As information professionals, it is of utmost importance that we are able to identify the source of the information that we are using and disseminating. Many other students have included the importance of being aware of the source of information used, and I think that it is relevant to each level of the information cycle. On a personal level, this topic has grown increasingly more important over the course of the semester. As I gather research for papers, I find that there is so much information available about any given topic. Some of it is conflicting, or inaccurate. The importance of using reliable sources comes into play more and more frequently.
As these thoughts were congealing in my mind, I was watching a news program on CNN titled curiously enough Reliable Sources. A link for the show is provided for those readers who may be unfamiliar with the show and its format http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/reliable.sources/. It deals with the media and accountability for what they report. It got me thinking about journalists as information professionals. Is that an accurate statement? They are the middleman connecting the public to the information; organizing it, describing it, and disseminating it. So I believe that does make them information professionals, of a sort.
I then started to think about how this connects to my blog which focuses on describing information. As information professionals, may you be a journalist or a librarian, they way that you describe information effects how the overall information or event will be viewed or reacted to by those accessing it. We need to consider how we would handle our opinions or feelings in reference to some of the information that we may be asked to describe. All of these will effect the way that the information is viewed and accessed. Therefore we have to maintain a high professional standard in terms of the information that we describe so that we will always be considered a reliable source.
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3 comments:
you make some great points about librarians needing to be impartial, as it were, when directing patrons to information. Journalists are information professionals (I think) but usually, they get to express thoughts and opinions whereas we do not. It brings up more interesting ethical dilemmas if you consider whether or not it is appropriate to interact when someone asks you for material that is-- let's say, questionable or inflammatory and leads you to believe they want it for personal rather than educational reasons. Let's say,,, a book on suicide for example. We had some very interesting discussions on that in another class that I took.
Thanks for that great link! I canceled my cable in January, and I miss CNN the most. I would have never known about the show's podcast if you hadn't linked to it -- thanks!
Commenting on Bridget's comment about the suicide example.... I had a patron come in one day with his elderly mother right behind him (and she was very much not "with it"), and he asked for books on euthanasia. What do you do? You don't judge and bite back those first few thoughts, and show him where the books are. It's an interesting tightrope.
Thanks so much for your comments. It is in those day to day interactions with patrons that we will be presented with these situations where we need to put aside our beliefs and suspend judgment. This will probably be one of the most challenging aspects in our career.
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