This image was created using Adobe Firefly and is in the public domain.
Guest post by Kristina De Voe, English and communication librarian
Temple University Libraries is celebrating National News Literacy Week from January 22 to January 26, 2024. National News Literacy Week is an annual initiative that turns a spotlight on local news and its role in a healthy democracy.
What is News Literacy?
News literacy, according to News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan education nonprofit, is “the ability to determine the credibility of news and other information and to recognize the standards of fact-based journalism to know what to trust, share and act on.”
In our current era of mis-and disinformation, news literacy is a critical skill. It teaches you how to think about the news and information you come across daily but not necessarily what to think about any particular source. News literacy also helps you develop a healthy skepticism about the quality of news and information you encounter, without becoming cynical about it.
Access Digital Newspapers and Magazines
Do you know that the Libraries offer access to many digital newspapers and magazines? Titles including The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and The Washington Post are freely available to the Temple community via our library databases. These digital resources can help you stay up to date on news, current events, and timely conversations all from your computer, tablet, or smartphone. Discover our news-focused databases using our Find Newspapers guide.
Pro Tip: Curious whether the Libraries offer access to a particular magazine or newspaper online? You can search Library Search by title to find out. If the library has a particular publication, there will be a list of the databases to which the library provides access along with a link to the publication.
National News Literacy Events at Temple
To mark National News Literacy Week, the Libraries will offer the following online workshops:
Using Newspapers in Historical Research
Tuesday, January 23, 2024 | 12 pm | Register
Newspapers are like “the first rough draft of history” and are an invaluable resource when researching events, individuals, and issues in the context of their time. Join us to gain strategies for conducting historical newspaper research with a discerning eye, using the Libraries’ newly expanded historical newspaper database collections.
All the News That’s Fit to Read Online
Wednesday, January 24, 2024 | 12 pm | Register
Tired of hitting paywalls when you go to read a newspaper or magazine article? Looking to avoid those subscription fees or one-time payments? In this session you’ll learn how to use the Temple Libraries databases to connect to popular newspapers and magazines, such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Philadelphia Inquirer, Newsweek and many international favorites. You’ll learn how to quickly navigate to these publications and use the embedded tools to enhance your reading and research experience.
Fact-checking in an Era of Misinformation
Thursday, January 25, 2024 | 12 pm | Register
Join us to gain strategies and tools for fact-checking news stories based on methods the pros use so that you can identify accurate and factual information and avoid falling victim to disinformation.
Making Sense of Data in an Era of Misinformation
Friday, January 26, 2024 | 12 pm | Register
We live in a world of big data. Get tips on making sense of the charts, graphs, tables, polls, and statistics that appear in the news, journals, books and websites that you read, and view their validity with a critical eye.
We hope you will join us for our National News Literacy Week events!