Convergences and Divergences: Faculty and Librarian Perceptions on Misinformation in the Classroom

This presentation shares the results of a nationwide study of faculty and academic librarians examining the extent to which each group addresses misinformation in the classroom, and the extent to which they collaborate in that work. The survey explored which issues related to misinformation each group finds most pressing and which approaches to combat its spread they see as most promising, as well as their ratings of college students' news literacy skills. The presentation will explore the overlap and differences between each group's perspectives. One survey examined whether faculty are addressing these issues in their classroom, and how they are addressing the issues, or why they are not addressing them. A parallel survey asked similar questions of librarians. The results indicate that while both groups share concerns about the threats of mis- and disinformation, and both view students' news literacies proficiencies as moderate, attention to the topic in the classroom varies. Faculty are highly unlikely to collaborate with librarians in designing or delivering instruction or assessments on the topic. Some librarians report that they are not able to address mis- and disinformation and news literacy in the classroom because the faculty with whom they work do not request such instruction. The presentation will conclude with recommendations for librarians who want to increase the news literacy instruction and their collaboration with faculty.