Content area
Purpose
The library and information science profession finds itself grappling with substantial difficulties and hurdles when addressing the trustworthiness and accuracy of information disseminated through social media platforms. This study aims to highlight the educational authority of librarians and propose a framework for librarians to establish their identity, understand the meaning behind their practice and integrate their expertise through knowledge practices, ensuring their relevance and effectiveness in the social media environment.
Design/methodology/approach
This study delves into a conceptual framework rooted in philosophical inquiry, seeking to establish a harmonious connection between interrelated concepts of civic roles, professional identity and knowledge practices. It draws upon both original research findings and a review of existing literature in the field.
Findings
Civic responsibilities reflect the professional identities of librarians. Evidence of knowledge practices collected from scientific literature emerged to be the important characterization of how librarians uphold their image as educational authorities. It describes the meaning of civic roles and professional practice.
Practical implications
The study sheds light on how librarians maintain their reputation as educators and the knowledge practices that underpin their civic responsibilities amidst the pervasiveness of information disorders.
Originality/value
The framework presented in the study offers a timely and relevant contribution to the complex realm of social media information disorders, a challenge that librarians grapple with regularly. It highlights the emerging role of librarians in society to assert their identity and recognize their civic responsibility in addressing this pressing issue that society faces.
1. Introduction
Librarians are professionals who underwent formal training responsible for the management and protection of library collections including selecting, processing, organizing, preserving and disseminating such library materials needed by their users. Another responsibility they have is to educate and instruct users on how to access information in any kind of format (Reitz, 2014). However, librarians as professionals lack prestige and the general populace has a lack of awareness of the library field (Seminelli, 2016). Recruitment and retention of students to take library and information science (LIS) is a great feat to consider as a low number of applicants acknowledge the program. A study revealed in Canada that 60% of freshmen believe that no academic training is needed by librarians (Seminelli, 2016). Librarians struggle to be appreciated as professionals. The profession continues to uplift the status of librarianship globally, however, the impact of their roles and responsibilities continue to face more difficulties.
More recently, the profession has been faced with tremendous challenges concerning not only their professional identity but also their knowledge practices when the post-truth era has emerged to be one of the problematic issues that face reliable information such as fake news content (Affelt, 2019; Cooke, 2018; Revez and Corujo, 2021). Social media is one of the most difficult mediums to counter false information (Burkhardt, 2017). In social media, people can share news, content and information instantly with less evaluation. Information shared on social media appeals to different emotions of people and the less you evaluate, the more you become a victim of fake news. These threats involving the misuse and misinterpretation of information are now a challenge for librarians.
We face a growing international crisis of truth, where false information spreads rapidly through national and international channels. Libraries, with their longstanding tradition of fostering democracy and providing equal access to verified information, are uniquely positioned to combat this threat on a personal level (Taylor et al., 2021). Cooke (2021) believes that a cornerstone of democracy is the freedom to choose who we listen to and form our own beliefs. While it allows for independent thought, it also makes us susceptible to confirmation bias, the tendency to favor information that aligns with our existing beliefs. Ideally, with access to education and critical thinking skills, individuals should be empowered to evaluate information rationally, not simply accept what confirms their pre-existing views. Individuals specially librarians equipped with the right tools, extensive training and a critical thinking mindset are better positioned to avoid misinformation.
As librarians gain more professional experience and practice, they can help individuals develop a strong foundation of knowledge and the ability to analyze information objectively. This empowers them to effectively discern fact from fiction. As stressed by Affelt (2019), librarians champion factual news and research, acting as a vital resource for accurate and reliable information. However, combatting fake news is a challenge beyond any single librarian’s capacity. By leveraging the profession’s collective expertise, we can tackle this issue within our libraries, institutions and across the profession. We need active involvement from librarians; relying solely on the truth to speak for itself is not enough (Kraft, 2024).
False information or information disorders as defined by Cooper (2021) spark concerns about how librarians at the professional level use their knowledge practices to combat this controversial phenomenon. There is a need to understand how librarians use civic engagement strategies to combat false information and navigate distorted realities. The impact of fake news that surrounds librarians provides them an opportunity to uphold their professional identity as educational authorities which needs questioning as to how they connect this with their current knowledge practices.
2. Literature review
The theory of professional identity in library and information science
Professional identities are social and role-based work identities that are shaped in the context of the workplace (Caza and Creary, 2016; Webb, 2015). It is an individual’s image that shapes them as a professional. It requires advanced training and skills that would lead to knowledge expansion and will separate one professional from the other (Fergusson et al., 2020; Pratt et al., 2006).
Garcia and Barbour (2018) studied the common negative traits associated with librarians. These are the “librarians’ appearance and personalities, job tasks, job titles, and educational backgrounds.” Descriptions such as shy, bookish and smart explain how the public views librarians. These are only physical appearances and do not tell what a librarian’s work all is about. At worst, librarians felt underappreciated for recognizing their real work. As mentioned by Seale and Mirza (2019), having a master’s degree in LIS provides value and meaning to the work of librarians. They can only be considered professionals if they earn an MLS (or MLIS).
