Dr Julianne Stiller and Dr Violeta work at a non-profit organisation in Berlin that seeks to address digital inclusivity in Germany. Patrons in public libraries represent the whole range of people living in the country. There are increasing examples of users requesting extremist content from public libraries, for example, books that are extreme right-wing and conspiracy-driven. In the last few years, public libraries in Berlin have found deliberately destroyed books that cover right-wing content. Some libraries have placed warning labels on books to indicate that the books are written by conspiracy theorists. This has been challenged by the authors in court, and the library had to remove the warning labels. Libraries are under pressure - they must provide access to diverse materials, but there are political demands to add and remove books, and there is a constant threat to librarian independence. There is a threat from disinformation, and this is exacerbated by AI, which creates misinformation on a grand scale. Librarians are information providers and defenders on the frontline of misinformation. A training program for public librarians was developed to respond to these challenges.
They wanted to create a practical programme. The first pillar is proactive skills building - understanding the disinformation ecosystem, the second module focused on developing advanced media literacy skills to empower librarians to teach and model critical thinking and provide tools and educational formats that librarians can use to support information literacy in their communities. The second pillar covers reactive threat response, firstly responding to conspiracy narratives, to understand common symbols and rhetoric strategies used in conspiracy myths, and redirect patrons to credible sources. Countering hate speech and polarisation covers how disinformation escalates into hate speech, recognising language patterns and protocols for responding to them. It's important to protect the library and an institution for good. The programme also addresses foundational skills: personal resilience, where librarians learn how to manage their own reactions. and learn how to de-escalate situations. The programme builds the focus on the role of the institution as a defender of social cohesion and democratic resilience. Analystical and technological expertise covering issues such as new threats coming from AI-generated content.
They ran a blend of online and in-person workshops, and used a range of interactive exercises and role-playing games to give librarians practical tools to stand up to far-right actors.
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