Today there is no problem more critical to tackle yet more seemingly overwhelming than the spread of misinformation and disinformation. The attack on the U.S. Capitol was a heart wrenching reminder of that. Millions watched on live television as an enraged crowd resorted to violence over claims of a “stolen” election that were verifiably untrue. While many libraries have launched initiatives to address the dangerous spread of misinformation, others with limited staff and funding aren’t in position to add more programs and services, especially during a pandemic. 

However, even the smallest libraries provide services that support media literacy every day, sometimes in subtle but significant ways. Public access to a broad range of professionally curated books, materials and databases, along with staff trained in identifying reliable sources of information, are essential resources. In addition to those core services, there are a few lesser known ways public libraries support media literacy on a daily basis, one bite at a time.

Browsing as Freedom of Choice

According to Pew Research Center’s report The Information Needs of Citizens: Where Libraries Fit In, trust in information obtained from public libraries is rated higher than trust in information received from health care professionals, family and friends, government sources, or local news. 78% of those surveyed reported either “a lot of trust” or “some trust” in information acquired via public libraries. 

What makes trust in libraries higher than trust in other authoritative sources? My opinion is that freedom of choice is a crucial part of this relationship. Unlike health care facilities or government agencies, libraries are places where people typically browse and make choices for themselves. Browsing– either physically in the building or via the online catalog- and selecting their own resources from a broad collection, is likely to give people more ownership, and thus confidence, in their choices. 

Libraries encourage this by ensuring physical and online browsing spaces are comfortable (whether in terms of good lighting in physical spaces or readable fonts in virtual ones) and engaging (colorful, with interesting displays and interactive elements). The ability to browse and make choices for oneself enhances trust, and trust is critical to development of media literacy skills. Studies such as that by the Media Insight Project show that people are much more willing to believe content shared by those they trust, regardless of the original source of that content.

Children’s Storytimes

Children’s storytimes are a beloved mainstay of any public library, whether those programs are virtual or in-person. Having worked in youth services for ten years before moving into adult services, I’ve conducted dozens of storytimes. Even with the youngest preschoolers, even before “Once upon a time…” we typically start with cover and title page of the book. We read aloud the title, and then point out and read aloud the names of the author and illustrator. In doing so, we’re demonstrating that this book is the creation of an individual person… it didn’t spontaneously grow on a shelf or fall off a tree! 

Realizing that each book is authored by a specific person empowers children to see themselves as potential authors and illustrators. Knowing the writer behind the work also empowers readers, even young children, to find out more about the author’s background, seek out other work by this author, and decide whether this person is a good source of information (for nonfiction) or enjoyment (for fiction). This is part of media literacy: considering sources. 

Looking for books by favorite authors is a step beyond judging books by their covers. Children like to browse and select their own reading choices as much as adults. Studies such as Scholastic’s Kids & Family Reading Report show that freedom of choice in reading material increases enjoyment and time spent reading by children. Which brings us to…

Fiction Counts!

Fiction and other forms of reading for pleasure support media literacy, too. Reading entire books as opposed to social media posts and memes trains our minds to delve deeper, to understand complexity and nuance. Fiction reading has been demonstrated to improve empathy skills (a recent Discover Magazine article links to a few studies). The ability to psychologically put ourselves in another’s shoes is important to being able to understand others’ motives, and therefore how and why local and world events occur. 

Understanding the perspectives of others can help to defuse anger, a much-needed salve in a polarized society. We aren’t in a position to logically evaluate information when anger is in control. Unfortunately, propaganda works to inflame emotion precisely for that reason. Conversely, empathy enhances the ability to to engage in more productive dialog, an avenue to solving problems rather than merely reacting to them.

Sharing the joy of reading promotes a sense of community, which circles back to trust, a critical component to media literacy. Addressing the cognitive aspects of media literacy without the dimension of emotions, beliefs, and allegiances is a mistake, Peter Johan Lor writes in Democracy, information, and libraries in a time of post-truth discourse: “…libraries should exert the soft power they have as trusted, non-partisan community resources, and they should nurture this trust” (p. 317). 

When all libraries are fully open again – complete with programs and group activities that have been on hold- we are likely to be met by people happy to return to normal. We’ll also be dealing with people who have been under a lot of stress, some of whom are angry about pandemic-related restrictions. We might have to deal with rebuilding some trust. Luckily, the library is a good place for that. One bite at a time.

“In the library I felt better, words you could trust and look at till you understood them, they couldn’t change half way through a sentence like people, so it was easier to spot a lie.” – Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

Opinions of the author are her own and not meant to reflect those of her employer or any other individual or organization.

