A New Approach to Info Lit: “How Can We Help?”

Sponsored by SAGE Publishing

Recorded on 05/26/2020
Posted in The Authority File

Episode 128

Though this may sound crass, a topic like a global pandemic—something that naturally attracts gossip, mania, and misinformation—is a gold mine for information literacy instructors. Is that pre-print reliable? Is that headline’s only purpose to strike an emotional chord? Who should you listen to, the politician or the scientist?

But even as the need for information literacy programs grows, proving its value can be difficult at the institutional level. Roz Tedford at Wake Forest University, Dan Chibnall at Drake University, and Sarah Morris at Emory University Libraries, explain that the key is to show “librarians as being these multidisciplinary people that have these critical thinking skills to showcase.”

In the last episode of this four-part series, the guests discuss the scale of info lit in an ideal world, how to measure the success of their instruction, and how they’ve incorporated the pandemic into their class discussions. Mila Steele, Senior Publisher of Social Sciences at SAGE Publishing, reveals how SAGE has provided materials to students, faculty, and librarians during this crisis: “As an industry, publishing isn’t known for being a swift current, so it was quite a revolutionary feeling for us to feel like, just drop everything. What’s our supply chain? How can we help? How can we support in terms of getting stuff out there?”

About the guests:

Rosalind Tedford
Director of Research & Instruction
Wake Forest University

Dan Chibnall
STEM Librarian and Assistant Professor of Librarianship
Drake University

Sarah Morris
Head of Instruction and Engagement
Emory University Libraries

Mila Steele
Senior Publisher of Social Sciences
SAGE Publishing

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