As information literacy experts in our primary and secondary schools, school library professionals commonly support students to access credible information to facilitate inquiry, learning and assessment, also delivering professional learning in this area for staff. School library professionals also need to access credible information sources to support their own professional development.

When looking for the gold standard in reliable research, we may naturally gravitate toward peer-reviewed journals as a ‘safe’ and reliable source of information. Unfortunately due to the rise of predatory journals, it’s no longer this simple.

Given the threat of misinformation and disinformation crowding out credible information, there has been a lot of interest from the school library community on this topic, so I’ve published recent peer-reviewed research in this space to help inform library professionals’ understanding of the challenges presented by this issue, and to inform self, student and staff education.

We’ll start this workshop with an overview of what you need to know about predatory journals, then quickly move into opportunities to apply our learning in a practical setting. There will be plenty of opportunities to discuss our ideas, ask questions, engage in collegial debate, and expand our knowledge in a safe space, supporting you to clarify understandings and explore the complexities of this newly emerging and constantly evolving problem that all schools and educational institutions need to grapple with in a timely manner.

Further strengthen your credibility as a future-ready information literacy leader within your school by attending this workshop!