You are not entitled to your opinion.

You are entitled to your

informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.

Harlan Ellison
Lesson 3: Interacting with Media
and Other Information Providers
COM001: Media and Information Literacy
TODAY’S LESSON:

● Types of Information Sources

● Finding Information Sources
● Evaluating Information and Media
Multiple Roles of Media
Media:
1. Act as channels of information and knowledge through which citizens
communicate with each other and make informed decisions;
2. Facilitate informed debates between diverse social actors;
3. Provide us with much of what we learn about the world beyond our immediate
experience;
4. Are means by which a society learns about itself and builds a sense of
community;
5. Function as a watchdog of government in all its forms, promoting transparency
in public life and public scrutiny of those with power through exposing
corruption, maladministration and corporate wrongdoing;
Media:

6. Are essential facilitators of democratic processes and one of the

guarantors of free and fair elections;
7. Are a vehicle for cultural expression and cultural cohesion within and
between nations;
8. Function as an advocate and social actor in it's own right while respecting
pluralistic values.
Sourcing Information
Sourcing Information

The proper use of information made available by media and various

information providers depends on people’s abilities to understand
their information needs, and to locate, retrieve and evaluate the
quality of the information they can access. Today, there is an
extremely wide and diverse selection of information material,
content, and resources available, particularly, on the Internet,
varying greatly in accuracy, reliability, and value.
Sourcing Information

In addition, this information exists in a variety of forms (e.g. as

text, image or statistic, electronically or in print), that can be made
available through online repositories and portals, virtual and real
libraries and documentary collections, databases, archives,
museums, etc. The most important factor, however, is that the
quality of this information can range from very good to very bad.
Sourcing Information

Before evaluating information sources, it is important to think

about what information is for. This will help you to identify
credible information sources. The key questions might be:
What source or what kind of source information in this
particular case? Which sources are likely to be fair, objective,
lacking hidden motives, showing quality control?
Sourcing Information

We can think of information as being held by media and other information

providers, such as libraries, museums, archives and the Internet. These information
providers have a number of roles, including to:
a. Inform
b. Educate
c. facilitate teaching and learning process
d. Provide access to all types of information (often free of charge, plural, reliable
and without restrictions)
Sourcing Information

e. Serve as a gateway to information

f. Promote universal values and civil rights, such as freedom of expression and
information
g. Serve as society’s collective memory
h. Gathering information
i. Preserve cultural heritage
j. Entertain
Role of Media in
Democracy
Roles of Media in Democracy

Democracy is commonly defined as government of the people,

by the people and for the people. Democracy, in my view, is
only compatible with a free economy. Like a fish to water,
democracy can only exist in an atmosphere of freedom of
action; it is completely incompatible with a system that
provides for a governing authority with coercive power.
Roles of Media in Democracy

We live in society today where the media plays a pivotal role in how we see
the world, and how our opinions are formed, whether it is from what we
watch on television or what we gather from newspapers. Media acts as an
interface between the common man and the government. It is a very
powerful tool with the ability to make and break the opinion of the people. If
media tells the public that his picture is being demanded as one of the most
wanted terrorists, people would regard him as one blindly. It has the capacity
to swing perceptions or evoke emotions. This is what it has gained - faith of
the public.
Importance of MIL to
Citizens
Importance of MIL to Citizens

Media and Information Literacy (MIL) brings together

disciplines that were once separate and distinct. MIL
is concerned with giving people an understanding of
the importance of media and other information
providers in order to:
Importance of MIL to Citizens

1. Make informed decisions

2. Learn about the world around them
3. Build a sense of community
4. Maintain public discourse, and
5. Engage in lifelong learning
Importance of MIL to Citizens

Further, MIL should spur citizens to become active

producers of information and innovators of media and
information products, as well as critical thinkers. MIL
should incite them to use new and traditional media
for self-expression, creativity and greater participation
in their country’s democracy and the global
information network.
Importance of MIL to Citizens

Journalism and media sources are important in every society.

Without journalists and the news media, there would be no
window to the world - we would have little ways of knowing
what is happening in our communities or in the world beyond our
immediate experience. There are several key factors that
journalistic practices should respect, and that citizens have come
to expect from journalism:
● Organizing Knowledge
- Making chaotic information organized and comprehensible, and
going behind official positions to uncover special interests.
● Truthfulness
- In the media, sources of information should be clearly stated so
that citizens can judge relevance, reliability and potential biases;
important unanswered questions should be noted with an
expectation of a follow up if controversy exists.
● Public Interest
- In the work they do, journalists can do much to further the public
interest by equipping citizens with the information they need to
take part in public affairs.
● Independence
- It should be clear that the citizen debate should take place over
and above personal biases; commentators must examine both sides
of the coin and journalists must show independent thinking in their
work.
● Forum for public criticism and problem solving

- The media should offer several channels for public interaction; citizens
also expect that the media give them access to space or airtime to allow
conversations in their own language with fellow citizens; further, they
expect that a broad representation of views and values is visible in news
coverage.
● Accountability

