Alison Hicks
@alisonhicks0.bsky.social
Associate Professor, Library and Information Studies @ucldis. Editor in Chief @jinfolit. information literacy researcher | european | she/hers/ella
Pinned
Alison Hicks
@alisonhicks0.bsky.social
· May 12
Risk-Informed Information Practice: Ways of Knowing in an Uncertain World
How do people become informed about risk and why is this important? This book draws upon three case studies to interrogate risk’s informational thread, including how people map and orient themselves t...
www.routledge.com
Happy publication day to me! My monograph, Risk-Informed Information Practice: Ways of Knowing in an Uncertain World is published open access in Routledge’s Global Perspectives on Library and Information Science series, today (Paperback, Hardback also available…) www.routledge.com/Risk-Informe...
Yes, Amelia! And may it be the first citation of many!
This is the first time I've been cited, what an honour to have it be about a topic as important as this one! An excellent read.
"... best practices are better implemented as the default so that all candidates, regardless of whether they are neurodivergent or neurotypical, can benefit without the added burden of disclosure at potential personal risk."
November 7, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Yes, Amelia! And may it be the first citation of many!
Reposted by Alison Hicks
Tonight at UCL, the Information Studies department, in collaboration with CILIP SLG and the Library Services Trust, hosted a screening of the @thelibrariansfilm.bsky.social documentary on book censorship and banning in the US. Barbara Band from SLG is talking about censorship in UK school libraries.
October 27, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Tonight at UCL, the Information Studies department, in collaboration with CILIP SLG and the Library Services Trust, hosted a screening of the @thelibrariansfilm.bsky.social documentary on book censorship and banning in the US. Barbara Band from SLG is talking about censorship in UK school libraries.
Reposted by Alison Hicks
Have an interest in Information Literacy and want to get started in academic publishing? JIL is looking for Associate Editors! journals.cilip.org.uk/jil/announce... this is a great opportunity to be mentored by Alison, and to see the inner workings of journals and research.
The Journal of Information Literacy seeks 3-5 Associate Editors to co-manage the content, quality, and direction of the journal.
| Journal of Information Literacy
journals.cilip.org.uk
October 6, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Have an interest in Information Literacy and want to get started in academic publishing? JIL is looking for Associate Editors! journals.cilip.org.uk/jil/announce... this is a great opportunity to be mentored by Alison, and to see the inner workings of journals and research.
Reposted by Alison Hicks
EXCITING THINGS ARE AFOOT (Check your LIS-LINK).
August 22, 2025 at 10:41 AM
EXCITING THINGS ARE AFOOT (Check your LIS-LINK).
The Journal of Information Literacy has announced a new special issue on information literacy and censorship- please consider submitting your work! Given political tensions, we will be permitting pseudonymous submissions. Please contact me or @bookelf.bsky.social with questions- DMs open!
August 22, 2025 at 10:52 AM
The Journal of Information Literacy has announced a new special issue on information literacy and censorship- please consider submitting your work! Given political tensions, we will be permitting pseudonymous submissions. Please contact me or @bookelf.bsky.social with questions- DMs open!
Reposted by Alison Hicks
Seminar 2 of the LIS Research Seminar Series is now confirmed. Come and hear @patchedelbows.bsky.social talk about his brilliant research on HE librarians & social class. Some of you probably even contributed 😉
cassyni.com/series/KVXBf...
cassyni.com/series/KVXBf...
Cassyni | Science starts with a seminar
Seamlessly organise, run and publish academic research seminars. Get started in minutes.
cassyni.com
August 19, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Seminar 2 of the LIS Research Seminar Series is now confirmed. Come and hear @patchedelbows.bsky.social talk about his brilliant research on HE librarians & social class. Some of you probably even contributed 😉
cassyni.com/series/KVXBf...
cassyni.com/series/KVXBf...
Reposted by Alison Hicks
Just read this - it was shared on LinkedIn. ‘To my users, “we couldn’t generate an answer for your question” translates to “your topic is not worthy of pursuing—change it.”’ While it’s nice to think that students will come & ask when they don’t find results, many won’t.
And the blocking of content…
And the blocking of content…
“We Couldn’t Generate an Answer for your Question” - ACRLog
Editor’s note: We welcome a guest blog post from Jay Singley, Document Delivery and Circulation Desk Manager at North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. In March 2025, Ex Libris unveiled thei...
acrlog.org
July 22, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Just read this - it was shared on LinkedIn. ‘To my users, “we couldn’t generate an answer for your question” translates to “your topic is not worthy of pursuing—change it.”’ While it’s nice to think that students will come & ask when they don’t find results, many won’t.
