A Reference for That: Reference in the Age of Disinformation

Abstract

It was my regular How to Be a (Re)Search Ninja class, a combination workshop I do once a month on search skills and information literacy. I was in the part about “websites you can trust,” and my brain came to a screeching halt. This was a group that had been more involved and engaged than those in some offerings of the class, and I could tell that they were soaking in everything I could tell them. Usually at this point I talk about government websites— www.bls.gov, www.nih.gov, www.nlm.gov, www.medlineplus.gov, www.noaa.gov, www.epa.gov, www.nps.gov, etc.—and how they can be a great source for pure, factual information. It was at this point that I froze.