The first manual „Media and information literacy for librarians”

Abstract

ERIM, called in the past IREX Europe is a French-based non-profit, non-governmental organization providing innovative programs to improve the quality of education, strengthen independent media, foster pluralistic civil society development, and reduce conflict. The IREX Europe approach emphasizes cooperation with local development organizations and partners, such as ABRM to develop capacity, build sustainable institutions and affect change through training, partnerships, education, research and grant programs. ERIM has a long-standing experience in support to media education and freedom of expression and freedom of the press. ERIM`s projects helped to provide increased access to independent, unbiased, up-to-date information through media capacity building in many countries around the world including in the Republic of Moldova. ERIM is well placed, therefore provided targeted high-quality trainings on media and information literacy for the Moldovan people, through its 7 years project “Strengthening Independent Media and Media Literacy” One of the main and greatest achievements of this project is the Manual “Media and Information Literacy for librarians”. It was elaborated through the joint effort of the ERIM team, the author, the ABRM team, the painters, the web designers, the IT specialists, the editors, the journalists and the first generation of super trainers in media and information literacy in the Republic of Moldova. The manual is available in two versions: in Romanian and Russian. The design of the manual complies with the European framework for forming the competence of media education, being designed, at the level of each topic, in 5 stages/steps and is oriented towards the development of critical thinking. Media literacy provides the guidelines and critical thinking skills to judge the reliability and credibility of news, editorials and features, whether they are provided by print, radio, television, online or social media sources. The fundamentals of news, editorial and photography covered in this book are applicable in all media. Librarians play an important role in developing media literate citizens. They bring the knowledge and energy to make libraries engaging community centers to introduce the best media practices. Librarians inform and guide people of all ages in their communities not only to find books and use the Internet but also to find the most reliable sources, to be critical consumers of information, and to understand the new media. In the pages of this book, librarians will find lessons, guidelines and resources to train members of their communities. Because technology allows citizens to be producers as well as consumers of information, the librarian’s role is even more important. They guide researchers to connect to the best sources, provide thoughtful answers to questions, develop media centers, and engage their communities with ideas. Through the lessons in this book, librarians will be better able to help citizens to evaluate media and to use media to communicate information of interest to their communities. Media literate citizens comprehend the critical importance of a free press. They value the media acting as watchdogs of power. Best media practices enable citizens to express their perspectives and encourage participation in the dialogue of ideas. Media literate citizens promote a civil society, one composed of informed, participatory, and engaged news producers and consumers. This manual arose from the need to provide a theoretical, practical and pedagogical support to librarians, who since 2015 have been taking part in the training courses of trainers that ERIM organized annually for librarians from the networks of territorial public libraries in the Republic of Moldova. To date, more than 400 librarians have received certificates of course graduation, and 12 librarians have obtained the qualification of trainers with advanced skills in EMI. We proudly call them super trainers. They shared their knowledge and skill to over 400 other fellow librarians across the country. In 45 libraries, special areas were arranged, the so-called Media Corners, which facilitated the librarians' process of disseminating knowledge with other target groups from the localities: pupils, young people, adults, seniors and representatives of the LPA and more recently, refugees from Ukraine. They are also encouraged to use the manual, which is written in an explicit and accessible manner. According to the author of the manual, Natalia Grîu "the librarian is an important performer in forming the informational needs of the users, of the community's opinion. The manual also includes a user guide, which explains to the reader how he can more easily navigate between modules and themes. A video tutorial https://biblio-emi.md/ghid/ has also been developed, which presents in an interactive manner, the steps that must be taken in order to access all the levels described in the manual.