And the blocking of content…
And the blocking of content…
New paper alert! ‘Shelves under siege: School librarians as (temporary?) risk workers’, uses the concept of risk work to explore the impact that the risks of censorship are having on professional school librarianship journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Shelves under siege: School librarians as (temporary?) risk workers - Alison Hicks, 2025
Book-banning and censorship attempts are becoming increasingly prominent within UK school libraries. Creating legal and financial risk for school librarians, at...
journals.sagepub.com
July 22, 2025 at 11:17 AM
New paper alert! ‘Shelves under siege: School librarians as (temporary?) risk workers’, uses the concept of risk work to explore the impact that the risks of censorship are having on professional school librarianship journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Alison Hicks
"It’s never been more important for us to ensure that libraries have the resources and support to create and defend diverse collections" Read @katiedd.bsky.social’s response to Reform’s attack on books:
bylinetimes.com/2025/07/08/r...
bylinetimes.com/2025/07/08/r...
Reform UK's 'Children's Book Bans' Could Open The Floodgates for Censorship
The party that claims to champion "free speech" is now trying to crack down on books whose messages they disagree with, reports Katie Dancey-Downs
bylinetimes.com
July 8, 2025 at 1:36 PM
"It’s never been more important for us to ensure that libraries have the resources and support to create and defend diverse collections" Read @katiedd.bsky.social’s response to Reform’s attack on books:
bylinetimes.com/2025/07/08/r...
bylinetimes.com/2025/07/08/r...
Reposted by Alison Hicks
Did you know that although Section 28 was repealed in 2003, Kent County Council was the only council in England which voted to uphold their own version of section 28 all the way up until 2010. Way before Reform existed.
July 7, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Did you know that although Section 28 was repealed in 2003, Kent County Council was the only council in England which voted to uphold their own version of section 28 all the way up until 2010. Way before Reform existed.
Reposted by Alison Hicks
Groundbreaking new #LIS study on how #publiclibraries serve #multilingual and #heritagelanguage communities by @victoriarend.bsky.social. UK-based public library workers: please consider participating and circulating! #LibraryResearch #LinguisticJustice #KnowledgeEquity #IntangibleCulturalHeritage
Calling all the UK public library workers! 📚 Seeking participants for UCL MA Library and Information Studies research project
#LibraryScience #Libraries #LibraryLife #LIS #LibraryTwitter
#LibTech #UCL #EDI #Librarians #LibraryStaff #CulturalHeritage #PublicLibraries #Research
#LibraryScience #Libraries #LibraryLife #LIS #LibraryTwitter
#LibTech #UCL #EDI #Librarians #LibraryStaff #CulturalHeritage #PublicLibraries #Research
July 7, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Groundbreaking new #LIS study on how #publiclibraries serve #multilingual and #heritagelanguage communities by @victoriarend.bsky.social. UK-based public library workers: please consider participating and circulating! #LibraryResearch #LinguisticJustice #KnowledgeEquity #IntangibleCulturalHeritage
Reposted by Alison Hicks
This is a horrifying move. Books for children have been through a thorough vetting process, and these collections have been curated for their communities.
Monday: The House of Lords debates my @indexoncensorship.org investigation into UK school library censorship, showing overwhelming support for freedom to read.
Friday: Kent's Reform council bans books with transgender topics in all of its 99 libraries and 5 library vans. Based on one complaint.
Friday: Kent's Reform council bans books with transgender topics in all of its 99 libraries and 5 library vans. Based on one complaint.
Kent council bans transgender books in children’s library section
KCC says the move came after a
www.bbc.co.uk
July 4, 2025 at 10:39 AM
This is a horrifying move. Books for children have been through a thorough vetting process, and these collections have been curated for their communities.
Reposted by Alison Hicks
The school library censorship convo has hit the House of Lords!
Really pleased to see this conversation, following my @indexoncensorship.org investigation.
Really pleased to see this conversation, following my @indexoncensorship.org investigation.
Amazing to see this conversation unfold in the @houseoflords.parliament.uk today. It is great to see the recognition for the SLA and the work we do advising on #schoollibrary provision 👉 bit.ly/3Gqs5yL
Watch from 14:47:09 - Index on Censorship and School Libraries
#uksla #schoollibraryassociation
Watch from 14:47:09 - Index on Censorship and School Libraries
#uksla #schoollibraryassociation
July 3, 2025 at 6:15 PM
The school library censorship convo has hit the House of Lords!
Really pleased to see this conversation, following my @indexoncensorship.org investigation.
Really pleased to see this conversation, following my @indexoncensorship.org investigation.
