Cooke speaks at Digital Sociology conference, publishes in LQ

GSLIS Assistant Professor Nicole A. Cooke recently spoke at the Digital Sociology Mini-conference, which was held February 27-28 in New York. Her talk, "Combating Cultural Misinformation/Disinformation on the Internet," was presented as part of a panel discussion titled, "Race, Racism, and Digitally Mediated Spaces." The mini-conference was hosted by the Digital Laboratory Working Group of The City University of New York and held in conjunction with annual meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society.

Abstract: The Internet is saturated with information that is of low-to-no quality. Yet, with lightening speed a great deal of this information goes viral without being vetted or confirmed. Much of this information is good and/or positive, but there is another, darker, side to this information coin—there is an inordinate amount of misinformation and disinformation (mis/dis) online. Mis/dis is information that is false, and even salacious and malicious enough to be damaging, especially as it pertains to cultural images and messages. If such information is ever retracted, disproved or corrected, the damage has been done and the evidence remains digitally archived for eternity.  

How can Internet users become more competent and intelligent users of information, to the point of becoming culture jammers who critique popular culture in an effort to challenge the status quo and resist dominant cultural practices?  An approach to reaching this level of critical media consumption is to impart literacy skills to Internet users. Specifically, information literacy, digital literacy, and cultural literacy would facilitate the average Internet user’s ability to seek, find, and use appropriate information, which in turn would facilitate more thoughtful dialogues and learning. Literacy skills would facilitate a shift from the rote crowdsourcing of information on the Internet to substance based community inquiry processes.

Cooke’s latest publication addresses issues of diversity and inclusion in the information professions and in library and information science education. Her paper, “The Virtuous Circle Revisited: Injecting Diversity, Inclusion, Rights, Justice, and Equity into LIS from Education to Advocacy,” appears in the April 2015 issue of The Library Quarterly.  

Abstract: The field of library and information science (LIS) has long struggled with issues of diversity and inclusion in the composition of information professionals, in educational content, and in connecting with many communities. Yet the field has also produced many innovative approaches to meeting unique community needs and incorporating issues of justice, rights, and equity into educational activities. Although these approaches rarely connect education and advocacy, connecting these two can both facilitate better sharing of best practices in these areas and enable the educational and professional efforts of the field to better complement one another. Building on the “virtuous circle” concept that a truly effective focus on inclusion in the field will require involvement of both educators and professionals, this article offers a series of cases from LIS education programs and information institutions focusing on intersecting issues of diversity, inclusion, rights, justice, and equity.

Cooke graduated from Rutgers University with a PhD in communication, information, and library studies in 2012 (where she was a 2008 American Library Association Spectrum Doctoral Fellow). Previously, she was an instruction librarian and tenured assistant professor at Montclair State University’s (NJ) Sprague Library. Named a Mover & Shaker in 2007 by Library Journal, Cooke is professionally active in ACRL, ALISE, and several other professional library organizations. She holds the MLS degree from Rutgers University, and a M.Ed. in Adult Education from Penn State.

Her research interests include human information behavior, particularly in an online context, eLearning, and diversity and social justice in librarianship. She has published articles in journals including The Library Quarterly, Library & Information Science Research, InterActions: UCLA Journal of Education and Information, Polymath: An Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Journal, Information Research, The Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning, The New Review of Academic Librarianship, and The Library and Book Trade Almanac 2013. Cooke also coauthored Instructional Strategies and Techniques for Information Professionals (Chandos Press, 2012).

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