Neutrality and media literacy at the reference desk: A case study

Journal of Academic Librarianship

Volumn 24, Issue 1, 1998, Pages 21-32

  Dilevko, Juris ^a   Grewal, Kalina ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO   (Canada)

^b YORK UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0039677583     PISSN: 00991333     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/s0099-1333(98)90136-7     Document Type: Article

References (37)

1. Richard E. Bopp & Linda C. Smith, Reference and Information Services: An Introduction (Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1995), p. 255.
2. A list of standards that special librarians should follow has appeared in Donna B. Shaver, Nancy S. Hewison, & Leslie W. Wykoff, "Ethics for Online Intermediaries," Special Libraries 76 (Fall 1985): 238-245. In this article, the online searcher is, on the one hand, urged to "eschew bias in the selection of appropriate databases" because this could be construed as "arrogance" or "information counselling" and, on the other hand, is advised to inform the client about coverage and limitations of any search tool. Finally, as noted by Anne P. Mintz, "Ethics and the News Librarian," Special Libraries 82 (Winter 1991): 7-11, sloppy research is presented as an ethical failing for the special librarian. Indeed, "using suspicious data from a source and not passing one's suspicions along to the client" is discouraged.
3. A list of standards that special librarians should follow has appeared in Donna B. Shaver, Nancy S. Hewison, & Leslie W. Wykoff, "Ethics for Online Intermediaries," Special Libraries 76 (Fall 1985): 238-245. In this article, the online searcher is, on the one hand, urged to "eschew bias in the selection of appropriate databases" because this could be construed as "arrogance" or "information counselling" and, on the other hand, is advised to inform the client about coverage and limitations of any search tool. Finally, as noted by Anne P. Mintz, "Ethics and the News Librarian," Special Libraries 82 (Winter 1991): 7-11, sloppy research is presented as an ethical failing for the special librarian. Indeed, "using suspicious data from a source and not passing one's suspicions along to the client" is discouraged.
4. See the essays in Lynne M. Martin, ed., Library Instruction Revisited: Bibliographic Instruction Comes of Age (New York: Haworth Press, 1995).
5. Association of College & Research Libraries, Bibliographic Instruction Task Force on Statements of Objectives, "Model Statement of Objectives for Academic Bibliographic Instruction: Draft Revision," College & Research Libraries News 48 (May 1987): 256-261.
6. Cerise Oberman, "Avoiding the Cereal Syndrome, or Critical Thinking in the Electronic Environment," Library Trends 39 (Winter 1991): 189-202.
7. Craig Gibson, "Critical Thinking: Implications for Instruction," RQ (Fall 1995): 27-35. Gibson relies on Richard W. Paul, Critical Thinking: How to Prepare Students for a Rapidly Changing World (Santa Rosa, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking, 1992).
8. Craig Gibson, "Critical Thinking: Implications for Instruction," RQ (Fall 1995): 27-35. Gibson relies on Richard W. Paul, Critical Thinking: How to Prepare Students for a Rapidly Changing World (Santa Rosa, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking, 1992).
9. Michel Foucault, The Archaeology of Knowledge, trans. A. M. Sherian Smith (London: Tavistock Publications, 1972).
10. Taylor E. Hubbard, "Bibliographic Instruction and Postmodern Pedagogy," Library Trends 44 (Fall 1995): 439-452.
11. Virginia Chappel, A. Randall Hensley, & Elizabeth Simmons-O'Neill, "Beyond Information Retrieval: Transforming Research Assignments into Genuine Inquiry," Journal of Teaching Writing 13 (1995): 209-224.
12. Sonia Bodi, "Scholarship or Propaganda: How Can Librarians Help Undergraduates Tell the Difference?," Journal of Academic Librarianship 21 (January 1995): 21-25.
13. Len Masterman, "A Rationale for Media Education," in Media Literacy in the Information Age: Current Perspectives [Information and Behavior, Volume Six], edited by Robert Kubey (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1997), pp. 15-68. This entire collection is a very useful compendium for those interested in knowing more about media literacy and media education.
14. Jacques Piette & Luc Giroux, "The Theoretical Foundations of Media Education," in Media Literacy in the Information Age: Current Perspectives, pp. 89-134.
15. Shanto Iyengar & Donald R. Kinder, News That Matters (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987).