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Resources for this Episode:

Websites to help assess media bias:

• AllSides.com
  AllSides displays left, right and center coverage of top news stories side-by-side for perspective. They also provide media bias ratings for over 800 news outlets and writers, utilizing transparent scientific methods. Viewers can join in civic dialog about the issues via AllSides Connect.
• Media Bias/Fact Check
  Media Bias/Fact Check features a database of over 3600 media sources. Use the search bar to quickly check the bias level of a source. Also includes a pseudoscience dictionary.

Recommended Books:

Fake News, Propaganda, and Plain Old Lies: How to Find Trustworthy Information in the Digital Age, by Donald A. Barclay

Bad News: Why We Fall for Fake News and Alternative Facts, by Rob Brotherton

Post-Truth (The MIT Press Essential Knowledge), by Lee McIntyre 

The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters, by Tom Nichols

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The ethics theme was divided into two parts: Issues involving intellectual freedom and the spread of misinformation; and issues regarding principles of equality, social responsibility, and inclusion. Specified regarding inclusion were people experiencing homelessness, those experiencing loneliness, people with functional diversity, and LGBTQ+ individuals.

The main lesson I absorbed from this experience is that library professionals around the world share many of the same concerns as U.S. librarians. Combating rampant misinformation in the age of internet and social media, as well as dilemmas regarding how best to serve the most vulnerable populations, were key topics of discussion. Bridging the digital divide and alleviating social isolation were concerns across borders, exacerbated by the pandemic.

The 2020 conference featured speakers from France, Germany, the United States and Spain, as well as about 200 participants from Latin America, Europe and the U.S. Perspectives included those of writers, publishers, and social workers as well as reference librarians and library administrators. Among many partner organizations supporting the conference were the International Institute in Madrid, Spain’s Ministry of Culture, Goethe-Institut Madrid, and the embassies of France and the U.S.

Of particular interest to public librarians was the topic of people experiencing homelessness, as explained by social workers Silvia Galán Cordo and Ana Álvarez Rey-Carbacos of Samur Social Street Team, Madrid. As trusted faces among clients, they often help mediate issues that arise in libraries, collaborating with library staff as well as mental health service providers. People experiencing homelessness cannot always be identified based on appearance, especially during the pandemic, they pointed out. Use of the internet is a particularly critical need among this group: Something as simple as accessing retirement funds often necessitates digital access and digital literacy.

The social workers offered this advice for planning programs relevant to the homeless, such an internet training or job search help: Be flexible and offer incentives. It is difficult for people coping with homelessness to comply with rigid schedules, especially early meeting times. They may not own an alarm clock, may be in a shelter with set breakfast times, and may rely on public transportation. Incentives as simple as coffee not only make people feel more welcome but aid in the word-of-mouth spread of information about library programs.

Also from a public library perspective, Director of the Madrid Public Library M ͣLuisa Azcárraga Urteaga spoke of the psychological effects of loneliness and how libraries may help. She poignantly described loneliness as “having no one to share sorrows, but also joys.” Loneliness is often experienced by older people who may be widowed as well as retired. A significant portion of seniors have a disability that can make it harder to socialize. As in the U.S., library book clubs in Spain are typically attended by women over 60. Such book clubs often lead to going out for a drink or to a theater production based on a book, initiating social networks. However, even remote library services create connections: users call to ask for recommendations on ebooks or audio books, they chat with the driver of the bookmobile and with other readers, creating “tentacles beyond the physical space” of the library.

Those experiencing loneliness also include the well-educated and financially comfortable, Azcárraga Urteaga points out. Such people often avoid other social services due to the belief that such resources are not for them, but the public library is without stigma. She also explained how the library benefits young people, describing a “patient services” outreach program which involved reading to children in waiting rooms.

On the issue of misinformation and intellectual freedom, Cécile Swiatek, Deputy Director of the Library of the University of Paris II, illuminated the media literacy issue from the perspective of academic and scientific research libraries. She touched upon open access issues, both in terms of producing and unlocking scientific research. I presented a synopsis of my research on media literacy initiatives of U.S. public libraries since 2016. German author, translator, and publisher Zoë Beck spoke about issues relating to intellectual freedom in the publishing field.