Using Swanson’s understanding of professional identity theory in LIS refers to the “internalization and socialization of a profession’s culture, values, and identity.” The authors added that professional identity can be reflected in a sense where working as a librarian is more than the job of an individual and that there is an assumed value attributed to the profession (Swanson et al., 2018). When librarian recognizes that they can influence their community, it is believed that professional worth is gained by the practitioner (Fergusson et al., 2020).
As librarians inherently understand and continually explore their roles, they cultivate their professional identity through internal recognition, as outlined by Monrouxe et al. (2011). At this stage, librarians gain the ability to regulate their behavior professionally. For instance, recognizing the librarian’s responsibility to educate citizens on information credibility becomes an internalized aspect. The development of professional identity occurs across three levels: the individual level, reflecting personal characteristics and values; the relational level, influenced by social interactions with family and friends; and the institutional level, shaped by processes and messages within the institution (Monrouxe, 2016).
Several professional identity studies in librarianship emerged. Walter (2008) discussed how teaching becomes part of the professional identity of librarians. Similarly, Antonesa (2007) points out that the role of the librarian as an educator is becoming more prominent and influential in the library field, and it will have a significant impact on the future professional identity of librarians working in higher education institutions. Walter emphasized the librarian’s ability to teach can eventually lead them to positions despite having competition in the profession. Substantial evidence indicates a robust inclination within numerous libraries toward the formal assessment of the instructional services dispensed by librarians. There is a high regard for librarians who can display their teaching skills. Walter’s study determines academic librarians as teachers since teaching is introduced as part of their responsibility. Academic librarians see this as their teacher identity because they think of themselves as teachers and have become part of their professional roles in the university. These academic librarians devote a significant amount of their work to teaching, both by delivering instruction in the classroom and by applying pedagogical principles to other aspects of their work. Linton (2016) said that professional identity is a complex construct that requires individuals to align their adopted professional values with the roles they are expected to perform. This alignment entails a critical reflection on the nature and implications of these values and roles.
Hicks (2014) focused her study on how librarians view and construct their profession. Their understanding of their profession is described through their interpretive repertoires. These repertoires involve their interactions with patrons and society in general. These interactions contain language that they use when communicating with their stakeholders. The language used is examined to describe or explain their actions as part of their profession. Hicks highlighted that most studies concentrate on librarian’s professional image and reputation rather than their professional identity. Studies that challenge professional stereotypes in light of addressing the use of language and images in media to inculcate a positive image rather than its reverse (Luthmann, 2007; Radford and Radford, 2003) are available to examine the professional roles of librarians as reinforced by media.
The use of qualitative research in LIS is effectively crafted to stimulate a diverse range of responses encompassing personal viewpoints, motivations, cultural and contextual elements that impact library practices (Walter, 2008). Studies made by Hedemark and Lindberg (2017), Hicks (2014), Linton (2016) and Pierson (2023) fall under qualitative research. Recent research by Yap et al. (2023a) explored the relationship between professional identities and librarians’ participation in an infodiverse environment. The authors examined knowledge practices in evaluating social media health information. They affirmed the roles, years of experience and knowledge practices of librarians in evaluating news, information and content and acknowledge their responsibilities. These aspects shape their professional identities.
This study focuses on the main concepts that seek to determine the intersection between a librarian’s professional identity and knowledge practices based on their civic duty as educational authorities. Their civic role gives them a chance to teach individuals to combat information disorders in social media. Studies in LIS talk about the libraries’ civic roles yet do not provide how professional identity or knowledge practices are established. At this very important time when social media spreads too much fabricated, misleading or manipulated content, it is essential to study how librarians nurture their professional identities and use their skills and training to define their knowledge practices. The use of professional identity theory is significant to understand a librarian’s practice to distinguish them from other professions. Practicing specific norms and value systems also shapes the profession. The theoretical knowledge and knowledge practices are going to be linked in analyzing the professional identity of librarians and their information practice.
Information disorders in social media
Information disorders are surrounded by three common problems: misinformation, disinformation and malinformation. Information disorder is a collective term for inaccurate or misleading information that is harmful to a democratic nation or society or can harass an individual due to hate speech that contains rumors and unverified information.
The three common problems are all considered information-related challenges being faced by librarians today. The definition of information disorders is taken from Cooper (2021, p. 11). Misinformation is when false information is shared, but no harm is meant. Disinformation is when false information is knowingly shared with harmful intent. Malinformation is when verifiable information is shared to specifically cause harm. Focusing on its intention to cause harm Figure 1 explains the extent to which these disorders propagate in fake news. Fake news is a more popular term in social media that disrupts how information is communicated. Fake news is a big threat that surrounds information disorders. It is larger than life that contributes to the daily struggle of authenticating the credibility of information.
