Post-truth era: news behaviour and news literacy skills of university librarians

Abstract

Introduction. This study was conducted with an objective to determine the ways librarians deal with fake news, as well as to assess the status of their news literacy skills in combating the fake news phenomenon. Method. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in public and private sector university libraries of Punjab, Pakistan. The study’s population comprised of university librarians working at the rank of an assistant librarian or above. Analysis. One hundred and eighty questionnaires were distributed in both print and online out of which 128 were returned (response rate 71.11%).Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to report the data using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS-version 22). Results. Librarians ‘sometimes’ determine the authenticity of news story e.g., ‘check it from other sources in case of doubts.’ The responses for all the eleven statements relating to news literacy skills ranged between 3.05 to 3.36 on a five-point Likert type scale, indicating that respondents ‘somewhat’ agreed with their perceived news literacy skills. Conclusions.University librarians are not fully acquainted with the aspect of news trustworthiness on social media, which affects their news acceptance and sharing behaviour. They also have a moderate level of conceptual understanding of news literacy.