Blog posts:
Blog articles that set the scene and underline the importance of media/information literacy in the context of the pandemic:
- Covid-19: seeking reliable information in difficult times: blog post on the CILIP Information Literacy Group site by David Bedford, Academic Support Librarian at the Drill Hall Library, Universities at Medway, highlighting key sources of information on the Covid-19 outbreak
- Covid-19: searching for the truth in post-truth times: blog post on the JCS website from Julie Greenhough, EPQ Coordinator at St Benedict’s School, on what good (and bad) information practices tell us about Covid-19
- What the Covid-19 pandemic is teaching us about information literacy: blog post on the Designer Library website, which reflects on the psychology of information behaviour and the importance of data literacy
Scientific evidence:
- LitCovid: a curated literature hub for tracking up-to-date scientific information about Covid-19, providing a central access to relevant articles in PubMed; updated daily, and claims to be the most comprehensive resource on the subject
- Covid-19: a living systematic map of the evidence: an interactive, diagrammatic map, divided into broad domains, linking to current evidence; regularly updated and compiled by the EPPI-Centre at UCL
- World Health Organisation – global research on coronavirus disease: a comprehensive database from WHO of relevant scholarly publications
- BMJ – Coronavirus latest news and resources: guidance, analysis, commentary, infographics, as well as evidence collated by the BMJ (British Medical Journal); geared largely for clinicians, but useful for a broader public as a well-informed compilation
- NEJM – Coronavirus (Covid-19): similar to the resources collated by BMJ, but in this instance from the NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine)
- Misinformation Review: a few weeks ago, the Harvard Kennedy School’s Misinformation Review initiative issued an urgent call for papers on Covid-19 and misinfodemics; it’s not clear what stage this has reached, but worth keeping an eye on developments
Other evidence:
- Finding the evidence: coronavirus: a wide-ranging compendium of sources, scholarly and otherwise, for different audiences and sectors, compiled jointly by Public Health England and NHS Library and Knowledge Services
- Oxford Internet Institute (OII) and COVID-19: dedicated webpage for all of the Institute’s COVID-related research, largely from a social science perspective
- House of Commons Library Insights: quick-read articles relating to the coronavirus and its impact
- Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology (POST) COVID-19 analysis: a bicameral body that bridges research and policy. They produce impartial, non-partisan, and peer-reviewed briefings, designed to make scientific research accessible to the UK Parliament
- NHS Library and Knowledge Services – Knowledge for Healthcare: evidence sources, including evidence summaries and trusted sources
- Public Health England – track coronavirus cases: dashboard and datasets to track the development of the pandemic in England
- Scottish Government Population Health Directorate – Coronavirus (COVID-19): trends in daily data: data and trend charts for Scotland for the daily updates on COVID-19
- Welsh Government – Coronavirus (COVID-19) related statistics and research: the latest data and analysis on the effect of coronavirus on society in Wales
- Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency – Coronavirus (COVID-19) statistics: the latest data and analysis on coronavirus (COVID-19) in Northern Ireland and its effect on the economy and society
- Coronavirus (COVID-19): framework for decision making – Scotland’s route map through and out of the crisis: an indication of the order in which the Scottish Government will seek to change current restrictions
- Worldometer coronavirus tracker: live data on reported cases and deaths worldwide
Fact-checking / myth-busting:
- Coronavirus Fact-Checking Alliance: an initiative from the Poynter Institute, which includes a global fact-check database that is fully searchable by country, nature of the disinformation and organisation; the Alliance also funds a programme of small grants for fact-checkers
- World Health Organisation: Covid-19 myth-busting page; WHO also provides a range of useful and nicely illustrated practical advice
- Full Fact – facts on Coronavirus: dedicated Covid-19 pages, from the UK’s leading fact-checking organisation
- NewsGuard – COVID-19 Misinformation Resources: real-time reporting on Covid-19 misinformation, with a variety of resources including bulletins, misinformation tracking and reports
- Snopes – the Coronavirus Collection: Fact-Checking Covid-19: from a leading US fact-checking organisation, a structured compilation of claims, organised by category; similar to what has been compiled by Full Fact
- Infotagion: a fact-checking service geared specifically to Covid-19, drawing from WHO and other official sources
Tools and resources:
- Sense about Science – Ask for Evidence campaign and resources: designed to help understand and ask for the evidence behind health claims, news stories, ads and policies
- BBC Bitesize – Fact or Fake: resource on dealing with fake news, designed for school students, but actually useful for anyone, with lots of material drawing on BBC’s journalistic know-how
- The Economist Educational Foundation – COVID-19: an activity-led home learning resource for young people, to help investigate the pandemic and understand the importance of scepticism, reasoning and self-reflection
- UNESCO Resource Centre of Responses to COVID-19: list of media literacy resources, with a focus on promoting responsible journalism and reporting of Covid-related issues
- Coronavirus Tech Handbook: a crowd-sourced library for technologists, civic organisations, public and private institutions, researchers, and specialists of all kinds working on responses to the pandemic. It is a rapidly evolving resource with thousands of expert contributors
On the role of libraries:
- A new future for public libraries: an article by CILIP’s CEO, Nick Poole, reflecting on the importance of enhancing the mission and identity of public libraries in the context of COVID-19 and beyond
- The role of libraries in times of crisis: an article by John Vincent, available on the CILIP website. Although this was published in 2015 and relates to major crises not just limited to health, this provides a good insight into the crucial informational and educational role played by libraries
- Health literacy and health information literacy, and the role of librarians: an article by Caroline de Brún, from NHS Library and Knowledge Services; slightly predates the Covid-19 pandemic, but highly relevant all the same
- Health literacy and libraries: a literature review (June 2016) by Jill Barr-Walker, University of California; unfortunately behind a paywall