MISSOULA — This is National News Literacy Week and we have been highlighting stories about information, trust and technology.
To learn more about all types of literacy on a local level, we took a trip to the Missoula Public Library.
The Missoula Public Library’s reach extends well beyond the walls of its downtown branch, across the county, the computer and all sorts of differences and divisions.
Watch the video to learn more:
“We, of course, offer books, literacy, really celebrate the freedom to read here at the library, which is especially important in these times,” said Missoula Public Library executive director Slaven Lee. “Libraries have always been a place where people learn about information literacy, learn how to discern information and understand what's true, do research.”
From artificial intelligence to fake news to just the sheer amount of information out there on the internet, it can be hard to know what to trust. The Missoula Public Library strives to be a place people can turn to for reliable information, whatever that means to them.
But, Lee said, this goes deeper than just a trip to the library, especially in an era where many feel deep distrust in many sources of information and institutions.
“I think something kind of nefarious that misinformation does is isolate people, and the library is really a place where you can come together with people, even if you're doing your own thing,” they said.
Lee said this happens in the library’s rooms, the community groups organized by and at the branches and with help from the staff. They help patrons wade through the mass of information out there and find the parts that are important to them.
“The library is such a trusted institution, I think it is definitely our role to help support the community,” they said. “We also try to offer nonjudgmental service. So, we have all sorts of materials that people can look at, can read, can engage in, but what's more important is just helping to support the skills to understand what that information means to them.”
Many think of libraries as all about the books. While the Missoula Public Library is, they are also looking ahead, from the hundreds of programs they have every year to the Makerspace, where people can harness technology and creativity.
“Something I'm curious about is how public libraries can play a role in generating AI-related content or being a public place where people come together to learn how to do that,” Lee said. “I think it's something we need to be really thoughtful about and make sure we have a good plan about what that looks like, but we're about experimenting, we're about curiosity.”
