities and challenges for LIS and that there is great value in iSchools working together on charting directions forward. The growing coalition of iSchools is working to support LIS in taking full advantage of the multidisciplinary knowledge and expertise within iSchools, foster future leaders who will champion LIS within iSchools, and confront the dynamic tensions in research intensive iSchools. This session aims to engage international, professional, and academic stakeholders to guide activities and coalition building that can continue to strengthen LIS in iSchools. A panel will present highlights from a recent position paper to catalyze interactive, facilitated dialogue within the ASIS&T community on critical issues in LIS research and education. Breakout sessions will generate responses and recommendations to advance collaborative planning and strategy of value to LIS academic programs and the profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mass media and big data constitute powerful information tools that fuel extremist, populist messaging. Demagogues turn to information tools to convey polarizing views, and governments increasingly rely on data and artificial intelligence to manage immigration. The speakers will describe how three global, deep‐seated, and historic societal ills—anti‐Black racism, anti‐immigrant sentiment, and misinformation—converge to typecast, vilify, and pathologize Black diasporic immigrants. The speakers will also share examples of anti‐Black, anti‐immigrant, and misinformed policymaking, rhetoric, and cultural norms within the United Kingdom and United States. Particular attention is granted to problematic assumptions within large‐scale population datasets that narrate migration tropes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to explore connections between immigrant information behaviour and concepts of information poverty. The researchers used the scoping method to examine the immigrant populations, operational definitions, and research methods associated with information poverty. Key findings from this systematic review suggest an overreliance on non‐empirical linkages to information poverty and the need for substantiated knowledge that captures specific immigrant contexts, vulnerabilities, and interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, information professionals have advocated for intellectual freedom, specifically the rights to free speech and expression. The unrestricted flow of information has been foundational to library and information science practice. Yet, free speech at times is protected to the detriment of vulnerable communities. In this panel discussion, four library and information science researchers discuss the scholarly and pragmatic tensions surrounding LIS ethics and anti‐hegemony. Using Chatman's (1996) concept of information poverty and Gibson and Martin's (2019) theory of information marginalization as discursive guides, the panelists will describe how they negotiate ethical principles, information justice, LIS professionalization, and social inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT To address the dearth of integrative theories on the digital divide problem, this study proposes an integrative model including both measurements and causes of the digital divide. In order to test the applicability of this model, the authors applied secondary analysis to a 2014 dataset comprised of survey responses from 398 Chinese migrant workers. The results showed how the integrative model can be applied as a potential analytical framework to understand the digital divide. The model suggests that Chinese migrant worker partially accept ICT. However, due to their lack of motivational, intellectual, and social access they remain minimally e-included. Enhanced industrial and public resources may be required to address the challenge of the digital divide. Socio-economic disparity remains the main force that inhibits their e-inclusion and acceptance of ICT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]