Trout Library Blog - Library Guides at Charles H. Trout Library

News in contemporary society comes from a multitude of sources, including print, television, radio, the open Internet, and social media. Some of the news that you consume will originate from reputable sources and will be largely accurate. However, some stories that pass as news contain misinformation that is intended to deceive. The stories might be completely false or contain a kernel of truth mixed with falsehoods. In other cases, a story might be pushing a certain narrative and have a slant that is noticeable only to a discerning reader.

One of the jobs of a librarian is to teach people how to separate fact from fiction, to distinguish good information from bad. In order to help you accomplish what can be a challenging task, I have created a Media Literacy guide. I encourage everyone to make use of this guide.

Top Left: Media Literacy -- Introduction; Below: Learn how to distinguish good information from bad; Tabs Below: Introduction, Source Evaluation Methods, Fake News and Fact Checking, Evaluating Polls, Books & eBooks, Useful Articles; Boxes Below: Definitions of Media Literacy, Organization Websites, Librarian.

On the guide's introductory page, you will find definitions of media literacy along with some important organization websites on the topic, such as the Center for Media Literacy, the Center for News Literacy, the News Literacy Project, and the Poynter Institute. Under Source Evaluation Methods, learn about the S.I.F.T. method, the CRAAP test, and the STAAR method. The Fake News and Fact Checking tab contains a vast amount of information, including important definitions, distinguishing fact from opinion, the concept of lateral reading, how to verify the authenticity of images, and links to websites that you can use to fact-check the news.

News articles, especially ones dealing with politics and elections, often cite polls. However, you should never take a poll at face value and should always delve more deeply into it in order to determine its quality. Misleading polls can distort your view of reality. Under the Media Literacy guide's Evaluating Polls tab, learn about what you should look for when determining whether or not to accept a poll's results.

In the Media Literacy guide, there are also tabs for Videos on Finding Good Information as well as Books and eBooks. One book that I would like to highlight is the following:

True or False: A CIA Analyst's Guide to Spotting Fake News by Cindy L. Otis

Call Number: 070.43 .Ot88 2020

ISBN: 9781250239495

This book is easy to read and is currently on display on the slatwall near the Library entrance. The author is a former CIA analyst, a job in which the ability to spot disinformation was critical. She begins by detailing an extensive history of fake news, citing many examples of it throughout history and emphasizing the fact that it existed long before the digital age all the way back to ancient times. She then follows with what we can do to recognize fake news and how to combat it, covering facts vs. opinions, bias, spotting fake news articles, what is truly "breaking news," how to recognize fake photos and videos, social media tips, polling, and more. The book also features exercises at the end of some of its chapters that test what the reader has learned. I highly recommend that all students, faculty and staff read this book. It provides invaluable instruction on how to navigate today's media environment.

If you have any questions about the validity of a source or any other research need, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Bill Fanshel