How do librarians categorize fake news or fake information? Information contains more than news so we can consider fake information that can be extended to all fields of knowledge. If the definition taken from Revez and Corujo (2021) meant that fake news (or fake information) has the intention to mislead depending on its intent to harm, then it can also be categorized as misinformation, disinformation and malinformation. There are several fake news content types according to the intention that further define what information disorders are all about (Affelt, 2019; University of Michigan Library, 2018).
The modification of the information disorder concept (Figure 1) in social media is necessary to understand the various types of false information that surround it. These types may not represent all possible information disorders that may occur due to the complex nature of the phenomenon. The examples provided were borrowed from Affelt (2019). Information can provide many different signs of falsity regardless of the degree of intention (Affelt, 2019). If the content is false and is designed to deceive, the information is fabricated. The information is imposter if it gives the impression that its source is genuine but otherwise. When a source is deceptive and uses the information to frame an issue, it becomes misleading. Manipulated content changes a piece of credible information into something else to mislead the person. False context happens when details are unclear due to manipulated information. When content does not support captions or images, it creates a false connection. Humorous content creates satire when it disguises itself as real information, but certainly not. This fake information circulates in social media and is made by users to deceive and worse harm. They are all interconnected as to how we define misinformation, disinformation and malinformation.
Research dilemma
The conceptual framework being discussed establishes the connection between a librarian’s civic role, professional identity and knowledge practices. Social media produces vast information, and that information contains content that needs verification. As Addy (2020) mentioned, the essential skills for lifelong learning and civic engagement are achieved when citizens are trained by librarians to think critically and help them evaluate information. The current concern of social media now is the rampant circulation of false information accompanied by many forms of information disorders. This is a huge battle being faced by librarians today.
In studying information and LIS practice, it is best to understand the position of librarianship as a profession at the height of information disorders and false information. As librarians show their authority by keeping their commitment to ensure information integrity, librarians should be able to show their civic responsibility, profess their professional identity and express their knowledge practices. Considering the abundance of information we encounter daily; librarians can be involved in addressing this issue. Librarians bear professional responsibilities in combating false information. Librarians who are aware of their civic engagement develop how users consume digital content and information. In the profession’s practice, they hone individuals to be critical thinkers by reviewing their programs such as information literacy. Strong informed citizens contribute to the attainment of a powerful democratic society (Addy, 2020).
This research aims to spark an investigation and identify a shared foundation among a librarian’s civic responsibility to educate the public, their professional identity and their knowledge practices. The focus is on exploring the inherent nature of these concepts within librarians when addressing the challenge of combating misinformation on social media. The study delves into a conceptual framework rooted in philosophical research. In LIS, numerous studies examining social justice (Mathiesen, 2015), cultural competence (Overall, 2009) and civic engagement and democracy (Kranich, 2001) have used philosophical inquiries to present a conceptual perspective.
3. Methodology
This study documents the philosophical underpinnings of the key concepts addressed herein. It builds upon prior research by the same authors that aimed to conduct a specific type of review, specifically a scoping review on the civic roles of librarians. The present work represents a segment undertaken by the same authors to further elucidate the conceptual framework established in the previous study. To identify available scientific literature on the role of libraries and librarians in relation to its civic engagement practices at a time where false information spreads rapidly online, an initial search was conducted to link peer-reviewed sources that contribute to the discourse. To further enhance the concept and build a connection between civic roles, professional identity and knowledge practices, a pilot study followed by interviewing select librarians. The following steps were conducted (Figure 2).
In Phase 1, the scoping review examined the extent and nature of research activity, identified the relevance of undertaking the review, provided a summary of research findings and pointed out the gaps in the existing literature. Initial searches were made using the Education Resources Information Center database accessible from EBSCOHost to identify relevant sources of information indicated in the types of evidence sources pointed out in this review. Five academic library databases were chosen based on their relevance and quality: Academic Search Premier via EBSCO, Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts (LISTA) via EBSCO, Library and Information Science Collection (LISA) via ProQuest, Scopus and Web of Science. The following keywords were used to identify related terms: civic engagement, information disorders, fake news, social media and libraries. To find relevant articles, we built a search string and used an iterative searching approach, as recommended by Morris et al. (2016). Documents were selected over a five-month period, from March to July 2022.
Search string:
((“civic engagement*” OR “civic participation” OR “citizen participation” OR “civic involvement*” OR “civic action*”) AND (“information disorder*” OR “fake news” OR “misinformation” OR “disinformation” OR “social media”) AND (“librar*” OR “librarian*”)).
Full-text documents were assessed and synthesized following a systematic way of identifying eligible citations after data extraction. The PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist was used to report scoping review items. The protocol is published here: www.osf.io/h3g2n/
In Phase 2, a select number of participants (n = 4) were voluntarily asked to participate in a one-on-one interview. This sample size, though modest, is adequate for our initial exploration of this topic. A validated interview guide was used to solicit answers describing the participants’ professional identity and knowledge practices particularly at a time where information disorders were apparent. The case of pandemic was used to gauge how librarians handled a variety of sources of information that may contain overabundance of good and bad information. Based on Pierson et al. (2019) categories of librarian’s professional identity, four common characteristics are highlighted: education and training, primary identity, self-claiming and professional status.
