Making the Invisible Visible
May 30, 2025 | Cal State Monterey Bay
In our highly adaptive librarian roles, we are uniquely positioned to make the invisible more visible to students, faculty, and administration. We demystify hidden curriculum for students from different information privileges and backgrounds. We unpack and deconstruct the research process and make it accessible. Together, we explore the challenges inherent in emerging technologies, such as generative AI and algorithms. With the insights we draw from these vantage points, we are able to respond to and advocate for diverse needs and address these in the teaching environments we create, be they in person, online or through learning objects.
Schedule
9:00–9:30 AM — Check-in and Refreshments
9:30–9:45 AM — Welcome Remarks | CCLI 2025 Chair Matthew Collins (1188)
9:45–10:45 AM — Keynote Address (1188)
10:45–11:00 AM — Break
11:00 AM–12:15 PM — Workshops
Assessing Assessments: A Collaborative Approach to Creating and Utilizing Assessments (1173)
Caitlin Cooke, Teaching and Learning Librarian — Auraria Library
This interactive session will explore strategies for assessing library instruction and how to use those assessments to increase awareness of the impact of library instruction on student learning. Participants will engage in a hands-on workshop to evaluate and improve their own and each other’s assessment practices, ultimately enhancing the effectiveness of library instruction and advocacy efforts. This session will actively involve participants through small group workshops and large group discussions. Attendees are required to bring one of their own assessment tools for collaborative analysis and improvement. This session is ideal for librarians and information professionals seeking to enhance their instructional assessment techniques and leverage data for improved teaching outcomes and institutional support.
Zine-Making for Community Empowerment and Library Instruction (1176)
Claudia Rivas, Librarian — Rio Hondo College
In this interactive workshop, Claudia Rivas, an experienced California Community College librarian and advocate for inclusive storytelling, will share her innovative approach to zine-making as a method for empowering library patrons from marginalized communities. Through her work, Claudia teaches patrons how to create their own zines, providing a platform for personal narratives and community voices often underrepresented in traditional media. Participants in this session will explore practical strategies for supporting patrons in developing and sharing their stories through zines, as well as the basics of cataloging these unique items. Claudia will demonstrate how zine-making can be a transformative tool for self-expression and historical/cultural preservation, while also addressing the challenges and opportunities that come with cataloging patron-created publications within institutional collections. Attendees will gain insights into the proposed steps involved in “self-cataloging” these resources, making them more accessible to a broader audience, ensuring their inclusion in the historical record, and teaching patrons about how information retrieval and discovery works. This session is ideal for librarians and educators interested in expanding their services to support community storytelling and enhancing their skills in cataloging nontraditional library materials.
Visualizing Instruction: Universal Design for Learning, Culturally Responsive Teaching, and Andragogy in Action (1180)
William Ortiz, Instruction Librarian — CSU San Bernardino
This workshop introduces three educational models which can enhance one-shot sessions: Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT), and Andragogy. Participants will explore how these frameworks address diverse learner needs and improve engagement in information literacy instruction. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) promotes multiple ways to access content, demonstrate mastery, and consider neurodiversity. Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) engages students by incorporating diverse cultural perspectives, making learning relevant and impactful. Andragogy focuses on teaching adults by valuing autonomy and lived experiences. After a brief introduction to these models, participants will apply these models in a practical activity of designing a one-shot. Participants will brainstorm, present their ideas, and receive feedback from peers and the facilitator. This hands-on experience will provide actionable strategies to implement in their instruction. Workshop materials, including handouts and slides, will support participants in adapting these methods in their own teaching environments.
Disability Visibility: Making Inaccessible Digital Learning Materials Visible (1188)
Bridgid Fennell, Education Librarian — USC Libraries
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination based on disability and guarantees people with disabilities have equal access to services and programs from organizations that receive federal funding, including educational institutions. Colleges and universities must make digital materials accessible to people with disabilities by 2026 or 2027 due to recent ADA updates. However, a 2024 study published in College and Research Libraries found that 80% of 100 leading academic library websites contained significant accessibility errors that present major barriers for disabled users to access and engage with information, resources, and services. As a professional value, librarians are committed to providing equitable access and resources to diverse populations but feel overwhelmed by accessibility requirements due to lack of training, resources, and mandates from administrators. This interactive workshop is targeted at instruction librarians who need basic training in technical standards for website accessibility. Participants will learn how to start to bring their instructional materials into federal compliance and take a proactive justice-oriented approach to equitable educational opportunities for all learners. Skills learned in this session address top digital accessibility barriers and can be applied to SpringShare products, word-processing documents, slide presentations, and other digital media. Please bring your laptops to participate in the learning activities in this workshop.
