Conference Agenda

Attention to the challenges of mis- and disinformation has increased along with the recognition of the influence of mis/disinformation on successive United States presidential elections, the Brexit vote, other elections and ballot initiatives worldwide, and response to the antiviral vaccine for the COVID-19 virus. In 2013, the World Economic Forum identified mis/disinformation as one of the top three global threats (Howell, 2013), and in its 2019 report, the Forum elaborated to recognize that “among the most widespread and disruptive impacts of AI in recent years has been its role in the rise of “media echo chambers and fake news” (World Economic Forum, 2019).

The crisis of misinformation has led to calls for greater attention to information and news literacy instruction, and libraries have been identified as one of the key institutions to provide such training (Jaeger & Taylor, 2021). However, academic librarians often depend on the interest and invitation of teaching faculty to engage in library instruction. Even when they are given classroom time, they often have to tailor their instruction to the specific courses, assignments, and directions of the faculty, which might not allow them to address topics of mis/disinformation in any depth. Indeed, a study of over 700 faculty members in the United States across various disciplines found that while the vast majority of faculty agree that the mis/disinformation is a problem and that instruction in news literacy skills is important, they vary as to whether they believe it is their responsibility to teach those skills, and very few report working with a librarian to address mis/disinformation in the classroom (Saunders, 2022). This survey of faculty was followed in 2022 by a survey of academic librarians in the United States. Similar to the faculty survey, librarians were asked their perspectives on various aspects of mis- and disinformation, whether and how they were addressing mis- and disinformation topics in their instruction, and their perceptions of student news literacy competencies (Saunders, forthcoming).

The survey of academic librarians was replicated in France in fall of 2023. In this session the panelists will share the results of the surveys from both countries, exploring how librarians in each country perceive the challenges of mis- and disinformation, which tools and responses they believe to be most effective in combatting those challenges, and the extent to which they are teaching these concepts to their students. The panelists will provide a preliminary comparison of responses between the two countries and compare these to the faculty responses from the previous study. They conclude with recommendations for increasing collaboration between faculty and librarians, and further integration of mis/disinformation topics into library instruction. This session is suited to a panel presentation because the presenters will be reporting on two separate studies first, before comparing the results across the studies. The panel format allows for the studies to be presented as a series, but will also entail ample time for questions and discussion with the audience.

References

Howell, L. (2013). Global risks 2013. World Economic Forum. Retrieved from http://reports.weforum.org/global-risks-2013/title-page/

Jaeger, P. T., & Taylor, N.G. (2021). Arsenals of life-long information literacy: Educating users to navigate political and current events information in a world of ever-evolving misinformation. Library Quarterly, 91(1), 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1086/711632

Saunders, L. (2022). Faculty perspectives on mis- and disinformation across disciplines. College & Research Libraries, 83(2), 221–245. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.83.2.221

Saunders, L. (forthcoming). Librarian perspectives on misinformation: A follow-up and comparative study. College & Research Libraries.

World Economic Forum. (2019). The Global Risks Report 2019. World Economic Forum. Retrieved from http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Risks_Report_2019.pdf

In this workshop, we will share our experience, in the UK, of developing a national coordination body to advocate for media and information literacy (MIL), encourage capacity-building and help to build the MIL evidence base. We would like to compare our approach with similar or related initiatives in other countries and to use the workshop as to discuss with participants the ways of building awareness, across society, of MIL as an indispensable contribution to lifelong learning, citizenship, health and everyday life. The workshop will address lessons learnt from the UK and from participants’ own countries. It should point to ideas about how best to generate interest in MIL among diverse stakeholders (within and beyond the information professions) and, ultimately, contribute to the elaboration of public policy and practice, including educational practice.

The workshop will draw from the work undertaken by the UK’s Media and Information Literacy Alliance (MILA). This was set up in October 2021, following the publication of the UK Government’s Online Media Literacy Strategy (Online Media Literacy Strategy, 2021), which covers both media literacy and information literacy. One of the challenges identified in the Strategy is the lack of cross-sector coordination and collaboration between the wide range of stakeholders in the UK. MILA seeks to address this, in the first instance by generating a dialogue with a multiplicity of players. These include, for instance, Ofcom (the UK’s media regulator), Health Education England, the Association for Citizenship Teaching, Wikimedia UK, The Royal Society of Arts, as well as individuals and organisations representing higher education, public libraries, school libraries and policymakers.

The workshop will discuss the dynamics of building a national MIL initiative from scratch, and participants will be asked to cover questions such as:

• What are the approaches to persuading stakeholders (public, commercial and third-sector) of the relevance and importance of MIL?

• What are the most effective mechanisms and strategies for developing a network or alliance?

• What are the concrete activities that a national MIL might best undertake (e.g. undertaking research, building communities of practice, advocacy, etc.)?

• In a context where MIL is often seen as a protectionist measure against threats such as disinformation, how can stakeholders and society also be made aware of the empowering potential of MIL?

• How might such initiatives be resourced (money, people), in environments where funding is not always easily available?

The extent and scale of national MIL policies and practices, particularly in the educational world, varies from country to country (Frau-Meigs, et al., 2017). It is almost 10 years since UNESCO issued their Media and information literacy policy and strategy guidelines (2013), so we would like to discuss what impact these might have had around the world. The workshop will enable participants to consider good practice internationally, to compare experiences and to provide insights into what collaborative interventions are effective to help foster national MIL policies. The facilitators will use world cafe style discussions to capture outputs from the workshop and share these with delegates after the session. Participants will work in groups, each of which will cover the questions outlined above, drawing from their own national/international experiences, and focusing on the steps and mechanics for building a national alliance and the ways of developing and maintaining momentum.

References

Frau-Meigs, et al. (2017). Public policies in media and information literacy in Europe. Routledge.

Media and Information Literacy Alliance. Retrieved June 14, 2023, from https://www.mila.org.uk

UK Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. (2021). Online media literacy strategy. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/online-media-literacy-strategy

UNESCO. (2013). Media and information literacy: Policy and strategy guidelines. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000225606