Indigenous Media, Libraries, and Internet

• Information is said to be reliable if it can be verified and evaluated.
• Accuracy refers to the closeness of the report to the actual data.
• Information is said to be of value if it aids the user in making or improving decisions.
• -Much of the information we gather daily do not come from a primary source but are passed on through secondary sources such as writers, reporters, and the like.

  -Sources with an established expertise on the subject matter are considered as having sound authority on the subject.
• Reliability, accuracy, and value of information may vary based on the time it was produced/acquired.
• 1. Types of Libraries

  Libraries are often classified in 4 groups:

  -Academic

  -Public

  -School

  -Special
• Books and documents from dominant sources are often peer reviewed.
• -Books and documents from dominant sources are often peer reviewed.

  -ISSN or ISBN registration ensured that standards were followed in producing these materials.
• INTERNET

  -Factual and fictitious data are often merged together.

  -Sources always have to be validated.
• SKILLS IN DETERMINING THE RELIABILITY OF INFORMATION

  1. Check the Author
  2. Check the Date of Publication or of Update
  3. Check for Citations
  4. Check the Domain or Owner of the Site/Page
  5. Check the Site Design and the Writing Style
• 1. Check the Domain or Owner of the Site/Page

  -The domains .edu & .gov are reserved for academic institutions and the government, respectively.
• SKILLS IN DETERMINING ACCURATE INFORMATION

  1. Look For facts
  2. Cross-reference With Other Sources To Check for Consistency
  3. Determine The Reason For Writing And Publishing The Information
  4. Check for Advertising
• ALTERNATIVE MEDIA

  -These include social media, blogs, and flash mob performances.

  -These alternative forms provide greater freedom and power to ordinary individuals and are a quicker way of distributing information.

  -The downside is that a lot of information being passed around is biased and inaccurate.
• • Indigenous 

  -means native, local, originating/produced naturally in a particular region.

  -Indigenous knowledge is unique to a specific culture or society; it is not written down.
• • Indigenous Communication 

  -is the transmission of information through local channels or forms.

  -It is a means by which culture is preserved, handed down and adapted.
• • Indigenous Media & Information 

  -refers to the original information created by a local group of people.

  -This also refers to content about indigenous peoples that may be distributed through dominant forms of media or through forms of communication unique to their people group.
• Forms of Indigenous Media and their Local Examples:

  1. Folk or Traditional Media
  2. Gathering and Social Organizations
  3. Direct Observation
  4. Records (may be written, carved, or oral)
  5. Oral Instruction
• While it may be difficult to fully determine the reliability, accuracy, value, and timeliness of any information, as well as the authority of the source, literacy in media and information benefits from the development of these skills.
• DIFFERENCE OF INDIGENOUS MEDIA TO OTHER MEDIA

  -Indigenous Media may be defined as forms of media expression conceptualized, produced, and circulated by indigenous peoples around the globe as vehicles for communication, including cultural preservation, cultural and artistic expression, political self-determination, and cultural sovereignty.
• DIFFERENCE OF INDIGENOUS MEDIA AND OTHER COMMON SOURCES OF INFORMATION

  -Indigenous Media is different from media that is produced by and for other underserved groups such as ethnic and sexual minorities, women, and youth. 

  -For one thing, indigenous people often don’t know how to engage the media from their village far from electricity, telephones, press, or radio, or television stations.
• DIFFERENCE OF INDIGENOUS MEDIA AND INFORMATION AS A SOURCE OF INFORMATION

  -From a cultural policy perspective, indigenous media records and preserves traditions, enhances and facilitates cultural forms such as music and crafts, and can also build connections to the wider world.

  -Quality media productions can positively represent indigenous people and raise cultural visibility.