Completing these phases helped determine the reliability of the proposed conceptual framework. It also bridged the gap between relevant concepts and the phenomena observed.
4. Results and discussion
During Phase 1, a total of 22 documents were synthesized from a total review of 451 sources during the identification stage. Screening process returned 416 citations after removing duplicates and nonpeer-reviewed sources. Thirty-seven full-text documents were assessed and only 22 full-text documents satisfied the inclusion criteria. Studies included in the scoping review can be found in Table 1.
During Phase 2, the preliminary and pilot study revealed that professional roles of librarians include countering false information, questioning authority, educating oneself and educating others. Results of the investigation based on these explorations provided more essential definition on the concept as discussed throughout the study.
The concepts introduced in this article originate from the information practice dilemma. Results are analyzed based on previous studies, theories and concepts that relate to the main concepts of knowledge practices, professional identity and civic engagement that are important in strengthening the proposed conceptual framework (Figure 3). Phases 1 and 2 are complete and were published as separate reports.
Civic responsibility and professional identity
Civic responsibilities reflect the professional identities of librarians. Civic roles can transform the professional identities of librarians by leveraging their self-identity, knowledge practices and core values. Libraries fully use their civic role by strengthening democratic movements by providing access and information freely available to all to develop a mature civil society (Kranich, 2012). As a result of the scoping review, civic engagement and democracy are related. According to Dahlgren (2003), civic participation is a person’s response to democratic participation. As Coward et al. (2018) point out, a core democratic function of libraries is to provide a platform for civic engagement and defend against threats to democracy.
Libraries are inherently an institution that paves the way to provide a place where the community meets, share and discuss social issues. Civic librarianship’s one important characteristic is that it protects written knowledge and faithfully upholds its mission to ensure that the knowledge preserved will be used by the next generation. Those who believe in the role of libraries must support this cause. Libraries are more relevant since they promise to educate the public and arouse civic participation. By doing so, the community and the country continue to develop intellectually. As Schull (2015) mentioned, a public library’s place and value in a democratic society are tantamount to the professional commitment of the librarians.
In fulfilling civic participation, concrete strategies must be developed by libraries to accomplish civic engagement. In restoring the confidence of librarians in exercising social authority (McCabe, 2001), several reforms are needed to educate the public and the community. Librarians, especially public librarians share knowledge with their communities and are legally appointed as social authorities. In civic librarianship, the citizens must view confidence toward public librarians as people who can educate and exercise their social authority. If social authority reflects civic librarianship, is it directly related to a librarian's professional identity? Phase 2 reveals that librarian identity becomes the primary identity for participants. For example, all participants agreed that their professional status is their professional identity especially when they can evaluate false information. Library activities encouraging public awareness of false information empower consumers to become fully informed (Batchelor, 2017).
It is established that librarians exist to educate the public in terms of information access and retrieval and to identify and evaluate information. Teaching individuals to learn how to develop their information literacy skills constitutes numerous knowledge practices deemed important to reflect the librarians’ professional identity. Knowledge practices are defined as the proficiencies or abilities that learners develop because they comprehend a threshold concept (ACRL, 2016). Figure 3 connects the librarian’s civic role and its relationship to professional identity and knowledge practices in the social media era.
Identity is expressed by professional practice (Pierson et al., 2019). When librarians practice their role as professionals, they respond using their unique knowledge practices and systems and serve the needs of the users. Librarians contribute their knowledge practices to every aspect of their practice. However, their identities and knowledge practices were challenged when the digital environment arrived. Librarians face and cope with these challenges considering the digital transformation that affects the production, flow and distribution of information. Now that every library user is confronted with an abundance of low-quality information circulated in social media, librarians should be ready to showcase their knowledge practices and claim their professional identities.
The proposed framework (Figure 3) addresses the civic role and functions of librarians in identifying challenges in social media information. As Schull (2004) mentioned, “there is little evidence that the library profession has attempted to institutionalize these functions.” With the lack of establishment of civic librarians as a legitimate designation in the library profession, it is fitting that librarians “protect public access to controversial information” (Schull, 59). The dynamism, complexity and infodiversity of content which includes social media allows librarians to determine the accuracy of information and authority of social media information (Agosto, 2018).
The conceptual framework is anchored to a study conducted on libraries and civic engagement, libraries and information literacy and libraries and information disorders. These were the main concepts raised by Yap et al. (2023b) as they carefully examined the phenomenon of social media information disorders. The librarians’ civic roles were explored at a time when a rapid growth of information disorders is happening in social media. To come up with a conclusion, the researchers used scoping to review to analyze the sources of evidence. Civic engagement as a theory strengthens the librarian’s democratic role in providing information access as well as encouraging their community to participate and engage, online or offline. A librarian’s civic role is one of the three elements needed to combat information disorders that reflect their professional identity and knowledge practices.