Moderator Paz Fernández-Cuesta, Director of the Library of the Juan March Foundation Research Support Center in Madrid, coordinated the event with an empathetic and inquisitive tone, referring to the library as a “place of refuge” for many and ethics as a “living, evolving issue” within the profession. The conference opened with Javier Gomá Lanzón, philosopher and award-winning author, who said that for him personally the library is the best answer to the question: “Who has been your teacher?” He was interviewed by Anna Maria Ballester Bohn, Director of the Goethe-Institut Madrid Library. 

At the Q & A finale, many questions centered around what libraries are doing to help the most vulnerable, including people impacted by the pandemic. I mentioned the training our library staff received in Mental Health First Aid and in working with people experiencing homelessness. One of the key themes I absorbed from such training is to demonstrate respect for individuals well in advance of any difficult situations that may arise.

I was enriched by hearing from information professionals around the world about how they handle ethical problems. That so many of our concerns are the same makes me feel we have much to learn from one another about best practices. Perhaps a silver lining to this difficult year is that increased familiarity with virtual meetings and tools can lead to more communication and collaboration with international colleagues.

For more information, see the Everyday Ethics in Library Life conference recording. For past conference themes and general information, see the International Conference on Library Experiences. 

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“The Role of Libraries in Misinformation Programming: A Research Agenda,” by Jason C. Young, Brandyn Boyd, Katya Yefimova, Stacey Wedlake, Chris Coward and Rolf Hapel, outlines three areas in which academic partners can assist public libraries in the goal of achieving more effective methods for addressing misinformation: design of effective programming, development of tools to keep librarians informed, and empowering librarians to engage in controversial topics.

Researchers met with library staff from throughout the state of Washington to brainstorm on the topic. Participants discussed which approaches to misinformation were more likely to be successful, taking into consideration issues such as psychological barriers, the self-selecting nature of programs, and hardships faced by community members, including limited digital access.

Some ideas included integrating media literacy concepts within popular programming, as opposed to stand-alone programing on the topic (humorously described by one participant as “hiding the broccoli in the brownies”); capitalizing on trends such as virtual reality to garner interest; and strengthening community ties through dialog to combat the divisiveness exploited by misinformation campaigns. Participants emphasized the need for programming that was highly responsive, timely, and relevant to the daily lives of their community members. 

Staff also discussed challenges including perceived political connotations around terms such as “fake news” and “misinformation” causing some to resist those topics or even take offense. Challenges also include lack of staff time and other resources (funding, expertise, technology) – even a lack of confidence in tackling the issue. 

Another difficulty discussed was the lack of rigorous evaluation of public library programs and resulting data that would help in designing effective initiatives. The authors suggest that LIS and education scholars could help by developing and testing curriculum tools in public libraries. Another idea was for researchers to assist librarians by providing a portal to “fact cards” on current misinformation across a range of subjects. This could help librarians keep up with the constantly shifting barrage.

Libraries enjoy a trusted role in their communities and are also dependent upon local funding and support. These factors can make it more difficult for library staff to tackle potentially controversial issues, even problems that should be neutral and within their wheelhouse such as media literacy. Unfortunately, perpetrators of misinformation often malign those best positioned to counteract the misinformation (I think of this as “meta-misinformation”- turning people away not only from a particular set of facts but also from more reliable sources in general).

The authors acknowledge that many library core missions contribute to counteracting misinformation, including the psychological roots of it. They write: “Misinformation is most dangerous when it is able to exploit the fears and needs of communities. If librarians are able to bring communities together to solve problems before they become the target of a disinformation campaign, then this is a valuable contribution even if the library never directly addresses the topic…” Technology and literacy training are among services libraries provide that impact the “complex information ecosystem that supports misinformation.” 

Overall, the findings align with my own research on several points, including staff concern over the self-selecting nature of programs, lack of staff time as a primary barrier to more proactive responses, and the importance of staff training and community partnerships. However, this article does much more to address how academic partners can take a more active role in supporting public libraries in combatting misinformation.

Ironically, the article itself, while illuminating, also represents some of the difficulties faced by public library staff in accessing resources that could aid our mission. Empirical research on how best to implement media literacy initiatives in public libraries is uncommon to begin with, but what exists is often behind a paywall. Academics, including academic librarians, have professional incentives to produce research that public librarians do not. Academic professionals are naturally more likely to focus on the topic from the perspective of academic libraries rather than public ones. Academic research published behind a paywall further isolates it from use by public librarians. All this circles back to the suggestion by the authors that it would be helpful for academic researchers to partner with public libraries in training, programming, assessment, and access to research and expertise.

As the information- and misinformation- landscape continues to become more complex, librarians will need the support of colleagues, community members, and partners in combatting the misinformation that threatens our communities. It is heartening to know that we have allies.

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