Oct 21, 2022
With the advent of the information age, media has become omnipresent in our lives. That’s why it’s so important to always be on the lookout for new ways to deal with the growing number of scams, misinformation and disinformation. On social media and across the vastness of the internet, our baseline now is to feel we always have to be on guard, taking in the barrage of information with a grain of salt. That has resulted in the media losing some of its credibility in recent years, along with the public’s trust. Left to their own devices, people are increasingly more vulnerable to falling prey to scammers. What do we need to do to get reliable, accurate information? Where can we find the holy grail of credible sources of information? How can we tell the difference between good information and contaminated, infected information?
These questions call for close attention, careful analysis and a healthy dose of caution—and that’s what the Ottawa Public Library has planned for its Global Media and Information Literacy Week (October 24 to 31), where you will learn more about how to get quality information. In a democracy like ours, the Library plays a critical role in the search for credible information that’s been carefully examined and analyzed. To help the public tackle information technology issues like fraud, phishing and the like, OPL is providing parents, young adults and seniors with the following training workshops prepared by MediaSmarts:
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Explore Digital Parenting – Tuesday, October 25 at 7:30 p.m. (in French) and Wednesday, October 26 at 7:30 (in English) Explore digital parenting, managing kids’ screen time, helping to keep your kids safe online and setting household internet rules.
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Navigate Online Information – Friday, October 28 at 1:30 p.m. This training covers advanced search skills, how to choose different online sources of information for different needs and how to verify information you see online.
As you may already know, October is Library Month. The theme chosen by OPL this year, “Read between the lines,” is at the very heart of the Global Media and Information Literacy Week’s goal of questioning, analyzing and verifying in order to reach the actual source of information. OPL has plenty of resources available to help you sharpen your skills and find the information you need.
So join us all week long for one or more of our training workshops! You can also visit your local branch or follow us on social media to take part in our Library Month activities. Who knows? You might just win one of the fabulous prizes that OPL is offering all throughout October to our loyal library-goers.