California Academic & Research Libraries

News

SCIL WORKS 2026

This year’s SCIL Works will focus on assessment in library instruction, in all its forms and nuances. It will be on Friday, February 20 from 9am - 1:15pm as a virtual, half-day conference.

Registration is full.

What do we mean when we say “assessment?” The answer is, as our title suggests, always constructed and contextual. A library director may define it as demonstrating the value of library instruction to campus administration. An instruction coordinator may think of using finished student work to measure the impact of a one-shot earlier in the year. A student might wonder why they’re being asked to complete so many evaluations of their learning experiences, and where that information is going. All of these perspectives, and more, are part of the assessment landscape. Definitions of information literacy are rapidly evolving; are our assessment methods keeping up?

At its best, assessment helps to answer the question: “How do we measure, reflect on, and evaluate what students are learning?” The SCIL Works annual mini-conference is an opportunity to learn about interventions, best practices, innovative pedagogy, and creative solutions in instruction and information literacy assessment.

Schedule

• 09:00 - 09:10: Welcome and Opening Remarks
• 09:10 - 10:25: Session Block 1 (Presentations and Show & Tell)
• 10:25 - 10:35: Break
• 10:35 - 11:35: Session Block 2 (Presentations)
• 11:35 - 11:45: Break
• 11:45 - 01:00: Session Block 3 (Presentations and Show & Tell)
• 01:00 - 01:15: Closing remarks and evaluations

Please see the SCIL Works 2026 page for full descriptions of the presentations.

---

Past events

For information about past events, visit our Events page.

About SCIL

The Southern California Instruction Librarians (SCIL -- pronounced "skill") interest group is dedicated to providing professional development and discussion opportunities focused on information literacy and instruction-related activities for library professionals from all types of institutions.

CARL is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities at all CARL-sponsored events. Please indicate your special needs or dietary requirements when registering or RSVPing to events. Requests for special accommodations must be received at least two weeks prior to the event.

The Southern California Instruction Librarians (SCIL) is an interest group of the California Academic and Research Libraries Association (CARL), an independent chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). The information on this website is wholly the responsibility of CARL and implies no endorsement by ACRL.

Announcements

Listservs

If you would like to be added to our general listserv, please sign up here. To join our SCIL Steering Committee listserv, sign up here.