Learn how your library can fight fake news at the 2019 ALA Annual Conference

Think you can spot fake news? Think again.

In a 2018 report, the American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office found that news consumers think they have stronger media literacy skills than they actually do. Libraries can help bring their skills in line with their confidence.

Join ALA and the Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University for a one-day workshop to learn how your library can help adults in your community become eagle-eyed news consumers.

“Media Literacy at Your Library Training” will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, June 21, 2019, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The preconference workshop is offered as part of the 2019 ALA Annual Conference (June 20 to 25).

In this intensive one-day preconference, participants will:

• Be trained in the media literacy curriculum developed by Stony Brook University’s Center for News Literacy
• Learn how you can empower patrons to recognize fake news
• Work with other libraries to brainstorm and develop program ideas
• Develop a media literacy program plan for your library using Human-Centered Design methods
• Receive a certificate of completion

This preconference is suited for any library employee who works with adult patrons.

Workshop registration starts at $150 for ALA members. See pricing and registration instructions under the conference Ticketed Events page under “PPO (Public Programs Office)” or add Event Code “PPO1” to your conference registration bundle.

Participants may register for the workshop as part of their conference registration or as a single session. For assistance with registering for the workshop, contact the ALA Public Programs Office at 312-280-5045 or publicprograms@ala.org.

ALA and the Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University previously partnered on Media Literacy at Your Library, a pilot program that trained library workers to help adults become better news consumers. To stay up-to-date on future media literacy programming offerings, sign up for ALA’s Programming Librarian e-newsletter.

About the American Library Association

The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with approximately 55,000 members in academic, public, school, government and special libraries. The mission of the American Library Association is to provide leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.

About the Center for News Literacy

Housed within the School of Journalism at Stony Brook University, the Center for News Literacy is the only university-level research and curriculum development institute in the United States teaching students how to use critical thinking skills to judge the reliability and credibility of news reports, whether they come via print, television, radio, the internet, or social media. The Center’s animating principle is that the ability of a nation’s citizens to judge the reliability and credibility of information will be a leading indicator of the public health of civil societies.