Hello beeps! I’m at the SCUS school librarians conference today, presenting recent ish work on school librarians and mis/disinformation.

Hello my beeps. I’m at this event by Young Scot at the Scottish Parliament.

Replace Coke with Irn Bru?

Yesterday, MILA held a successful convening event with 50+ participants from a wide range of organisations to examine the state of play with MIL in the UK & chart possible collaborative activities to make the case for MIL over the coming year. We'll post the full outcomes of the event shortly.

Really looking fwd to @leithchooses.bsky.social on Sat 24th Jan at Leith Community Centre. 30 orgs are bidding to start brand new local projects in Leith & voting 🗳 is in-person (above) & online (from 27th) at leithchooses.net!

Update to previous post/blog (bruceryan.info/2025/12/11/s...) Recently Ofcom issued call (ofcom.ukp.app.jaggaer.com/esop/toolkit...) on developing critical skills for democracy. Electoral Commission did this (www.electoralcommission.org.uk/research-rep...) on young people views on politics/voting.

Blogged: 'strengthening political information literacy' event bruceryan.info/2025/12/11/s... @youngscot.bsky.social @cilipscotland.bsky.social

There are many things hugely wrong with the way we run the world. We can't do much about almost all of them, but we can urge Fife Council reverse its damaging choices about school library services: bruceryan.info/2025/11/20/d... @cilipslg.bsky.social @cilipscotland.bsky.social

last week

Wonder how many of his constituents are losing their HE jobs just now? Seems to be missing from his narrative.

A transition: bruceryan.info/2025/11/06/t.... @spartakan.bsky.social @hazelhall.bsky.social

Blogged: 'Libraries, Intellectual Freedom and Culture Wars: event at the Scottish Parliament' bruceryan.info/2025/10/13/l... @cilipscotland.bsky.social

As reported recently in the North Edinburgh News, there's now only 10 days to submit your project application! Our last support session is this Wed (15th), 5.30pm at Leith Community Centre! Talk to our volunteer team if you want help with your application! nen.press/leithchooses...

Bridging Skills for Working Lives: Exploring Career-Ready Skills Through Bridge - Mon 13 Oct, 3:30–6 - Clyde Bridge Centre, 4 Nasmyth Rd, Glasgow G52 4PR - FREE, including pizza, snacks, travel bursaries Register festivalofsocialscience.com/events/bridg... A bit more detail bit.ly/3VTg8py

Thank you to @edinreporter.bsky.social for featuring us in their October edition! Our team are at McDonald Road Library (upstairs) from 4pm to 5pm today to assist any potential applicants before the October 22nd deadline. No appointment nessecery! theedinburghreporter.co.uk

Please Starmer, stop blaming immigrants and human rights lawyers. You are making this country into a sewer of hatred and division. None of our problems are because of too much kindness.

@pammckinney.bsky.social and I are liveblogging from the European Conference on Information Literacy, being held in Bamberg, Germany, this week. So far we have blogged 12 talks! You can find the posts at information-literacy.blogspot.com/search/label...

Take your information science MSc at Edinburgh Napier: www.napier.ac.uk/courses/msc-.... Course leader is bsky.app/profile/fran... The course has fab lecturers and emphases on supporting students and making positive differences to society. More about Napier at blueskydirectory.com/starter-pack...

WORLD PEACE DAY 🕊️✊🦋 There is nothing more destructive, more irrational, more useless than war. And that is true for every war: The wars we fight against ourselves, in our families, among allies, against neighbours, against nations, against nature. 🧵 #photography #resist #peacenotwar #worldpeaceday

Blowing my own trumpet, with thanks to @milalliance.bsky.social. Original work is at www.cilips.org.uk/misinfo-scho...

'Tackling misinformation and disinformation for Scottish school librarians' project report is now published on CILIPS' website (www.cilips.org.uk/misinfo-scho...). Thanks to CILIPS (funding), participants, Napier colleagues (review of draft report). My blog-post is at bruceryan.info/2025/09/15/t...

No, it isn't

Blogged: 'Deadlines approach for next iConference, hosted by Edinburgh Napier University Spring 2026' hazelhall.org/2025/09/10/d... **NB papers & posters submissions due next Monday 15 September** cc @francesryanphd.bsky.social @edinburghnapier.bsky.social

I hear that a key part of information literacy (distinguishing between 'X is definitely true' and 'X may be true' is baked into Turkish: www.youtube.com/shorts/XCRsi.... It's called evidentiality (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evident...) My Q: what if the speaker's evidence is incorrect? Over to linguists!