Evening/Weekend Librarian

wfanshel@harcum.edu

610-229-9311

Recent Posts

A Familiar Face

This post is inspired by a recent conversation with an alumna who graduated with the Class of 1948. Dr. Stork was her favorite instructor while at Harcum. I was happy to report that his bust is on display in the Charles H. Trout Library. In fact, the sculpture of Dr. Charles Wharton Stork has been a permanent fixture within the Charles H. Trout Library since 1984. The story behind the sculpture is an interesting piece of Harcum history. Definition:Bust: a sculpture of the head, shoulders, and upper chest of a person ~ Collins English Dictionary, 2014Rosalie Stork Regan and Francis Wharton Stork (the artist) with Charles Stork bust at the sculpture unveiling held in the Charles H. Trout Library, Strauss Family Rotunda, 1984. Photograph held by the Harcum College Archives.Charles Wharton Stork was born in Philadelphia in 1881. He attended Haverford College, Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania. He pursued a career as an academic and literary author, poet, and translator. He was well-known for his translations of Swedish and Danish poetry. You can find four of his books in our collection. He taught at the University of Pennsylvania until 1916. He left teaching for a time to pursue a writing career. His return to teaching brought him to Harcum College from 1935 to 1951. While teaching here, he continued to write poetry and publish. He submitted a poem to the inaugural issue of The Springboard, a literary magazine published by the students of Harcum College in 1935. A poem by Charles Wharton Stork published in a Harcum College student literary magazine The Springboard, vol. 1, no. 1, December 1935. Held by Harcum College Archives.Dr. Stork was returning to America from a trip to the British Isles on September 1, 1939 on the SS Athenia. On September 3rd, the British declared war on Germany. That same day, only three days into the voyage and 200 nautical miles northwest of Ireland, the ship was attacked by the German submarine U-30 and suffered severe damage from a torpedo. Fortunately, most of the 1,418 passengers and crew were able to escape to lifeboats, however 98 passengers and 19 crew members perished. Dr. Stork was one of the lucky survivors. He was able to board a lifeboat which was rescued by a Royal Navy destroyer. Stork wrote about his ordeal in an article for The Saturday Evening Post called “Sketches by an ‘Athenian'”. You can read the article in EBSCOhost Discovery. The full citation is listed below. The SS Athenia sank 14 hours after it was struck. It was the first UK ship sunk by Germany in World War II.SS Athenia in Montreal Harbour in 1933. Public domain image. Credit National Archives of Canada.Dr. Stork was very well-liked by students at Harcum College. I have to wonder what reception he received upon arriving back to the Bryn Mawr campus in 1939. The 1943 yearbook was dedicated to Dr. Stork stating “We are fond of him as a friend, honor his ability, and appreciate all he has done to instill in us a richer appreciation of the finer things in life. ”Charles Wharton Stork from the 1943 yearbook dedicated to him.Stork was married and had four children. His eldest son Francis Wharton Stork was an artist and the sculptor of the bust. The sculpture is made of fiberglass and resin. It was gifted to Harcum College in 1984 by the artist. Two of Stork's children, daughter Rosalie Stork Regan and Francis Wharton Stork attended the unveiling of the sculpture held in the library. The sculpture has been on display in the Strauss Family Rotunda since it was unveiled 40 years ago and has a permanent home there. Francis Wharton Stork made a similar sculpture cast in bronze which was gifted to The Athenaeum of Philadelphia. Sources“Charles Wharton Stork.” Department of English, The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, 2024, www.english.upenn.edu/people/charles-wharton-stork. Francis Wharton Stork, “Charles Wharton Stork,” General Collection, Museum Collection, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, Athenaeum of Philadelphia Featured Collections, accessed October 18, 2024, https://omeka.philaathenaeum.org/collections/items/show/3483.Mawdsley, Evan. “Sinking the SS Athenia.” Yale University Press, 4 Aug. 2020, https://yalebooks.yale.edu/2020/08/04/sinking-the-ss-athenia/.Stork, Charles Wharton. “Sketches by an ‘Athenian.’” Saturday Evening Post, vol. 212, no. 19, Nov. 1939, pp. 33–98. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=f8feecb7-287f-3545-8d67-3c9c89363ae4. *Note: The password for EBSCOhost Discovery is found in your Harcum Hatch under “Library Database Passwords”. “Rosalie Stork Regan and Francis Stork with Charles Stork bust (1984),” Trout Library's Digital Archives & Special Collections, accessed October 17, 2024, https://harcumarchives.omeka.net/items/show/55.Wikipedia contributors. "Charles Wharton Stork." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 30 Aug. 2023. Web. 18 Oct. 2024. Roxanne Sutton Reference and Special Collections Librarian 610-526-6022 rsutton@harcum.edu ...

Elizabeth "Libbie" Hall Willis, Harcum School Principal, 1921-1929

Recently, I was asked for records from our archive relating to Elizabeth "Libbie" Hall Wilis. What we found was a new piece of Harcum College history I think is worth documenting.Willis was the Head of the Academic Department and Prinicpal from approximately 1921 to 1929 and later an advisor to Edith Harcum until approximately 1934. Elizabeth Hall Willis, who went by Libbie, obtained a degree in painting from Syracuse University. Before coming to the Harcum School, she had a career as an art teacher at the University of Arkansas and at Chatham Hall. It was while teaching art at Chatham Hall she met a student, Georgia O'Keefe. You can read about this encounter and the on-going professional relationship between Willis and O'Keefe in Linda Grasso's book Equal under the Sky: Georgia O'Keefe & Twentieth Century Feminism. Equal under the Sky by Linda M. GrassoCall Number: 759.13 .G769 2019ISBN: 9780826360731Publication Date: 2019See pages 107-115Willis came to the Harcum School to lead the academics and college preparation program. Her title in 1921 was “Head of the Academic Department” but it was later changed to Principal. Throughout her time at Harcum, she was mentioned in the yearbook, Purple Patches, especially in association with her work with college preparation studies. In the "Class Will" in 1922 the students express fond appreciation and love for her. The 1923 yearbook was dedicated to Mrs. Willis. This is quite a show of support by the student body. Her portrait finally appears in the 1929 yearbook. She left Harcum School after 1929, although she was mentioned as an advisor in the 1934 academic calendar, perhaps she stayed in touch to advise Edith Harcum. The biggest surprise of all is that we found her on video. In those years, Edith Harcum’s son Bill Harcum was given a silent film camera and he took silent moving images around the school. The films were digitized and Bill Harcum gave commentary on the films. You can see Elizabeth Willis briefly at 0:12 seconds, right at the beginning of the film. Bill Harcum mentions Mrs. Willis by name and calls her the head mistress. Libbie Hall Willis had a interesting life as an artist and academic before and after her time at Harcum College. Harcum is fortunate to be able to claim her as one of our own. Roxanne Sutton Reference and Special Collections Librarian 610-526-6022 rsutton@harcum.edu ...