16. The time frame of 60 days was selected in order to generate a sample size of at least 100 articles. This sample size is recommended by, for instance, Royce Singleton, Jr., Bruce C. Straits, Margaret M. Straits, & Ronald J. McAllister, Approaches to Social Research (New York: Oxford, 1988), p. 160.
17. More specifically, the choice of a minimum of 350 words was justified by the information contained in Iver Peterson, "In News Business, U.P.I. Plans to Thrive in 350 Words or Less," The New York Times (April 28, 1997): Bl, B7 [National]. This article relates how the financially troubled wire-service U.P.I, has decided to reposition its business by offering stories "devoid of flourish or interpretation and limited to no more than 350 words."
18. Sixty-two articles in total were eliminated. Twenty-seven of these articles, on a wide of variety of topics, were less than the minimum 350 words. Of the articles that were more than 350 words, but were nevertheless eliminated, 11 were sports articles, five were travel pieces, two were daily weather accounts, three were regular columnists, one was an obituary, one was fashion-oriented, and four had multiple external sources. Six articles from the list printed out by Info Globe could not be matched using The New York Times file on Lexis-Nexis. These articles were: "Hollywood Promoting New Films," "Mega-Novelist Tackles MiniSized Miracle," "Young Female Rockers Try on Anger and Like the Fit," "New Treatment Offers Hope against the Agony of Shingles," "Unmerry Month of December," and "What to Call Your Gay Mate." Finally, based on the Info Globe printouts, two articles identified as emanating from NYT could not be located in microfilms editions of the Globe Final Metro Edition. As a result, these articles could not be matched with potential NYT sources. These two articles were: "Experts Argue whether Lack of Link is Good or Bad" and "Military Ruler is Still a Mystery to Nigerians."
19. The authors would like to thank Dr. Jon Baskerville and Dr. Mark Kinnucan, both of the University of Western Ontario, for help in understanding the statistical issues involved in this article.
20. Ben Bradlee, A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995).
21. The Globe and Mail, December 7, 1995, A 16.
22. The New York Times, "Pesticide from US Kills the Hopes of Fruit Pickers in the Third World," December 6, 1995, A8 [National].
23. The Globe and Mail, January 4, 1996, A14; The New York Times, "'95 is Hottest Year on Record as the Global Trend Resumes," January 4, 1996, A1+.
24. The Globe and Mail, January 4, 1996, A14; The New York Times, "'95 is Hottest Year on Record as the Global Trend Resumes," January 4, 1996, A1+.
25. The Globe and Mail, December 27, 1995, A8; The New York Times, December 25, 1995, Al, A9 [National].
26. The Globe and Mail, December 27, 1995, A8; The New York Times, December 25, 1995, Al, A9 [National].
27. The Globe and Mail, November 21, 1995, E5; The New York Times, November 8, 1995, B1.
28. The Globe and Mail, November 21, 1995, E5; The New York Times, November 8, 1995, B1.
29. The Globe and Mail, January 1, 1996, C5; The New York Times, December 31, 1995, A13 [National].
30. The Globe and Mail, January 1, 1996, C5; The New York Times, December 31, 1995, A13 [National].
31. The Globe and Mail, January 3, 1996, C3; The New York Times, December 31, 1995, C27+.
32. The Globe and Mail, January 3, 1996, C3; The New York Times, December 31, 1995, C27+.
33. The Globe and Mail, November 6, 1995, A6; The New York Times, October 10, 1995, C1.
34. The Globe and Mail, November 6, 1995, A6; The New York Times, October 10, 1995, C1.
35. One reason for not performing an intercoder reliability check was the extensive amount of time that it would have taken hired coders to read carefully all 128 articles that make up this study.
36. While librarians recognize that an original source is preferable to an edited one, some of them would take issue with informing users of the limitations of specific newspapers or other media. After all, it is quite common for newspapers to edit AP or Reuters wire-service stories in order to highlight local implications or to save space. When all is said and done, the issue turns on the level of service provided, which depends in part on the knowledge gained by the librarian during the reference interview about the patron's information need and eventual use of that information. BI media literacy classes may also help by informing potential users of print and electronic news media that, because wire stories may be cut for a variety of reasons, news stories based on wire-copy should always be examined in their original versions.
37. Fredric Jameson, The Political Unconscious: Narrative as Socially Symbolic Act (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1981), pp. 17-21.