{"title":"Reference Service, Government Information, and COVID-19","authors":"Angela Hackstadt, A. Adams","doi":"10.1080/10875301.2022.2036283","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The authors designed and distributed two surveys to answer the questions of whether the 2020 federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic affected academic librarians’ trust in government information, and whether it affected the way they use government information professionally. The results showed a limited decrease in trust in 2020, somewhat mitigated by the administration turnover in 2021. Many librarians already discussed considerations such as bias, authority, and disinformation when recommending government information to students, and others indicated they are more likely to do so going forward. They will also use or suggest more caution with government documents than before. Reference interactions do not always allow the necessary time and space for a nuanced conversation about the limits of government information, so libraries and academic institutions should look for other ways to improve student political literacy as well.","PeriodicalId":35377,"journal":{"name":"Internet Reference Services Quarterly","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2022-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Internet Reference Services Quarterly","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10875301.2022.2036283","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"Social Sciences","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract The authors designed and distributed two surveys to answer the questions of whether the 2020 federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic affected academic librarians’ trust in government information, and whether it affected the way they use government information professionally. The results showed a limited decrease in trust in 2020, somewhat mitigated by the administration turnover in 2021. Many librarians already discussed considerations such as bias, authority, and disinformation when recommending government information to students, and others indicated they are more likely to do so going forward. They will also use or suggest more caution with government documents than before. Reference interactions do not always allow the necessary time and space for a nuanced conversation about the limits of government information, so libraries and academic institutions should look for other ways to improve student political literacy as well.
期刊介绍:
Internet Reference Services Quarterly tackles the tough job of keeping librarians up to date with the latest developments in Internet referencing and librarianship. This peer-reviewed quarterly journal is designed to function as a comprehensive information source librarians can turn to and count on for keeping up-to-date on emerging technological innovations, while emphasizing theoretical, research, and practical applications of Internet-related information services, sources, and resources. Librarians from any size or type of library in any discipline get the knowledge needed on how to best improve service through one of the most powerful reference tools available on the Internet.