Michele Forte, Trudi Jacobson, and Emer O’Keefe were successful in applying for a State University of New York (SUNY) Conversations in the Disciplines about metaliteracy.  This intercampus one-day conference entitled “Developing Metaliterate Learners: Transforming Literacy Across Disciplines” will take place at the Center for Distance Learning (CDL) at Empire State College on Friday, December 13, 2013.

Learners – students and educators alike – are no longer simply information consumers but information producers in a participatory social media environment. Learners increasingly work collaboratively, creating and sharing digital information. We need to be adaptable within an information landscape that is complex and ever-changing. The metaliteracy model emphasizes these evolving literacy concepts, as well as the critical role played by metacognitive components, but many disciplines still view information creation as something done solely through traditional means, and solely by scholars in the field. How might disciplines benefit from new and collaborative modes of information creation? Can traditional models resist the changes wrought by Web 2.0? How might a conversation about expanding these conceptions bring new and fruitful ideas to these fields of study?

Librarians have ample opportunities to learn new theories and methods connected to information literacy in all its guises, but rarely have the chance to engage in macro discussion with disciplinary faculty members about the changes to the intersections of their fields. Usually conversations center around a specific class period, and what the librarian will teach to the professor’s students.

This day of conversation will allow members of both groups to engage together in learning and discussion about cutting-edge topics surrounding metaliteracy, the information literacy of today’s information and technology environment.

Tom Mackey and Trudi Jacobson will provide the keynote presentation to launch the event. Randy Hensley, Head of Information Services at Newman Library, Baruch College, CUNY, will be the afternoon keynote speaker, focusing on the student perspective. There will also be morning and afternoon reactions panels, with librarians and faculty members from community colleges, 4-year schools, a university, and a BOCES participating.

Registration will open shortly, and preference will be given to pairs made up of a librarian and a faculty member in a discipline who plan to attend together.