- The media should monitor all those who exercise power, not only
governments, but also important public and private bodies; by holding
the powerful to account, the media can inform community thinking.
● Proportional and relevant news
- Citizens have a need for timely knowledge of important issues
and trends; reports should not overstate or understate the true
nature of threats and risk.
● Balancing privacy and the right to know
- Citizens expect media professionals to balance the public right to
know with the personal right to privacy.
Access to Information

Access to information is essential for both democracy and

development have the right to free speech and the right to
access to public information. This information is equally the
property of citizens. Media and other information providers
such as libraries, archives, and the Internet should help to
ensure the right to freedom of information for each citizen.
Access to Information

The role of media and other information providers is changing

with the rapid spread of technologies, such as information and
communication technologies. ICTs provide access to information
and knowledge almost instantaneously. Media and information
providers, such as libraries, archives and the Internet, are able to
provide new services and are becoming more than just resource
centres or information providers.
Access to Information

These new possibilities offer new opportunities for effectively

and efficiently meeting the needs of citizens for life-long
learning, research and entertainment, and for connecting
communities. Media and information providers have several key
functions, which include:
a. Providing open access to information resources without any
racial, gender, occupational and religious restrictions; public
libraries, in particular, provide access free of charge;
b. Protecting readers’ privacy and confidentiality in terms of
content consulted on the premises online;
c. Providing access to diverse and plural information resources,
based on professionalism and without political, religious or
moral bias; and
d. Collecting and preserving information for future generations.
What are Libraries?
What are Libraries?

Libraries are places of information. When most people think

“library” they think of books. And while that is certainly true,
these days books take different shapes, such as e-books and
audiobooks. More than just book, libraries are places of
information, offering free access to a wealth of information that
they can’t find elsewhere, whether online, in print or in person.
 CLASSIFICATION OF BOOKS IN THE
LIBRARY

● The library contains a collection of Books. Books are

classified and properly organized in the library to enable
the user to find the one that matches his research.
 DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION
(DDC)

000 – General Works, Computer 500 – Pure Science

Science, and Information
100 – Philosophy and Psychology 600 – Technology
200 - Religion 700 – Arts and Recreation
300 – Social Science 800 – Literature
400 – Language 900 – History and Geography

The three-digit number at the bottom of the spine of the book

pertains to the Dewey Decimal Classification which
American librarian Melvil Dewey created in 1876.
 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
CLASSIFICATION
A – General Works: Almanacs, G – Geography, Maps,
Encyclopedias, Dictionaries Anthropology, Recreation
B – BJ – Philosophy and H – Social Sciences Economics
Psychology Sociology
C – History: Archaeology, J – Political Science
Genealogy, Biography
D – Auxiliary Sciences of History K – Law (General)
E – F - World History (except KD – Law of United Kingdom and
American History) Ireland
Library of Congress Classification System classifies books using
letters and numbers that are correlated with the subject, title, and
author information. The LCC categorizes the books into 21
branches of knowledge
SECTIONS OF THE LIBRARY
 GENERAL REFERENCE SECTION

You can find general reference books in the General

Reference Section. Examples of these books are
encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, and almanacs.
 CIRCULATION SECTION

Mostly textbooks that cover different subject areas are

in the Circulation Section. Pocketbooks and novels are
also found in this section. In general, both fiction and
non-fiction books can be found here.
 PERIODICAL SECTION

Newspapers, magazines, and journals are found at

the Periodical Section.
 FILIPINIANA SECTION

Filipiniana materials are printed materials written by

Filipino authors about the Philippines and published
in the Philippines.
 OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION

●Theses and Dissertations

●Interviews
●Museum
●Internet
 THESES AND DISSERTATIONS

● A thesis refers to a scholarly or academic research of either

an undergraduate or a master’s degree student. Meanwhile,
a dissertation refers to the scholarly work of a doctoral
student.
 INTERVIEWS

● Interviewing a resource person who is an expert in a

specific field is a good way of getting accurate and reliable
information.
 MUSEUM

● A researcher can go to a museum to find resources for his

study. Some are Primary resources some are Secondary
sources.
 INTERNET

● Internet is easier and more convenient than using a library

when gathering information. Some examples of internet
service is the Search Engine.
 FINDING SOURCES OF
INFORMATION IN A BOOK
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Displays the page number opposite its topic title. The Table
of Contents is found on the preliminary pages of the book.
 INDEX

You can search for a specific concept, term, or name in the

index.
 GLOSSARY

The glossary provides a list of concepts or terms with its

corresponding meaning.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

The sources which the author used in writing a book appear

in the bibliography.
ETHICAL USE OF INFORMATION
 CITATION

A researcher uses citations to inform the readers that

certain texts or ideas on his work came from another
sources.
 PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism, is simply stealing of someone’s idea. Proper

citation should be observed to avoid plagiarism. If you quote
more than 500 words from a published material, you gave to
formally request a permission from the owner.
 COPYRIGHT

Some printed materials, like textbooks, have copyright.

Literary and artistic works are also governed by copyright
law. The copyright protects the owner, who can either be the
author or the publisher, of his exclusive legal rights for the
use and distribution of an original work.
 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

While printed materials are protected by copyright,

inventions, literary and artistic works, designs and symbols,
and names and images used in commerce are governed by
Intellectual Property (IP). Through the IP, a person is credited
as the rightful and original owner of his work.