Roles of Librarians in Combating Misinformation on Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) :- Osedo, Alexander O.

Abstract

The outbreak of the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-/9) in Wuhan, China and the attendant explosion of "fake news" brings to the fore the need for Librarians and Libraries as well as other information providers to offer access lo dependable information resources for the consumption of their patrons and users. Giving access to reliable sources of information and resources with minimal barriers comprises cooperation among Librarians and Libraries. This article surveyed the roles of Librarians and Libraries in response lo the problems of fake news and misinformation arising from the outbreak of COVID-19 focusing on how librarians and other information professionals in Nigeria have articulated the difficulties and the approaches put in place for combating misinformation. A descriptive research design was adopted for the study, and twenty-four (24) Federal Universities were randomly selected across the six (6) geopolitical zones of the country. Data were analysed using simple descriptive statistics, and presented in tables and graphs. The study showed that Librarians should conduct a background search on sources of information to determine their authenticity and reliability before making them available to the clients.

 Keywords: Misinformation, Disinformation, Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19). Librarians, Libraries.