Reposted by Alison Hicks
Restrictions to US databases and scholarly work mean that researchers need new approaches to navigate research absences and silences rather than the more typical information overload, writes @alisonhicks0.bsky.social: www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/strat... #AcademicSky #EduSky
Strategic silencing: how censorship is reshaping scholarly discourse
Restrictions to US databases and scholarly work mean that researchers need new approaches to navigate research absences and silences rather than the more typical information overload, writes Alison Hi...
www.timeshighereducation.com
June 5, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Restrictions to US databases and scholarly work mean that researchers need new approaches to navigate research absences and silences rather than the more typical information overload, writes @alisonhicks0.bsky.social: www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/strat... #AcademicSky #EduSky
Reposted by Alison Hicks
“Researchers will need to develop a raft of new techniques to adjust to censored information environments. These include becoming more deliberate about search strategies, as the list of words banned by federal agencies works to obscure the many ways in which human life is lived.”
Hey IL folks! If you thought censorship was just impacting school librarians, take a look at my new article in @timeshighered.bsky.social exploring what challenges to intellectual freedom mean for HE teaching librarians, too. How do we shift our work from overload to absence?
“The substantial challenges that authoritarian ideology poses to knowledge exchange mean that researchers must be prepared to safeguard their commitment to empirical insight.”
🖊️ @alisonhicks0.bsky.social via @timeshighered.bsky.social
#US #HigherEducation #AcademicSky #EduSky #Censorship
🖊️ @alisonhicks0.bsky.social via @timeshighered.bsky.social
#US #HigherEducation #AcademicSky #EduSky #Censorship
June 5, 2025 at 12:31 PM
“Researchers will need to develop a raft of new techniques to adjust to censored information environments. These include becoming more deliberate about search strategies, as the list of words banned by federal agencies works to obscure the many ways in which human life is lived.”
Hey IL folks! If you thought censorship was just impacting school librarians, take a look at my new article in @timeshighered.bsky.social exploring what challenges to intellectual freedom mean for HE teaching librarians, too. How do we shift our work from overload to absence?
“The substantial challenges that authoritarian ideology poses to knowledge exchange mean that researchers must be prepared to safeguard their commitment to empirical insight.”
🖊️ @alisonhicks0.bsky.social via @timeshighered.bsky.social
#US #HigherEducation #AcademicSky #EduSky #Censorship
🖊️ @alisonhicks0.bsky.social via @timeshighered.bsky.social
#US #HigherEducation #AcademicSky #EduSky #Censorship
Strategic silencing: how censorship is reshaping scholarly discourse
Restrictions to US databases and scholarly work mean that researchers need new approaches to navigate research absences and silences rather than the more typical information overload, writes Alison Hi...
www.timeshighereducation.com
June 5, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Hey IL folks! If you thought censorship was just impacting school librarians, take a look at my new article in @timeshighered.bsky.social exploring what challenges to intellectual freedom mean for HE teaching librarians, too. How do we shift our work from overload to absence?
Reposted by Alison Hicks
What an incredible exhibition! A great way to visualise library censorship.
Thanks so much @alisonhicks0.bsky.social and @ioe.bsky.social for featuring my @indexoncensorship.org investigation.
Thanks so much @alisonhicks0.bsky.social and @ioe.bsky.social for featuring my @indexoncensorship.org investigation.
Thanks to @ioe.bsky.social library for covering worrying growth in censorship in school libraries in their most recent exhibition! Featuring my research as well as the fabulous work of @katiedd.bsky.social 🙌🏼
May 28, 2025 at 12:18 PM
What an incredible exhibition! A great way to visualise library censorship.
Thanks so much @alisonhicks0.bsky.social and @ioe.bsky.social for featuring my @indexoncensorship.org investigation.
Thanks so much @alisonhicks0.bsky.social and @ioe.bsky.social for featuring my @indexoncensorship.org investigation.
Thanks to @ioe.bsky.social library for covering worrying growth in censorship in school libraries in their most recent exhibition! Featuring my research as well as the fabulous work of @katiedd.bsky.social 🙌🏼
May 28, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Thanks to @ioe.bsky.social library for covering worrying growth in censorship in school libraries in their most recent exhibition! Featuring my research as well as the fabulous work of @katiedd.bsky.social 🙌🏼
Reposted by Alison Hicks
*CW Discussion of sensitive themes inc. sexual assault*
#CALC25 Recording no. 2 is up!
This is Heather Barr talking about her research into the information behaviour of survivors of sexual assault. Incredibly important and difficult research.
youtu.be/v4mTCO6PsMs
#CritLit #LibrarySky
#CALC25 Recording no. 2 is up!