The framework emphasizes that librarians are assuming an evolving role within the community, asserting their identity and recognizing the profession’s civic responsibility to engage with the most sensitive issues facing society. The exploration of professional identities extends across various fields, including medicine, teaching and counseling, as demonstrated in studies such as McKenna (2020). Pierson et al. (2020) delved into the literature on professional identity within LIS, offering a comprehensive review based on article analysis. Hicks (2016) provided a pertinent examination of identifying librarians’ identities through their advocacy efforts, while Rath's (2022) work illustrates how librarians define their specific roles, such as information literacy, contributing to the conception of librarians as a professional identity.
As we discuss information disorder and fake information, the value and status of librarians in society also matter. Thus, their expertise in identifying false information and fake news is part of their professional identity. We also build on the aspect that as librarians elaborate their professional identity, they simultaneously develop a long-standing knowledge practice that claims their professional status. A librarian evaluating fake news is a practice that is developed over time through experience and training. This knowledge practice is tied up with a librarian’s professional identity in terms of education and training. The characteristics imbued in the librarian’s professional identity as echoed in their knowledge practices are used to decipher information disorders in social media. These are essential to promote that librarians have civic engagement roles to attain democratic use and dissemination of information.
The framework highlights the educational authority of librarians, identifying identity through their professional practice, and finding the meaning of their practice while integrating librarians’ expertise through their knowledge practices to recognize its educational authority (Table 2).
Bringle and Wall (2020) noticed that civic skills can be composed of civic professionalism, social responsibility and participatory democracy as meanings that elicit civic education that is all related to scholarship, practice and research that constructs the civic-mindedness of an individual. These individual desires to work for the common good and are committed to being a responsible member of a community. The civic role of librarians encompasses intellectual freedom and their role is to exercise their social authority (McCabe, 2001). However, some librarians are weak leaders since they do not have the confidence to advocate for the roles they play.
UNESCO public library manifesto supports how a civic librarian can play an active role in educating people through their way of informing others. The manifest reads that:
“Freedom, prosperity, and development of society and individuals are fundamental human values… Constructive participation and the development of democracy depend on satisfactory education as well as on free and unlimited access to knowledge, thought, culture, and information” (Schull, 2015, p. 57).
Exercising educational authority to express a librarian’s civic role happens when they become more involved in the community. Librarians’ participation through their democratic action of information sharing helps individuals achieve informed decisions (Kranich, 2012).
The relationship of librarians’ educational authority extends to their professional identity as someone who is self-aware of the profession they represent. Librarians offer support mechanisms to raise awareness about their roles. Their educational experiences commitment to academic knowledge and technical skills and their involvement in the community are connected to the librarians’ civic role and professional identity (Steinberg et al., 2011). The discourse on librarians’ educational authority can be seen in their established professional identity; it coincides with their experiences and perceived knowledge practices.
Meaning of practice
Identifying who a librarian is can be a legitimate question among librarians if their roles have changed over time due to the wide range of information produced and consumed. Librarians should be credited for their job in a time when data and information science have expanded. Librarians should be able to show their practical skills. Specific tasks of librarians remain intact if their education and training are founded on preserving the sanctity of authentic information. The practice of librarianship is through their ethical service to the community. Garcia (2011) believed that to be a true librarian, one must elicit professional values and their knowledge practices can be considered universal. Hicks (2014) claimed that practicing the profession is an expression of identity.
If librarians can recognize themselves internally as authoritative authorities on information integrity, as proposed by Monrouxe (2016), it implies that individuals are aware at a personal level of their ability to respond when presented with information. This suggests that librarians, at any given moment, may no longer fall prey to information disorders or be susceptible to manipulation by any information. While we rethink about this statement and it is challenging to address definitively, the librarian will nonetheless use all available resources to safeguard their professional identity.
Echoing the statement of Yap et al. (2023b), the professional status validates and characterizes the identity of librarians. Librarians champion the promotion of trustworthy, credible and factual information, irrespective of the diverse range of information available.
Librarians’ knowledge practices
Karlgren et al. (2020, p. 3) define knowledge practices as the:
“[. . .]recurrent activities and learned ways of working with knowledge where knowledge should be understood in the broadest sense including that which is stated explicitly but also tacit or procedural knowledge”.
For instance, a librarian who is expert in cataloging and classification knows the difference of organizing knowledge using different tools. Knowledge practices are important to better understand the theories by applying them to real-life situations. Knowledge practices enrich the professional identity of a professional to put meaning into their professional status. Prior knowledge learned through education and training is passed along to the next batch of professionals to strengthen their authority in the field. It will also validate their position in the community.
