Decorah Public Library chosen for "news media ombudsman" project for 2012 election

Decorah students Rebecka Green and Micheal Foster and Decorah Library Director Lorraine Borowski have been chosen to participate in a new initiative that provides the skills and the tools to become news media ombudsmen in connection the 2012 presidential campaign.

The "News Know-how" project is supported by a grant from the American Library Association.  It seeks to create partnerships and collaborations for a nonpartisan, critical analysis of news and information.

The students with public libraries as their "newsrooms" will learn how to distinguish facts from opinions, how to check the source and validity of news and information, and how to identify propaganda and misinformation.  Students will create digital presentations focusing on one or more aspects of their experience and the lessons they learned from the project. The presentations will be offered to their fellow students as well as to the community through public presentations. Decorah High School principal Kim Sheppard is also a partner in the project.
 
Other participants in the project are the Chicago Public Library; Oak Park, Illinois Public Library; and the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. Iowa is the only participant that offers a state wide program.