My alter-ego has posted: bsky.app/profile/bruc...

Woohoo - it’s time! LeithChooses is now accepting project funding applications. For details of how to apply, please visit www.leithchooses.net

Blogged: Tackling misinformation and disinformation for Scottish school librarians: www.cilips.org.uk/tackling-mis... In this post about my presentation to the @cilipscotland.bsky.social annual conference, I begin to ponder the Mentimeter responses to my presentation questions.

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, in session on More than a Podcast: Discovering Community Connections in Libraries Iain Robertson and Dave Young, South Lanarkshire Libraries. it may interactive, so will pause bskying now

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, RM notes the importantance of being a teacher to having influence. There needs to be constant 'noisy and annoying' advocacy.

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, RM notes how underfunded Scotland's libraries are compared to, say, Oz, Norway. (I think 'FFS can there be some good news please') - there had been no senior librarian in CnES for 2 years before RM arrived! There was much dysfunction to tackle.

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, RM notes her sabbatical in Spain, and how she developed her love of Scotland as a backpacker. (I'm thinking of www.amazon.co.uk/Stornoway-Wa...) RM notes all the fun of trying to come to the UK permanently, and how ALIA, ASLA, QSLA may or may not have helped.

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, RM notes how she moved back to China - when going there, it's easier to take a leg of lamb in your suitcase than English books, she says. She notes how you can't simply come in and change things. Relationship-establishing question in CNeS is 'who's your boss?'

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, RM then moves home to her first public library job. (Bah - I hit import all so pause in photos.) She notes importance of community connections. In Oz, states run schools but local councils run public libraries, says RM

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, RM tells us about the Hebrides and the libraries there. She talks about where she is from (bah - din't catch it well enough to type it - might be this: www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g768...)

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, now in 'From Down Under to the Outer Hebrides: A Global Journey in Library Leadership' by Renee Mason, Western Isles Libraries. We learn how to pronounce en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comhair....

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, David Mcmenemy awards inaugural president's award to Len Pennie.

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, DM notes how info is nuanced so we need to read many sources, hence need of libraries (even if they are online). AS notes how libraries belong to us, and how libraries are attacked by opponents of democracy.

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, LP notes how she has been through abuse, and is using this to write, and how libraries are safe for survivors. AS asks how to keep NLS going and relevant for next 100 years, thinking back to previous presentations. How do we get messages through?

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, LP mentions project on 'things found in books' (yvonnelyon.bandcamp.com/album/things...). Thoughts of how law and science are discourse, how law uses words differently - talk of 'shaken baby syndrome' being a serious misunderstanding of data.

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, DM notes how comic-readers are so engaged - they have to work to make the comix work - movies are passive. LP says when she was bored she'd go to the library and ask 'what's new?' Talk of reading (and smoking) in the bath. (Been there, done that)

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, DM notes public lending rights (www.bl.uk/plr). Borrowing can be viral says LP. AS harks back to boredom inspiring creativity. Vivienne Westwood apparently concurred.

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, DM notes how fun events can be - and that bookshops are very middle class. Libraries get around this. Doncaster is a special place, says DM. LP notes how authors benefit if folk borrow books. She prefers doing events in libs cos they're pre-established communities

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, celebrations of opening of Waterstones in Garnethill. It was apparently like the Sex Pistols' Manchester gig www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/a...

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, AS notes Dundee group supporting women victims of abuse. LP notes how bookshops make Scots books a genre, even though they cover all genres - librarians will guide you to what you want.

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, DM notes how libraries need to advertise what they do. She notes article saying that people who have poor imaginations, who think rigidly, are more susceptible to misinformation. AS notes her experience of unhelpful gatekeeping

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, AS notes it's National Library of Scotland's 100th anniversary. AS asks if we have lost some of the community connections over recent decades. DM notes how some people may be intimidated by libraries - including us smokers (she's stopped) - and fines.

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, about to start next: 'Celebrating the National Library of Scotland’s Centenary, Amina Shah, National Librarian of Scotland in conversation with Denise Mina, Scottish crime writer and Len Pennie, Scots poet. AS is reflecting on how moving last two talks were.

At @cilipscotland.bsky.social conf, SB has more key points. Libraries are central to any plan on info poverty, not lest because they are embedded into communities. He harks back to being a 7-year old toerag (his word) and how Portobello library was so influential on him.