The knowledge practices identified in this study are directly linked to the effective handling of false information. As librarians engage in educating the public and their communities, the foundational aspect of these knowledge practices is information literacy. For example, by using the Association of College and Research Libraries framework, specifically the concept that “Authority Is Constructed and Contextual,” librarians instruct users on critically evaluating diverse content. This skill is applicable not only in academic settings but also in personal contexts (Faix and Fyn, 2020; Yap et al., 2023b). Addressing information disorders using this framework involves using strategies like source evaluation to determine the credibility of information sources. Librarians guide users in avoiding fallacies by assessing authors and publishers, facilitating the recognition and comprehension of different perspectives, views and awareness of biased content. Knowledge practices manifest as learned approaches, translating into real-life actions by librarians, such as supervising or assisting users in evaluating sources of information.
Librarians’ knowledge practices are tied up with their critical mindset in information practice. It is their responsibility to nurture themselves and be critically aware of their social environment. This aspect includes all sorts of information may it be political knowledge, financial information or health information. Thus, any information shared online should be evaluated according to no matter how complex or difficult identifying an information disorder is.
Professional identity and the issue of information disorders
Asserting professional identity at the height of social issues is challenging when the reliability and accuracy of information is a huge verification challenge. The question whether librarians assert their professional responsibilities concerning information that is affected by false information needs to be openly discussed. Librarians are known to protect the integrity of information. Librarians show their authority by keeping their commitment to ensuring the credibility of information and teaching users how to conduct source evaluation. The status of librarians in society matters, thus, their expertise in identifying fake news is part of their professional identity. However, professional challenges also appear. Professional challenges arise when librarians are unprepared for their professional duties. Librarians need to equip themselves with a profound comprehension of information, including the skills to locate and assess it. This is crucial for fostering informed citizenship and encouraging civic engagement (Yap et al., 2023c).
Librarians’ knowledge practice is to question if the information is legitimate, accurate, trustworthy or credible. If a librarian’s civic role is to become an educational authority, they should have the sense to ensure the teaching of trustworthy information. It is in their professional identity to practice and develop ways to secure and detect erroneous information. Thus, Haider and Sundin (2022), noted that librarians should start addressing the issue of identifying trustworthy sources at the beginning of a person’s life, in this case, at the start of everyone’s primary education. Being a librarian equips them to be future experts in the field. One must learn that every credible information produced or distributed is a product of years of training, acquired knowledge and skill through practice and experience including controlling emotions to remain unbiased (Barclay, 2018). Librarians’ role in social media is to ask about the truthfulness and veracity of information. Evaluating sources is one knowledge practice that a librarian possesses, thus, several questions must be asked in identifying a source. It includes the following:
creator of the information;
publisher of the source;
title matches the content of the source;
cited sources;
currency;
presence of professional and unbiased reviews;
type of source;
not a satire; and
contradicting sources
Librarians’ role is to build a community that contains error-free information. It can be achieved if librarians evaluate the existing social systems and review what needs to be changed or developed. Communities will improve if librarians understand the current landscape of information disorders. Trust and credibility of information are now vulnerable, and the legitimacy of social media information provokes uncertainty. Performing knowledge practices by sharing expert advice with the community opens opportunities for librarians to advocate their educational authority. Librarians’ socio-civic function will emerge as to how they strive to protect the value of information. The ultimate acknowledgement of professional practice gives a remarkable meaning to how librarians conceptualize their professional identity.
To characterize how librarians uphold their image as educational authorities, below is evidence of knowledge practices collected from literature that support the professional identity of LIS practitioners. Each activity provides questions, scenarios and recommendations.
Identifying accurate information by verification instead of sharing (Fallis, 2015):
Can all information be easily verified?
Can we control the spread of false information?
Librarians can train users not to use emotions during emergencies and instead have a presence of mind when it comes to the accuracy of information being disseminated on social media.
Protecting information coming from nonlegitimate sources (Lees, 2018).
Attackers shake the trust of the people, thus, influencing citizens with confirmation bias.
Defending objective truth from alternative facts.
The citizens must understand the border between an abusive state and censorship.
Librarians have to offer sessions on open-mindedness to preserve a healthy environment and achieve a democratic society.
Preexisting views and opinions of people participating in social media (Westerwick et al., 2017).
The behavior and attitude of people change in social media. A phenomenon called confirmation bias happens when select messages that only align with a person’s own opinion are accepted over other information. Wilson (2017) stressed that librarians should be “mindful of their sources” by providing balanced perspectives.
Librarians must understand several categories of confirmation bias such as self-reported bias, ideological bias, party bias, news bias and content bias.
Valuing trust in social media information (Friedman et al., 2000).
Social media becomes a scary place for unwitting jokes or pranks.
An example of trust would be a library user downloading articles, entering virtual chat rooms or installing software in a public computer terminal from pirated websites. Those who think twice may not use public Wi-Fi to do their online bank transactions or share online documents using a public internet shop. It is difficult to trust if people think that they are vulnerable to harm.
Librarians educate users to understand the possibility of being harmed online when using public computer terminals.
