Information literacy as part of an interdisciplinary approach to combat misinformation

Abstract

Introduction. Misinformation is a complex challenge that cuts across all fields and thus requires an interdisciplinary solution. As professionals who support information access and evaluation across fields and have long-championed information literacy, librarians could be well-situated to facilitate collaborative responses. So far, however, library science has remained fairly siloed in its approach, similar to other fields. Method. As a conceptual paper, this submission does not employ a detailed methodology but provides an overview of relevant literature. Analysis. This paper provides a high-level overview of research and thinking related to misinformation and information literacy across a wide range of fields. Results. The overview illustrates the complexity of the problem and the intersecting ideas and responses, with a focus on how these relate to librarianship and information literacy. Conclusion(s). The paper concludes with a proposed framework for an interdisciplinary approach to studying misinformation with an aim to developing information literacy competencies.