Election 2023

Election Day is Tuesday, November 7. Polls are open in Pennsylvania from 7am until 8pm. Although 2023 is not a federal election year, there are still many important judicial and municipal races on the ballot. If you live in Philadelphia, for example, you will be electing a mayor. The right to vote is sacred, and we encourage everyone to exercise it. While off-year elections do not receive the same level of attention as presidential races, the outcome of elections for local offices and judgeships also can have a significant impact on your life -- sometimes a greater impact than higher-level offices. In addition, your vote is more likely to make a difference in municipal races since the constituency is smaller and races therefore can be decided by a handful of votes. Note as well that people who occupy local elected positions sometimes will run for higher office at a later date. So there are many reasons to go to the polls and vote! The race at the top of the Pennsylvania ballot is for a vacant seat on the seven-member state Supreme Court. Click the hyperlinks below for information about the candidates: Daniel McCaffery (Democrat) Carolyn Tornetta Carluccio (Republican) A good site to use for election information is Vote 411 from the League of Women Voters. It provides links that will allow you to verify your voter registration and to create a sample ballot for your precinct. The most efficient way to use the site is to enter your home address (the address at which you are registered to vote) into the box where you are given the opportunity to create "Personalized Voting Information." Click the Submit button, and you will see a list of the races on the ballot in your precinct. Click on individual races to see the candidates, information about them, and links to their websites. In some cases, appearing here are answers to interview questions that the candidates have submitted. Scroll down further to find the address of your polling place along with a map to help you locate where it is. In addition to the source mentioned above, you can also find your polling location on the site of the Pennsylvania Department of State. Ballotpedia, an online encyclopedia of American politics, is another good source for finding candidate information. The site also allows you to generate a sample ballot for your precinct by entering your home address. Students living on campus may register to vote either at their campus address or their home address. For students who are registered at their campus address, type Harcum's address (750 Montgomery Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA, 19010) into either Vote 411 or Ballotpedia to see the races on the ballot in Harcum's precinct. The polling place for Harcum's precinct is: First Presbyterian Church of Ardmore 5 West Montgomery Avenue Ardmore, PA 19003 To keep up with the latest news related to the election, remember to consult the extensive number of sources that I have included in my News, Politics, & Current Events library guide. Bill Fanshel Evening/Weekend Librarian wfanshel@harcum.edu 610-229-9311 ...

Introducing the EBSCOhost Passport Chrome Browser Extension

EBSCOhost has just released a browser extension that makes it easier than ever to connect to full-text materials. EBSCOhost Passport browser extension shows you when the material is available in full text when you are searching on virtually any web page where DOIs are present. This means when you are searching on PubMed or Google Scholar, you'll see an icon that will allow you to click through to the full text if it is available via the Charles H. Trout Library. The browser extension is currently only available for Chrome but more browser extensions are coming soon. To install the browser extension, visit the Chrome web store listing. Click Add to Chrome. Search for Harcum College when prompted to select your institution. If prompted for a password, see our one-minute video on how to access passwords. Once the extension is installed, just search PubMed, Google Scholar, or the web as you normally would. When an article is available in our EBSCOhost databases, you'll see an icon alerting you that the material is available. Simply click on the icon and the full text will open in a new tab. When searching in PubMed and Google Scholar there will be an additional more results icon near the search box that will show additional results available in EBSCOhost To learn more about EBSCOhost Passport and how to install it, click here.Happy searching! If you need assistance with your research, please reach out to us! Roxanne Sutton Reference and Special Collections Librarian 610-526-6022 rsutton@harcum.edu ...