Accessing quality information (Fallis, 2015).
Inaccurate information can be life-threatening and harmful when the topics are misleading such as financial information, medical and health information and political information.
To be held liable, identify who is negligible due to lack of source evaluation or identify those who intentionally spread inaccurate information. Understand that unconscious bias or honest mistakes may also occur.
Librarians should learn how to identify manipulated images or deep fake videos. This needs more training time to ensure the quality of true and trustworthy information.
Developing techniques to identify information disorders and policies for deterring their spread (Barclay, 2018).
Educators and librarians in primary education can teach pupils how to identify trustworthy sources. At a younger age, students must be able to know which sources to trust from books, websites and authorities.
Librarians should investigate how to improve their understanding of the nature and scope of misinformation/disinformation to effectively teach their users. One way is to determine any clues of lying.
These knowledge practices support the ultimate identity of librarians to educate citizens in finding credible information. Doing so, as described in the framework, the librarian’s concern for the public to access accurate information is also one of their civic functions.
Keeping this perspective in consideration, the subsequent strategies aim to strengthen the civic engagement of librarians within the community, emphasizing the importance of their professional identity and showcasing their knowledge practices:
Bring the community together and communicate that the local library can arrange workshops and interactive sessions focusing on accessing public information.
Provide programs on media and information literacy to boost citizens’ skills in accessing and critically assessing online information and platforms.
Support policies that underscore the librarian’s role in fostering civic engagement and awareness.
Urge policymakers to endorse civic participation within libraries, acknowledging the crucial role libraries and librarians play in constructing a robust civil society.
5. Conclusion
This study explores a research dilemma centered on the convergence of a librarian’s civic responsibilities and professional identities in the context of information disorder. It also highlights that knowledge practices inherent in librarians align with their assumed roles in educating the public, evident in their authority to instruct and assess information sources. This study has two key limitations. First, the conceptual framework is informed by a scoping review of a relatively small number of documents (n = 22) with most relevant documents published between 2017 and 2020. Second, the exploration of the relationship between professional identities, knowledge practices and civic engagement is based on a finite sample size. In addition, the data focuses specifically on false information emerging during the pandemic, limiting the generalizability of the findings to other contexts.
Librarians encounter difficulties in upholding their professional duties amid changing roles and the abundance of information. Librarians must acquire a profound comprehension of information to encourage informed citizenship and civic engagement. Librarians bear the responsibility of maintaining a critical awareness of their social context and assessing various forms of information, particularly in the context of information disorders. Through their knowledge practices and dedication to information integrity, librarians play a vital role in navigating the challenges posed by misinformation and contribute to cultivating a society that is well-informed and discerning. Librarians are not meant to control information but rather to educate users on navigating credible sources in the realm of social media. Librarians, with their knowledge practices, remain dedicated to ensuring the legitimacy of information. Their civic role as educational authorities extends from traditional sources to information on social media, adapting to the evolving landscape. Despite the increasing challenges posed by new forms of information, librarians are committed to upholding truthful information and incorporating critical literacy into their expanding roles.
The conceptual framework suggests that librarians must exercise their expertise in helping the community identify false information. Their established role as educational authorities gives way to reinforcing their professional identity by performing what they know best through training and practice. These knowledge practices are one of the three components that will hinder the spread of information disorders in social media.
While information disorders are expected to persist due to various sources, librarians will continue to combat them. This commitment is rooted in their professional responsibility to educate the public, a role built on years of training and expertise. Their profession values credible information, aligning with their central civic role deeply embedded in their professional identities. A knowledgeable citizenry can be fostered when librarians acknowledge their roles and professional identities in discerning authentic information.
This study lays the groundwork for future research by proposing a refined, expanded and potentially incorporate new constructs or variables to the conceptual framework. The framework’s validity can be further explored by testing it in diverse contexts, such as different library types, cultures or locations. The emerging use of generative AI and its potential role in spreading false information on social media warrants further research.
