Information literacy enables an individual to make informed decisions and become a productive member of society. Unfortunately, as the Association of College and Research Libraries states in their Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: Final Report, “the very people who most need the empowerment inherent in being information literate are the least likely to have learning experiences which will promote these abilities. Minority and at-risk students, illiterate adults, people with English as a second language, and economically disadvantaged people are among those most likely to lack access to the information that can improve their situations.” (ALA, 1989)
In their report the Association of College and Research Libraries mention some examples of situations where information literacy would be helpful.
Can you think of any situations in your own life where information literacy has helped you make the right decision? Can you think of any situation where someone without these skills could make the wrong decision or not be able to make one at all?
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presidential.cfm#importance
The expansion of the internet, has made the availability of information seem almost limitless and libraries offer free access to this. In many cases the internet is a great tool however one must be able to differentiate between what they need, what is truth and what is opinion, and how to use it effectively. Without these skills it is easy for one to become misled.
The following article is about some Easthampton fourth graders who were using the internet to research Ancient Egypt, and found that the Ancient Egyptians worshipped Chihuahua Pharaohs. The fourth graders thought they had found something for their research project, however, "a closer investigation of the fictional Chihuahuas revealed they were in fact intended as a fun graphic-design project, not an Egyptian history lesson." (Scherer, 1999)
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~callan/k12/Press/DHG-5-4-99.html
One example of uncertainty on the web would be Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia. Many mistakenly trust Wikipedia as a reliable source however, their own disclaimer states, “anyone with an Internet connection” can alter its content and they cannot guarantee accuracy. (Shaw, 2008) This means anyone can post something claiming that it is truth and without the skills to verify the information one can be terribly misled.
The article below from the New York Times discusses one case of incorrect information appearing on Wikipedia . The former editor of The Tennessean in Nashville, John Seigenthaler Sr., discovered after reading his own biography on Wikipedia, “that he ‘was thought to have been directly involved in the Kennedy assassinations of both John and his brother Bobby." (Seelye, 2005)In addition he found, “that the false information had been on the site for several months and that an unknown number of people had read it, and possibly posted it on or linked it to other sites.” (Seelye, 2005)
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/04/college/coll04seelye.html?scp=13&sq=internet%20reliability&st=cse
On the other hand many newspapers will cite Wikipedia as a source for the information they are reporting on. In this article author Donna Shaw discusses the controversy surrounding the use of Wikipedia in news stories. While many newspapers do not have any specific policy banning the use of Wikipedia, many will use this as a starting point for their research. One editor is quoted as saying, “Trained journalists have better resources available to them than Wikipedia.” (Shaw, 2008)
What if you weren’t a trained journalist, how do you determine if what you are reading on the internet is accurate?
References
American Library Association. (1989, November 2, 2008). Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: Final Report. Washington D.C.: ALA.
from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presidential.cfm#importance
Scherer, M. (1999, November 2, 2008). Internet not always good source. Daily Hampshire Gazette, from http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~callan/k12/Press/DHG-5-4-99.html
Seelye, K. Q. (2005, November 8, 2008). Snared in the Web of a Wikipedia Liar. New York Times,
from http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/04/college/coll04seelye.html?scp=13&sq=internet%20reliability&st=cse
Shaw, D. (2008). Wikipedia in the Newsroom. American Journalism Review, 30(1), 40-45
10 comments:
Information literacy is important in making political decisions, decisions that require research or careful examination. With the excitement of the elections last week, I realize how crucial it is to have reliable sources that explores the debated issues both on a national and local level. People make uninformed decisions if they do not have these sources at their disposal, or are not literate enough to understand the differences between a reliable source and a biased report.
Information Literacy is an important factor in life. It allows us to make decisions based upon the information provided. What is really scary is the article about fourth graders using the internet to research Ancient Egypt and it was discovered that the information off the internet was intended as a graphic-design assignment. Too many people are becoming too reliant upon the internet and not seriously evaluating the sources. Often times it becomes too easy to “cut and paste” information from the internet. People become desensitize by the internet. For many people they fail to evaluate and verify the information they need. I think that this only further strengthens the need and importance of a library.
Nate, what you said about the need for a library is very relevant. Not too long ago in this class we were coming up with reasons that librarians/libraries will continue to be an important part of life despite the prevalence of accessible information. We can so well see that that may be one of the main reasons in fact, why libraries are so important today. And just think back to when we were discussing the reasons to call librarians Information Professionals.
Rose, I agree very much with your statement that "information literacy is important in making political decisions." Any candidate in an election is subject to rumors and false claims, often at the hands of his/her opponent, as a matter of routine in campaigns. It is very important for the public to thoroughly research all candidates and all issues before voting. To simply rely on hearsay and campaign tactics is to not be fully informed. It can be very difficult to separate fact from fiction in times like this, but we must at least make an effort to try!
Katherine, your comment was interesting. My husband was telling me about an interview he saw on TV before the elections where one person had been going to vote for a certain candidate, but changed his mind when he got new information. Unfortunately, that information was completely false, yet he based his vote on it. Research is very important. Finding multiple sources that state the same information can help us determine the validity of the statement. However, with so much information flowing at us each day, how do we determine what information to reseach and what to take at face value?
As an untrained reporter, one required to find sources for the purpose of information, I would compare material. Online information can be compared to print and other online sources. It would be important to view each source with some hesitation. This could be done at the very least in terms of getting good sources.
Over the past months it has been interesting to see the differences in info lit on our presidential candidates. McCain admitted he does not use the web and also does not use email. Alternatively, Obama is very web-oriented. He utilized the web across his campaign and now, as the president-elect he has his weekly updates on youtube. Voters, who utilized the web, would have access to a great deal of information- in which they could take their time to digest and compare the candidates and their issues. On the other hand, those who did not utilize the web, were forced to listen to the news or paper which unless you seek another paper or channel, you will hear one side only.
Several posts have focused on information literacy in supporting informed political decisions, and I agree with these viewpoints. There are other decisions of similar importance in people's lives which are also supported by information literacy; medical/health-related decisions come to mind.
The constant and rapid evolution of medical technology has led to a situation in which patients may need to find reliable sources of medical information to help evaluate what they are hearing from their doctor, and information literacy is necessary to choose reliable sources. Health information is available from lots of sources (some of which have profit motives; think fad diets) and information literacy can help people lead healthier lives by allowing them to get reliable information in these areas.
I also want to throw in this article. It’s an older one from 2003 and many of us may remember the story of the reporter from the New York Times, that was found to have made up details of stories and interviews, as well as plagiarized stories during his career. It’s scary to think even sources we would normally find reliable can mislead us. Here is the article:
"CORRECTING THE RECORD; Times Reporter Who Resigned Leaves Long Trail of Deception"
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9403E1DB123FF932A25756C0A9659C8B63&scp=26&sq=Jayson+Blair&st=nyt
Doesn't this go back to last week's topic in conducting "real research?" I again think that there is a time and place for all types of research--if one is doing a comprehensive research project, I hope that they will rely on both printed and electronic sources. I think this could help students to sort out some of the problematic misinformation out there to some extent. I think it will help to put a check on both sides of the spectrum. Again, it is up to us as professionals to help our clients sort through all of this so that they can have valid and reliable materials to use in their works. And to that extent, I concur in the posts of Nate and Kinga--I think they both hit this point head on. Let's stay relevant, keep our status as a profession, and recognize that we are very much needed in this critical time!
Post a Comment