A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education from University of Iowa lecturer David Gooblar about how to teach information literacy in an era of lies has really got me thinking.
It is truly becoming a murky minefield to navigate, deciphering the purpose of online information. Just this week, one of our New Zealand politicians stomped into this minefield wearing big, oversized boots.
It seems on the surface, that distinguishing lies from truth should be a relatively straightforward process, but it is actually becoming increasingly difficult to make the differentiation. Those of us wearing our librarian hats will be nodding sagely at this, thinking to ourselves, yes, this we know, this we teach, this we have conversations about on an almost daily basis. We think in this Trumpist-media-worldview era that we are the panacea to the problem. And, yes I think we have a huge part to play in this arena.
But as I read further into David Gooblar’s article, I realised the approach I have been using with senior students and teachers, using the CRAAP Test to get them to think critically about the selection of information, really wasn’t going far enough, specifically in the “Purpose” part of the evaluation.
There are two pieces I’ve been missing.
The first: Focus on evaluating the claim being made, not just the source it’s published in. Gooblar refers to statements made by Michael Caufield, director of blended learning at Washington State University, in a 2017 blog post, where he describes the process of “lateral reading” – consulting a variety of sources to verify a claim. He urges us to teach our students to:
- Look for previous fact-checking work on a particular issue.
- Follow a claim “upstream”, which involves following the trail of citations.
"It's more important for students to be able to evaluate claims than sources. To assess the veracity of a given source's claims, students often have to consult other sources."
The second: Danah Boyd, a social media researcher states, “That the next step is for students to go beyond assessing sources and claims. They need to be able to assess themselves.”
We need to get our students to identify their own personal “filter-bubble” (and think about our own as well!). This is no longer about acknowledging “good” vs “bad” websites, “true” or “false” information, it is more about really digging into the bias, not just of what we’re reading and where we’re reading it, but how we’re receiving it.
I want to finish with David Gooblar’s final sentence:
“How can students succeed in any intellectual pursuit if they cannot tell what’s true from what’s false?”
How, indeed!?
And if you are looking for even more inspiration then you should invest in a copy of 
Information Literacy Journal
Evidence Based Library and Information Practice Journal
SLANZA Collected magazine 
LIANZA Library Life
WEVE Magazine 
A month ago I organised our Waikato/BOP SLANZA training day. I wanted to impart the concept that the power of a library is based on relationships, on people. All we do is based around this. We invited a school counselor and other panelists to talk about the needs of our students, what they face as Generation Z, the issues that they grapple with and how we as librarian practitioners can support them best. The counselor suggested all libraries need a big cuddly toy. I thought Yeah, but Nah, a great kiwi colloquialism meaning maybe a good idea for others, but not for us.
I listened, I empathised and then I got into my car raced down to The Warehouse and bought Jaimee. Yesterday she came into my office, hugged him and smiled “Thanks Miss for getting Jaimee. It is so good to just snuggle up to him.” Since then I have had students who have never before engaged with us ask for him. They sit him on their knee, they get on a computer and they type like fury. Their teachers are blown away. They have never concentrated like that before.
The usage of libraries continues to evolve. It is no longer a place of quiet study and silent reading. Instead it is a thriving community, a place of learning by discussion, of people not being informed only by notes and pages, but by social engagement, online learning, open discussion – and fluffy giraffes called Jaimee.
At Cambridge High School this looks like a lounge, a place you retreat to as a safe place. It is warm; it is filled with people you connect with; it is a place where meaningful discussion occurs; it is comfortable; it is a place where you read, a place you watch TV, a place you discuss what you read, what you watch and how you react to those ideas. It is place of debate; it is a place of security. It is a place where you eat; a place where you are most relaxed.
So Jaimee eLula Giraffe is now a staff member. He is being told secrets, read picture books to, held while his friends type like fury. He is carted around the school on grand tours; he is there, and he can be whatever our people need him to be in their often confused, shaken, broken and scary worlds. Jaimee is an identity when they struggle to have one, and he is soft and gentle when their world can be hard and harsh.
sengawhite.nz 