Strengthening Public Libraries’ Information Literacy Services Through an Understanding of Knowledge Brokers’ Assessment of Technical and Scientific Information

Scientific and technical information is often translated for the public, by knowledge brokers such as journalists, Wikipedia editors, activists, and public librarians. This project will research how knowledge brokers assess the quality of scientific and technical information and the implications for public access, information literacy, and understanding of science. The project will use case studies on policy-relevant topics such as COVID-19, climate change, and artificial intelligence’s impact on the future of labor. This IMLS Early Career Development project will research, create, and test a toolkit of services for public libraries around technical and scientific information literacy, in collaboration with partner libraries and the Public Library Association. By utilizing the toolkit developed in this project, public libraries can help consumers of information become more discerning about the sources they deem reliable, as well as more skilled at processing information for themselves. This work will ultimately help libraries support citizens in finding trustworthy sources for societally-relevant technical and scientific knowledge. Read more.

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