By Ellie Burnage
Editors’ Note: While this article is promoting a specific resource it is not a paid advertisement
It’s no secret that we are living in an era of misinformation. Melissa Laidman, College Librarian at SUNY Erie and Reference Librarian at Hilbert College summed it up nicely in an instalment of the Association of College & Research Libraries’ ‘Keeping Up With…’ column, beginning: “It is difficult to go any amount of time without seeing inaccurate information shared online, and at times even in the news media.”1
The Urgency of Information Literacy
Whilst it’s difficult for everyone to navigate a world in which misinformation is so prevalent, it is even more of a pressing issue for young people who are still developing their information literacy skills. According to a 2023 Ofcom report2, nearly a third of children between 8-17 (32%) believed all or most of what they saw on social media to be true. Additionally, a 2023 report by MediaSmarts, a Canadian not-for-profit focused on digital literacy, found that respondents were 17% less likely to verify the reliability of online sources if they were learning something from social media compared to looking for information for schoolwork.3
Factors such as peer pressure and a limited echo chamber of content can make children especially vulnerable to believing news or information before verifying its source. The algorithm-driven design of social media platforms that value engagement over accuracy mean that misleading content can spread like wildfire before its validity is even questioned.
The urgency of supporting young people’s ability to identify which information they can trust is underlined by initiatives like UNESCO’s Media & Information Literary curriculum4, a comprehensive framework that ‘offers educators and learners structured pedagogical suggestions’5 to improve these competencies.
The Role of School Libraries in Educational Equity
It is not a given that every child will have, or know how to, access to reliable information sources at home. In fact, Statistics Canada reported in 2018 that the number of students from socioeconomically disadvantaged schools who had access to a computer at home was 10% less than those from students from socioeconomically advantaged schools.6
School libraries therefore play a big part in levelling the playing field by providing all children with consistent access to reliable news sources no matter their background, thus ensuring educational equity amongst students. The wide range of different resources that libraries provide is also important, as they offer students exposure to global titles and alternative viewpoints that they might not encounter elsewhere.
Furthermore, librarians not only provide the access to the information sources themselves but also teach students how to evaluate them effectively; from researching and citation skills to evaluating credibility and bias. Although important for all, these skills are particularly crucial for those who may have less support at home.
The Importance of Trusted Journalistic Voices
The editorial integrity of resources provided in school libraries is paramount. Many high-quality titles that are relevant to school curriculums such as BBC History Magazine, Geographical and New Internationalist are available via digital subscription through Exact Editions, a platform that provides fully searchable access to archives and ongoing issues. The evidence of New Internationalist’s reliability is clear when looking more closely at its accolades; the publication was the winner of several Independent Media Awards including Best Environmental Reporting and International Reporting of the Year in 2022. The title has not only “earned a reputation for thoughtful, progressive journalism that gives a human face to the news” but also has “no media moguls or corporate advertisers influencing what [they] do.”7
In 2020, the Deputy Principal of Scoil Muire Agus Padrig school in Ireland commented on the quality of Exact Editions’ resources: “[The platform] will be a wonderful addition and the materials are so rich in information for our students.”
Digital subscriptions to New Internationalist and its archive stretching back to 1973 are a popular resource with school libraries internationally. The publication reports on a multitude of topics that are often distorted by misinformation online, from climate justice and migration to human rights and activism. In addition, the title reports on the top of misinformation itself (click here to read statistics on ‘Disinformation’ in the November – December 2024 issue).
The depth of digital archives also mean that students can easily track how perspectives on important topics have changed over a period of decades or even centuries. For example, a teacher might choose to use ‘The Big Story’ from November 2015, which covers the Paris Climate Summit, alongside the more recent article ‘Telling a Better Story’ from the May-June 2025 issue, encouraging students to comment on how climate activism has evolved in the intervening decade.
Digital Tools Can Provide Critical Thinking Opportunities
As important as the trusted content itself are the ways that digital resources allow students to engage with it. The features of the Exact Editions platform mean it lends itself to promoting engaging and interactive lessons; as well as an advanced search function, which allows key words to be located at the click of a button, the platform also offers linked contents pages and URLs for intuitive navigation across web and app devices.
Schools who offer access to multiple digital resources through Exact Editions can encourage students to search for topics across different magazines to provide ‘teachable moments’ of differences of coverage of the same topic depending on context, politics and framing. For example, a teacher at a school that offered New Internationalist and Geographical could ask students to search for the term ‘climate justice’ across both archives and ask them to make notes on differing tone, sources and perspectives, promoting reflection on why these differences may appear.
Digital magazine subscriptions are increasingly a popular option for schools; between 2020 and 2024, Exact Editions saw a 61.4% increase in the number of schools subscribing.
Ensuring the Next Generation are Well Equipped
The functionalities and reliability of trusted digital resources make them versatile tools for teachers; but their value extends far beyond this. As initiatives like UNESCO’s Media and Information Literacy curriculum demonstrate, incorporating digital resources into classrooms aligns with broader educational frameworks and is key for contributing to longer-term societal outcomes for future generations. From assisting students to be able to identify misinformation online to encouraging civic engagement and critical thinking skills, school libraries and the digital tools they offer are integral to providing students with the life skills to navigate today’s increasingly complex information landscape.
Ellie Burnage is Head of Marketing & Publisher Operations at Exact Editions, a digital publishing company based in London. Exact Editions specialises in digitising content, selling subscriptions and providing streaming solutions across web, iOS and Android platforms.
Please find Exact Editions’ full Schools Magazine Collection here.
References:
1Laidman, M. (n.d.). Keeping up with . . . misinformation and news literacy. American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/keeping_up_with/misinformation
2Children and parents: Media use and attitudes published 29 March 2023. Ofcom. (2023, March 29). https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/research-and-data/media-literacy-research/children/childrens-media-use-and-attitudes-2023/childrens-media-use-and-attitudes-report-2023.pdf?v=329412
3Brisson-Boivin, Dr. K., & McAleese, Dr. S. (n.d.). Digital Media Literacy and Digital Citizenship. MediaSmarts. https://mediasmarts.ca/sites/default/files/2023-05/report_YCWWIV_digital_media_literacy_digital_citizenship.pdf
4Media and Information Literacy. UNESCO.org. (n.d.). https://www.unesco.org/en/media-information-literacy
5Media and Information Literacy Curriculum – e-version. UNESCO.org. (n.d.-a). https://www.unesco.org/mil4teachers/en/curriculum
6Government of Canada, S. C. (2020, December 14). Education indicators in Canada: An international perspective, 2020 Chapter D Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDG) 4: Quality Education. Chapter D Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDG) 4: Quality Education. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/81-604-x/2020001/ch/chd-eng.htm
7About New Internationalist. New Internationalist. (n.d.). https://newint.org/about