This is Heather Barr talking about her research into the information behaviour of survivors of sexual assault. Incredibly important and difficult research.
youtu.be/v4mTCO6PsMs
#CritLit #LibrarySky
Heather Barr -Looking for help: exploring the information behaviour of survivors of sexual assault
YouTube video by CALC Conference
youtu.be
May 27, 2025 at 1:07 PM
*CW Discussion of sensitive themes inc. sexual assault*
#CALC25 Recording no. 2 is up!
This is Heather Barr talking about her research into the information behaviour of survivors of sexual assault. Incredibly important and difficult research.
youtu.be/v4mTCO6PsMs
#CritLit #LibrarySky
#CALC25 Recording no. 2 is up!
This is Heather Barr talking about her research into the information behaviour of survivors of sexual assault. Incredibly important and difficult research.
youtu.be/v4mTCO6PsMs
#CritLit #LibrarySky
Happy publication day to me! My monograph, Risk-Informed Information Practice: Ways of Knowing in an Uncertain World is published open access in Routledge’s Global Perspectives on Library and Information Science series, today (Paperback, Hardback also available…) www.routledge.com/Risk-Informe...
Risk-Informed Information Practice: Ways of Knowing in an Uncertain World
How do people become informed about risk and why is this important? This book draws upon three case studies to interrogate risk’s informational thread, including how people map and orient themselves t...
www.routledge.com
May 12, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Happy publication day to me! My monograph, Risk-Informed Information Practice: Ways of Knowing in an Uncertain World is published open access in Routledge’s Global Perspectives on Library and Information Science series, today (Paperback, Hardback also available…) www.routledge.com/Risk-Informe...
Reposted by Alison Hicks
Delighted to be included in UCL’s 2025 Student Choice Awards Roll of Honour—I’m honoured to be listed alongside fantastic colleagues Lucy Brownson, @alisonhicks0.bsky.social , @photini.bsky.social, Ahmad Goheer & Daniel Onah! What a way to end year! 🥳
May 1, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Delighted to be included in UCL’s 2025 Student Choice Awards Roll of Honour—I’m honoured to be listed alongside fantastic colleagues Lucy Brownson, @alisonhicks0.bsky.social , @photini.bsky.social, Ahmad Goheer & Daniel Onah! What a way to end year! 🥳
Reposted by Alison Hicks
🎬 Missed our free screening of Banned Together at UCL? Good news — the documentary is now available to stream! by rent or buy on Apple TV+ or stream for free if you have a Amazon Prime Video account:
📺 Apple TV+: lnkd.in/emu3X8dD
📺 Prime: lnkd.in/eMpP6wKW
@cilip.bsky.social
#BookBans #Documentary
📺 Apple TV+: lnkd.in/emu3X8dD
📺 Prime: lnkd.in/eMpP6wKW
@cilip.bsky.social
#BookBans #Documentary
April 18, 2025 at 8:18 AM
🎬 Missed our free screening of Banned Together at UCL? Good news — the documentary is now available to stream! by rent or buy on Apple TV+ or stream for free if you have a Amazon Prime Video account:
📺 Apple TV+: lnkd.in/emu3X8dD
📺 Prime: lnkd.in/eMpP6wKW
@cilip.bsky.social
#BookBans #Documentary
📺 Apple TV+: lnkd.in/emu3X8dD
📺 Prime: lnkd.in/eMpP6wKW
@cilip.bsky.social
#BookBans #Documentary
Yes @ahaire.bsky.social ! Rocking it as usual! #lilac25
@ahaire.bsky.social was brilliant! Really insightful presentation and lots of questions at the end which highlighted her breadth of knowledge. I could listen to her all day!
April 15, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Yes @ahaire.bsky.social ! Rocking it as usual! #lilac25
Can someone now make me feel less guilty about missing @ahaire.bsky.social and Richard Douglas’ #lilac25 talks by telling me how brilliantly they did?!
April 15, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Can someone now make me feel less guilty about missing @ahaire.bsky.social and Richard Douglas’ #lilac25 talks by telling me how brilliantly they did?!
Fabulous session from Lucy Dodge- some super insightful findings about agency (contextualisation)+ identity of workplace IL (matchmaking, questioner) educators - big takeaway is that many still associate teaching with behaviourist (sage/stage) rather than constructivist approaches (mentor) #lilac25
April 15, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Fabulous session from Lucy Dodge- some super insightful findings about agency (contextualisation)+ identity of workplace IL (matchmaking, questioner) educators - big takeaway is that many still associate teaching with behaviourist (sage/stage) rather than constructivist approaches (mentor) #lilac25