Transforming Public Libraries’ Approach to Digital Literacy: Tools for Success

Has your community been impacted by the spread of false and polarizing information? Can your patrons identify reliable information sources? Come learn how public libraries across Washington and Texas have come together to develop innovative approaches to teaching digital literacy, to support patrons as they navigate misinformation and the social divisions it produces. This panel will share resources developed by a nationwide project that is bringing librarians, academic researchers, K12 educators, journalists, and community organizers together to rethink our approach to teaching digital literacy. This project is developing approaches to equip people with the critical thinking skills they need to assess the truthfulness of information, and also skills to reflect on their social and emotional attachments to information. This moderated panel will be hosted by public librarians and researchers involved in the project. They will begin by providing an overview of the project, including a description of the many impacts of misinformation, the limitations of existing approaches to teaching digital literacy, and the steps the project has taken to rethink digital literacy. The project, funded by the US National Science Foundation, is developing a suite of free and open resources and tools to help libraries and other community-based organizations adopt those approaches. Panelists will describe these tools and resources, which you can use to develop and implement digital literacy programming contextualized to the needs of your own community. In support of the ALA’s ‘Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion’ strategic direction, panelists will also discuss the project’s focus on developing resources specifically tailored to supporting rural communities and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. At the end of the panel, the moderator will facilitate a Q&A session. Attendees will leave with both a theoretical and practical understanding of how to offer more effective digital literacy instruction, to give individuals the skills they need to address misinformation in their communities. The session should therefore be useful for any librarian that wants to help their community develop a healthier relationship to online information.