Information Literacy Award

Winner announced!

The winner of the Information Literacy Award 2025 is Rebecca Mogg, Cardiff University, for her work in diversity and impact of information literacy. 

 A few words from our judges:

"The nominees for the Information Literacy Award 2025 showcased diverse and impactful projects and initiatives aimed at enhancing information literacy across various contexts. Intended audiences of these projects included university students, library staff, political communities and researchers among others, and methodologies ranged from online courses and community practices to tailored programs and interactive events. It was also interesting to see a diversity in the target audiences and formats followed, from digital courses and community practices to tailored programs for specific groups, such as autistic library workers, embracing diversity and inclusion.
 
Rebecca Mogg, from Cardiff University, was selected as this year’s winner based on the diversity and impact of her information literacy work. Rebecca has significantly elevated the profile of Information Literacy (IL) at Cardiff University and beyond. She leads a dedicated team, fostering a strong education community and integrating IL into university programs. Her initiatives include a schools’ outreach program, chairing the Wales Higher Education Libraries Forum, and developing an IL resource bank. Rebecca’s efforts have led to the creation of an academic integrity module and the successful bid to host the LILAC conference. Her work has been widely recognized for its impact on IL practice and education. Congratulations to Rebecca for being the winner of this year’s 2025 LILAC Award".

Runners-up

Our first runner-up was Anne-Lise Harding, House of Commons Library, for the Good Information Campaign
The Good Information Campaign, led by Anne-Lise, addresses the challenges of managing and evaluating information within the UK political sphere.
The campaign focuses on sourcing credible information, critical evaluation, and ethical application of digital technologies. It includes courses on misinformation and AI, monthly expert talks, and accessible research resources. The campaign has reached hundreds of community members, with significant engagement and positive feedback.  It has gained national and international recognition, contributing to improved information literacy and democratic processes. It stood out because of its external impact, addressing misinformation in the political sphere.
 
Our second runner up was Emily Dott, Newcastle University Library, for AI Literacy at Newcastle University
Emily has been instrumental in integrating AI literacy within information literacy teaching at Newcastle University.  She developed institutional principles for AI use, which in turn impacted those published by the RG, and has created student and colleague guidance, establishing a unified approach to AI literacy.  Her output includes online resources, an AI for Learning and an AI for Educators course, and Emily’s efforts have led to high engagement, positive feedback, and the integration of AI literacy into teaching practice. 

Other nominees were:

• Olivia Else and Kirsty Whitehead, University of York, for Online InfoLit
• The Centre for Learning Innovation and Quality, and Human Resources, Kaplan Pathways for The Kindness Curriculum
• Louise Speakman, Erin Bloxsidge, Kathryn Devine and Giada Zanella at Lancaster, Surrey, Worcester and Aston Universities, for Self-Taught Systematic Reviews Community of Practice 
• The Academic and Digital Skills Team, University of Greenwich, for Information Skills for Success 
• Marie Letzgus, De Montfort University, for the AI Explorer: ethical and critical use of AI chatbots at university 
• Amelia Haire, Senate House University of London, for  work on ‘What does it mean to be information literate for an autistic person in the academic library workplace?’
• Mark Ogden & Rebecca Whyley-Smith, University of Huddersfield, and Manchester for Race Across the Library

The CILIP Information Literacy Group is proud to offer an award for achievement in the field of information literacy (IL). IL “is the ability to think critically and make balanced judgements about any information we find and use. It empowers us as citizens to reach and express informed views and to engage fully in society”.

 IL applies within a number of contexts, including:

• Everyday – when people find information online
• Citizenship – helping people to understand the world around us
• Education – developing critical thinking skills at all stages of education, from school to higher education
• The workplace - contributing to employability
• Health – finding reliable sources of health information.

(CILIP Definition of Information Literacy 2018).

The award is open to all practitioners, researchers and academics working in the IL field within the United Kingdom. Nominations may be from any sector. We welcome nominations for individuals as well as for groups/teams. The winning individual or team will receive £500 for personal use and £500 for their nominated charity.

The winner of the IL award will be announced at the networking evening of LILAC on Monday 14th April 2025. As we are a non-profit organisation, run entirely by volunteers, any profits that we make from the conference go back into running the conference and providing free training to librarians across the country. This means that unfortunately we don’t have funds to provide free places to the conference for those that have been nominated for the award.

Award categories

Nominations must demonstrate impact, innovation, initiative and originality in one or more of the following areas:

• Raising the profile of IL within an organisation / community or sector
• Initiating or contributing to national, regional or local projects / initiatives which enhance IL skills for an identified client group(s)
• Developing a digital resource (e.g. online course, service, product or app) which develops and enhances IL skills
• Undertaking original research in the field of IL and making a significant contribution to the literature.

There should be evidence that the nominated individual or team is committed to sharing knowledge and expertise and/or disseminating their learning and/or research within their organisation and beyond.

Nominations will be judged upon evidence of impact within the past 3 years only.

To help create your nomination we recommend you familiarise yourself with the award guidelines and marking criteria.

Nominations

Nominations are now closed.

Individuals and teams may self-nominate or be nominated by colleagues. Nominations should take the form of:

Either

A written statement of evidence of the nominee contribution(s) in one or more of the areas above. This should not exceed 1500 words and may include visual elements e.g. images, graphics etc. where appropriate - please provide URLs to these where necessary.

Or

A short video (10 minutes maximum) addressing the nominee contribution(s) in one or more of the areas above. If this option is selected, the video should be uploaded to YouTube as unlisted content and the URL provided on the application form. Unlisted videos won't appear in YouTube's search results nor on your channel homepage. When creating a video submission please avoid using nominee(s) and institution(s) names as these are difficult for us to anonymise. Please contact help@lilacconference.com if you need any clarification.

How to apply
To apply for the award you will need to register as a member, or if you have already registered, just login to your account using the link at the top of the page. Once logged in to your account, scroll down to the awards section and select 'apply now' to complete your application.