Figure 1Modified information disorder concept in social media
Figure 2Steps conducted to build and test the conceptual framework
Figure 3Conceptual framework of a librarian’s civic role and its relationship to professional identity and knowledge practices in the social media era
Table 1
Studies included in the scoping review
| Document no. | Author/s | Bibliographic details |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Addy (2020) | Addy, J. M. (2020). The art of the real: Fact checking as information literacy instruction. Reference Services Review, 48(1), 19–31. www.doi.org/10.1108/RSR-09-2019-0067 |
| 2 | Al-Suqri et al. (2017) | Al-Suqri, M. N., AlKindi, S. S. and Saleem, N. E. (2017). Libraries and democratization: Promoting political literacy and engagement among Omani citizens. Library Review, 66(6/7), 366-377. www.doi.org/10.1108/LR-04-2017-0044 |
| 3 | Auberry (2018) | Auberry, K. (2018). Increasing students’ ability to identify fake news through information literacy education and content management systems. The Reference Librarian, 59(4), 179-187. www.doi.org/10.1080/02763877.2018.1489935 |
| 4 | Batchelor (2017) | Batchelor, O. (2017). Getting out the truth: The role of libraries in the fight against fake news. Reference Services Review, 45(2),143–148. www.doi.org/10.1108/RSR-03-2017-0006 |
| 5 | Buschman (2019) | Buschman, J. (2019). Good news, bad news, and fake news: Going beyond political literacy to democracy and libraries. Journal of Documentation, 75(1), 213–228. |
| 6 | Costantino (2012) | Costantino, T. (2012). How does your public library support democracy? Proceedings of the 2012 iConference (pp. 468–470) |
| 7 | Coward et al. (2018) | Coward, C., McClay, C. and Garrido, M. (2018). Public libraries as platforms for civic engagement. Technology & Social Change Group, University of Washington Information School |
| 8 | De Paor and Heravi (2020) | De Paor, S. and Heravi, B. (2020). Information literacy and fake news: How the field of librarianship can help combat the epidemic of fake news. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 46(5), 102218. www.doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2020.102218 |
| 9 | Ewbank (2015) | Ewbank, A. D. (2015). Library advocacy through Twitter: a social media analysis of# Savelibraries and# getESEAright. School Libraries Worldwide, 21(2), 26–38. www.doi.org/10.29173/slw6892 |
| 10 | Faix and Fyn (2020) | Faix, A. and Fyn, A. (2020). Framing fake news: Misinformation and the ACRL framework. portal: Libraries and the Academy, 20(3), 495–508. www.digitalcommons.coastal.edu/lib-fac-pub/7/ |
| 11 | Haider and Sundin (2020) | Haider, J. and Sundin, O. (2020). Information literacy challenges in digital culture: conflicting engagements of trust and doubt. Information, Communication & Society, 25(8), 1176–1191. www.doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2020.1851389 |
| 12 | Lewandowsky (2020) | Lewandowsky, S. (2020). The ‘post-truth’ world, misinformation, and information literacy: A perspective from cognitive science. In S. Goldstein (Ed.), Informed societies—Why information literacy matters for citizenship, participation and democracy (pp. 69–88). Facet |
| 13 | Lor (2018) | Lor, P. J. (2018). Democracy, information, and libraries in a time of post-truth discourse. Library Management, 39(5), 307–321. www.doi.org/10.1108/LM-06-2017-0061 |
| 14 | McDougall (2019) | McDougall, J. (2019). Media literacy versus fake news: Critical thinking, resilience and civic engagement. Media Studies, 10(19), 29–45. www.core.ac.uk/download/pdf/231792996.pdf |
| 15 | Polizzi (2020) | Polizzi, G. (2020). Information literacy in the digital age: why critical digital literacy matters for democracy. In S. Goldstein (Ed.), Informed societies—Why information literacy matters for citizenship, participation and democracy (pp. 1–23). Facet |
| 16 | Dahri and Richard (2018) | Dahri, R. B. M. and Richard, H. C. Y. (2018). Librarians joining the fight against fake news: A NUS case study. Singapore Journal of Library & Information Management, 47, 15–24. www.las.org.sg/wp/sjlim/files/SJLIM-2018-02-Librarians-joining-the-fight-against-fake-news.pdf |
| 17 | Revez and Corujo (2021) | Revez, J. and Corujo, L. (2021). Librarians against fake news: A systematic literature review of library practices (Jan. 2018–Sept. 2020). The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 47(2), 102304. www.doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2020.102304 |
| 18 | Johnson (2017) | Johnson, H. (2017). #NoDAPL: Social media, empowerment, and civic participation at Standing Rock. Library Trends, 66(2), 155–175. www.digitalcommons.lsu.edu/libraries_pubs/28 |
| 19 | Singh (2020) | Singh, R. (2020). Promoting civic engagement through cultivating culturally competent self-reflexive information professionals. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 69(3), 302–315. www.doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2020.1777635 |
| 20 | Sullivan (2019) | Sullivan, M. C. (2019). Leveraging library trust to combat misinformation on social media. Library & Information Science Research, 41(1), 2–10. www.doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2019.02.004 |
| 21 | van Helvoort (2018) | van Helvoort, J. V. (2018). Four spaces of civic literacy education: A literature review. In European Conference on Information Literacy (pp. 94–102). Springer |
| 22 | Yerbury and Henninger (2019) | Yerbury, H. and Henninger, M. (2020). Libraries and democracy: complementarity in a regime of truth. In S. Goldstein (Ed.), Informed societies—Why information literacy matters for citizenship, participation and democracy (pp. 165–180). Facet |
Source: Table by authors
Table 2
Components of librarians’ civic role, professional identity and knowledge practice
| Civic role | Initiating educational authority as librarians’ socio-civic function |
| Professional identity | Finding meaning through practice, experience and recognition of peers |
| Knowledge practice | Sharing practical actions and expert advice with the community |
Source: Table by authosr
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