Consciousness of disinformation

[Christopher Jackson]

On Thu, 26 Jun 1997, Robert J Tiess wrote:

> I'm simply curious as to whether not any of the libraries on
> this list have made any sort of concerted effort to alert their
> patrons as to the potential for informational inaccuracy or
> disinformation on the World Wide Web.  Do you attempt to
> raise any consciousness, or do you assume the patrons
> may know or discover this on their own.

We absolutely attempt to raise consciousness on this issue, both through
our Internet and Computer Use Policy and when we directly interact with
web users. 

In our public training sessions we point to web pages that are misleading,
or just plain wrong.  An excellent example is www.whitehouse.net (as
opposed to .gov).  Depending on which version you get, you may need to
look rather closely before you realize something is amiss. 

Chris

    Christopher Jackson                      cjackson at monroe.lib.in.us	
    Reference Librarian                      voice: (812) 876-1272
    Monroe County Public Library             fax: (812) 876-2515
    Ellettsville, IN  47429                  http://www.monroe.lib.in.us/