12:15–1:15 PM — Lunch (anywhere in the Library)
1:15–2:15 PM — Breakout Sessions
The Limitations with “Debunking” and “Lateral Reading” Strategy: The Evaluation Strategy Re-evaluated in the Age of Infocracy (1173)
Richard M. Cho, Research Librarian for Humanities and Literature — University of California, Irvine
Is misinformation a disease or a symptom? The respected science journal Nature has called “viral” misinformation “the biggest pandemic risk,” and many of us also view it as a disease that could be stemmed by educating our students on “debunking” and “lateral reading” techniques. However, misinformation is a symptom of a wider problem plaguing the society nowadays, and the aforementioned evaluation strategies do not fully take into account today’s information condition. In this presentation, we will critically re-evaluate what misinformation is and why it propagates, and how our everyday information practice makes us susceptible to misinformation. The ubiquitous digital technologies render information as contingent, stimulating, additive, cumulative and ephemeral, distinguishing it from knowledge, narrative, and even fact. Understanding that people create, seek, and share information as “socially strategic expressions” in our vastly polarized world, we will discuss innovative and adaptable teaching strategies in an active learning format. In this age of infocracy, a form of domination in which “information and its processing by algorithms and artificial intelligence have a decisive influence on social, economic and political processes,” it is critical to probe what lies invisible behind the allure of misinformation and to re-align our pedagogical strategies accordingly.
Learning Their Way: Adapting Library Tutorials for Student Success (1176)
Victoria Hernandez Doria, Research, Instruction & Online Learning Librarian — CSU Stanislaus
Let’s face it—an online tutorial is only as good as its visibility and appeal. This presentation explores the process of redesigning a library’s online tutorial webpage to improve its visibility and engagement, addressing findings from a student survey conducted at our institution. The survey revealed two key insights: first, a significant portion of students were unaware of the tutorial webpage’s existence; second, those who were aware expressed a strong desire for diverse formats to accommodate varying learning styles, such as videos, interactive modules, and concise written guides. Based on these findings, the webpage was reimagined to include multimedia content, improved navigation, and targeted promotion strategies. This session is all about sharing that journey. We’ll dive into how student feedback drove our redesign process and highlight creative ways to connect with diverse learners. Attendees will have the opportunity to share their own learning styles and preferences, as well as review online tutorials at their own institutions to determine barriers and brainstorm strategies for improvement in small groups.
“What’s in the [black] box?”: Building Critical AI Literacy for Library Workers (1180)
Annie Pho, Head of Instruction and Outreach — University of San Francisco
Wynn Tranfield, STEM Librarian — University of California, Santa Cruz
AI tools are reshaping higher education amid a backdrop of budgetary cuts and an increasingly siloed academy. These technologies have considerable hype and speculation surrounding their performance and future in the knowledge space, keeping critics at bay by constantly iterating and updating product offerings. Despite expertise in the knowledge production space, librarians have found themselves on the periphery of formative campus conversations. Through a design process called the “black box,” generative AI can come across as authoritative, neutral, and polished, but much of that is due to the intentional obfuscation of labor, environmental costs, and inherently biased inputs. In this presentation, we will deconstruct what AI tools are really doing by applying a critical lens and growing critical literacies to encompass new AI frameworks. Critical AI literacy engages with critical librarianship and critical technology studies to provide attendees with foundational knowledge, discuss the unique qualities that librarians bring to this work through reference and teaching, and advocate for why librarians need to be part of AI discussions in our libraries and campuses. We will also provide examples of how we can teach critical AI skills in library instruction, and attendees will leave with access to a critical AI toolkit.
2:15–2:30 PM — Break
2:30–3:30 PM — Breakout Sessions
Against the Blind Fetishization of Peer Review: Rethinking How We Teach Authority to Community College Students (1173)
Erika Montenegro, Instruction Librarian, Professor of Library Science — East Los Angeles College
Jeremy Kaye, Professor of English — Moorpark College
It’s common to hear community college professors say, “You’ll need to use scholarly journals when you transfer!” Behind such ominous warnings is the narrative that community college students must “catch up” and use scholarly articles to measure up to their university peers. What’s missing in this blind fetishization of peer reviewed articles is understanding the implied standards and conversations in scholarly communication. Requiring a number of scholarly articles has become short-hand for introducing the Framework for Information Literacy, particularly authority and scholarship as conversation.This potentially alienates students from the very scholarly conversations we presume we’re inviting them to. We’ll share how our work as librarian and English professor offers alternative ways of introducing the construction of authority and highlights journalism and non-traditional scholarship. The session will culminate with collaboration tips for all academic librarians and faculty when integrating critical discussions about research assignments.
Navigating the Unseen in Library Instruction: Algorithms, Generative AI, and Information Literacy (1176)
Sarah Morris, Assistant Director for Academic Engagement — University of Georgia
Michael Flierl, Associate Professor & Student Learning Librarian — Ohio State University (contributor)
Our information ecosystems are being transformed by generative AI systems like ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Perplexity. Academic librarians excel at equipping students with the information literacy (IL) skills needed to conduct research and to navigate complex information environments. But today’s information landscape increasingly relies on invisible algorithmic processes that create, curate, and transform information in ways that challenge traditional IL frameworks and approaches to library instruction. In this session, we will unpack ways to center both the visible and invisible in library instruction. This interactive session engages participants in re-imagining IL instruction for an AI-mediated world. Through guided discussion and collaborative exercises, participants will explore three key areas: (1) identifying how opaque current AI systems are and why they are called “black boxes;” (2) examining strategies for teaching students to evaluate AI-generated content; and (3) brainstorming creative approaches to integrate AI literacy into existing IL instruction. Using think-pair-share activities and small group discussions, participants will work together to develop pedagogical strategies that help students understand and critically navigate new and emerging information ecosystems. The session emphasizes practical classroom applications while fostering dialogue about the evolving nature of library instruction in an AI-enhanced academic landscape.