Lizard People in the Library. PIL Provocation Series. Volume 1, Number 1

As "research it yourself" becomes a rallying cry for promoters of outlandish conspiracy theories with real-world consequences, educators need to think hard about what's missing from their information literacy efforts. Setting aside the fact that the people most likely to share misinfo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inProject Information Literacy
Main Author Fister, Barbara
Format Report
LanguageEnglish
Published Project Information Literacy 03.02.2021
Subjects
Beliefs
Ethics
Information Literacy
Libraries
Misconceptions
Political Attitudes
Propaganda
Research Skills
Social Media
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:As "research it yourself" becomes a rallying cry for promoters of outlandish conspiracy theories with real-world consequences, educators need to think hard about what's missing from their information literacy efforts. Setting aside the fact that the people most likely to share misinformation haven't been in a classroom for decades, most students in the past fifty years have received instruction under various names: media literacy, digital literacy, news literacy, information literacy, civic literacy, critical thinking, and the umbrella concept of metaliteracy. It's constantly being reinvented to meet perceived crises of confidence, largely driven by the emergence of new technologies. But the present moment demands serious consideration of why decades of trying to make information literacy a universal educational outcome hasn't prevented a significant portion of the population from fervidly embracing an elaborately populated world of disinformation while rejecting "mainstream media." It's time for a thorough revamping of the purpose of inviting students to engage in inquiry as a civic practice. Educators, including librarians who teach, will need to dive deeply within themselves to confront and clarify their own beliefs and assumptions about how they know what is real and what isn't. It will take work. This article shares some promising places to start.