Unlikely partners in a media literacy initiative

Academic librarians are the ultimate interdisciplinarians, and would seem to be natural research collaborators, but many struggle to be seen as peers by other faculty or called on to fully partner in research projects even when key information literacy objectives are involved. This changed for an associate professor/librarian at Boise State’s Albertsons Library when they were invited to join a team which was eventually awarded a Department of Homeland Security grant. This article examines the grant program, the grant awarded, and a librarian’s contributions to achieving the project’s objectives. It makes the case for libraries’ essential role in strengthening our communities’ resistance to the disinformation behind extremist belief and action.