Necessary connections between the pedagogical and didactic training of information professionals and the fight against misinformation processes.

Abstract

Disinformation processes

Disinformation processes constitute a phenomenon that requires a multidisciplinary approach from information and communication. Although this phenomenon is not a product of the 21st century or the information society, as it has existed since the establishment of the first media, it is undeniable that the current technological infrastructure and the informational-communicational ecosystem generate scenarios that enhance and facilitate disinformation processes. Since the existence of societies, information and communication ecosystems have been configured that establish logics for the communication of information through traditional and non-traditional media. Such logics have always been subject to political, economic, social, and cultural interests and forces that influence what information is communicated and how it is communicated. Within these logics, we also find disinformation processes. The current reality of technological development, artificial intelligence, the plurality of non-traditional media, monopolies and hegemonies of traditional media, etc., have exacerbated and diversified the ways in which fake news are generated and propagated, cementing new forms of disinformation.

Increasingly, people, when consuming and sharing information on the web, on their social networks, in their communities, encounter and connect with false information that attempts to distort reality. Changes in the dynamics that make up the world of information and communication make it increasingly difficult to identify true information from false information (Rodríguez Andrés, 2018).

In this context, information competencies take a leading role. Individuals who possess information competencies that allow them to critically analyze information sources, media, and the news they consume will be less likely to use false information or foster disinformation processes.

Information competencies and iInformation literacy

Information competencies and information literacy are two closely related concepts, as the former are the result of the literacy process. CILIP (2018) has problematized the initial definitions of the concept by providing a new conceptualization in which information literacy is:

The ability to think critically and make balanced judgments about any information we find and use... It enables citizens to reach and express informed opinions and participate actively in society... It refers to the application of the competencies, attributes, and confidence necessary to make the best use of information and to interpret it with judgment. It incorporates critical thinking and awareness, and an understanding of the ethical and political issues associated with the use of information.

Acquiring information competencies is essential to understand the new information and communication ecosystems. Information has ceased to have hegemonic transmission, access, and communication channels. The formats, channels, and tools available to access, manage, create, and communicate information are increasingly heterogeneous; technologies, artificial intelligence, new media, require new knowledge, skills, and competencies in the context of multiple literacies.

Thus, information competencies are of great importance as they enable the formation of critical, autonomous citizens capable of facing the challenges of the information society. Information competencies, as a result of a multi literacy process, allow for better information management, positively impacting the fight against disinformation.

Considering that information professionals are those who have specialized knowledge of the informational world and information literacy processes, it is inevitable to position them as actors who must lead information competency formation processes. In this regard, López-Borrull, Vives-Gràcia, and Badell (2018) consider that the disinformation context represents an opportunity for library work.

However, for librarians to design, plan, and implement information competency training programs, they must possess a set of professional competencies to articulate these initiatives, which raises the question: What competencies should these professionals have to design, plan, and implement training programs?

Training information professionals: their educational role

Librarians have contributed to library literacy and information literacy by emphasizing the library and traditional information sources. The current information and communication ecosystem, as well as the new dynamics of disinformation, require expanding the scope of training proposals.

In this line, the educational role of information professionals becomes increasingly central. Understanding the library space as an educational space and appropriating the educational agency that these professionals have both inside and outside the library is necessary to promote teaching and learning spaces for information competencies.

Information literacy programs constitute educational actions and training instances, whether in formal or informal education contexts, and require design and planning from a pedagogical perspective.

Designing and planning information literacy programs require professional competencies in two dimensions:

• Specific dimension of the information area – competencies and knowledge related to the informational world.
  
  
• Educational, pedagogical-didactic dimension – competencies for teaching.
  
  

Based on this, this paper proposes to discuss the role that information professionals should assume in the processes of forming information competencies in society to contribute to combating disinformation processes. This requires rethinking the training processes of librarians themselves. It is deemed necessary to incorporate and/or strengthen content on pedagogy and didactics in professional training programs.

For information professionals, in different professional practice areas (libraries, media, educational centers), to adopt a leading role in studying disinformation processes, as well as in training the actors involved in these processes, it is necessary for them to develop competencies that strengthen their educational role. Taking this as one of the disciplinary development trends of information science, it is necessary to strengthen the pedagogical-didactic training of librarians so they can deploy educational actions in different scenarios.