As we celebrate 50 years since 'information literacy' was first introduced, we honour the Australian practitioners and researchers who have shaped its impact on our field, education and society. With the rapid changes in the information landscape, we must also explore what information literacy means in today's digital world. In the age of generative AI, deepfakes, and disinformation, is information literacy still sufficient to navigate these challenges? Join us in celebrating this milestone and exploring the future of information literacy.
We will be joined by Professor Christine Bruce, Vicki McDonald, Dr Suzana Sukovic and Dr Ellie Abdi, and the panel will be moderated by Professor Helen Partridge.
Professor Christine Bruce
Christine’s scholarship is focused on information literacy, higher education learning and teaching, postgraduate study and supervision and research collaboration. She regularly presents keynote addresses on these matters. Her research is multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary stemming from an interpretivist qualitative perspective informed by phenomenography and phenomenographic pedagogy. She authored Seven Faces of Information Literacy, and Informed Learning, and was lead editor of Information Experience. She works with colleagues on the application of informed learning theory to research and practice, and on developing new theory emerging from this process, notably informed systems, informed research, information experience, informed learning design and information experience design.
Christine is an Australian Learning and Teaching Fellow, Principal Fellow UK, Advance HE and Member of the International Federation of National Teaching Fellows. Christine has held senior academic posts associated with learning and teaching and research, led a university wide network of higher education researchers, led research teams, faculty and university graduate research portfolios, and consulted on information literacy and doctoral education.
Vicki McDonald AM FALIA, State Librarian and Chief Executive Officer, State Library of Queensland
Vicki McDonald is a key player in the transformation of the library sector in Queensland. As State Librarian and Chief Executive Officer of State Library of Queensland she understands the need for a strong, relevant and innovative library service.
Her national and international experience led to her appointment as State Librarian and Chief Executive Officer of State Library of Queensland in 2016. Vicki has also held leadership roles at State Library of New South Wales and Queensland University of Technology. Her career includes roles at public, academic and state libraries.
Vicki is a Past President of the Australian Library Information Association. She has been very active in the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) since 2004 and held a number of positions on standing committees and the IFLA Governing Board. Vicki is currently IFLA President 2023-2025.
Dr Suzana Sukovic, Director of Research and Publication at Presbyterian Ladies’ College Sydney
Suzana has held leadership positions across the secondary, tertiary, and workplace education sectors, including library, research, and teaching roles. Suzana is an active practice-based researcher with interests in AI in education, adolescents’ information behaviour and epistemic wellbeing, boundary crossing, and interactions with technology. She has a particular professional and research interest in capabilities required to support interactions with various technologies, and enable lifelong learning. Suzana has published journal articles and a book on transliteracy, and capabilities for working with data in the workplace.
Suzana has been the founder and Convenor of ALIA LARK since 2012, and a member of IFLA’s Library Theory and Research section. Through these roles, she has promoted research within library and information practice at both national and international levels.
Dr Ellie Abdi, Senior Lecturer, Curtin University
Ellie is an applied information literacy researcher, specialising in the intersections of people, information, and learning. Ellie is developing “information experience design” to define the realisation of information literacy in everyday settings. She investigates people’s information experiences and how the findings from such inquiries translate into real-world practice.
Ellie is currently a Senior Lecturer at Curtin University’s School of Media, Creative Arts, and Social Inquiry, teaching in the Library, Archives, Records and Information Science program. She co-chairs the ALIA Research Advisory Committee, represents Curtin University in the iSchools Organisation, and leads the organisation of the 2024 Research Applications in Information and Library Studies Conference (RAILS 2024) to be held at Curtin in November. She serves on the Advisory Board, and as a Section Editor of “The Information Literacy Handbook: Charting the Discipline”, and has been involved with the IFLA and ASIS&T Asia-Pacific Chapter in the past.
Professor Helen Partridge, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Teaching and Learning, Deakin University.
Helen’s research focuses on the relationship between information, technology, and learning. She examines how individuals engage with information and technology to learn in academic, professional, and everyday contexts. Professor Partridge has held visiting Research Fellowships at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, and the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. In 2008, she was named a National Teaching Fellow by the Australian Learning & Teaching Council (ALTC) for her research on the impact of social media on library and information science education and practice. She has been elected twice to the Board of Directors of the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and in 2012 was appointed as an ALIA Fellow.
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