Undergraduate education places emphasis on scholarly work, considering it the gold standard of academic research. Students are expected to immediately read and cite peer-reviewed articles without much context of how the scholarly conversation is constructed. However, many students do not realize the depth of expertise and knowledge that exists in their own communities. Critical Information Literacy informed instruction challenges the idea that scholarly articles are the first and only sources students should be consulting. Each lesson is an opportunity for students to visualize how privilege plays a role in what they see and who is excluded from the conversation. Each class session evaluates a source type and discusses how privilege intersects with the information cycle. Students select an event or topic and consider a population or individuals who would be impacted. We start first by looking at news sources and discuss that it contains summarized versions of events and extracts the most interesting statistics from a research study or explains them from general audiences. Most major papers are behind a paywall and I teach students about the privilege of access and demonstrate how to use theirs through library subscriptions and how to access once the graduate. We also talk about incorporating non-traditional popular sources that lend lived experience and cultural knowledge into research. While somewhat controversial, social media posts have value too since it is a low barrier of entry needed to share one’s experiences.

Once we get to scholarly sources, we analyze the many layers of privilege involved from research to publication. Students are introduced to the process of conducting a study and how funding is involved. I demonstrate how researchers have privilege of being the community voice, students have privilege in accessing the research past a paywall and that the general population does not have the same access. This is also a chance to teach students how they can access articles after graduating with no institutional affiliation and advocate for open access materials and tapping their public libraries.

As we dive deeper into the research process, students are invited to consider those who lives within a community and evaluate their information sources for representation. Students identify who has the privilege of “speaking on behalf of the community” and why. Often this looks like researchers from an outside institution conducting a study. Students are asked to critically assess the methodology of what or whom is being measured and tested, if there are any gaps or missing voices and how the research will be disseminated. In this scenario the researcher has the privilege. The privilege of funding to conduct their research through grant or salary support. The privilege of going into a community, perhaps one of lower socioeconomic status, to gather the data needed and then return to their institutions. The privilege of representing this community through the author lens. Researchers are then able to conduct their study and have it published in a journal with a subscription worth thousands of dollars annually. Those who can afford the subscription or have access to an institution that shoulders those costs, can read the study and incorporate this knowledge into their own research, continuing the cycle.

But who is excluded? Students learn that community members experience their access to information differently. If they are not affiliated with an institution, they would not be able to read the article written about their experiences. The same with the general population, who would have barriers to access but also comprehension of scientific research. Conversely, community members could not conduct their own studies without funding. By the end of the library instruction, students are more considerate of their privilege and the responsibility of being creators. Using active learning and applying situationally relevant instruction to class activities, students can position themselves to share knowledge more equitably and incorporate a wider range of perspectives into their research.

The concept of information privilege can be explored in many different ways. Whether you are a researcher, educator or consumer, we all carry some kind of privilege that can be used to support our communities and share power through information. The first step starts with understanding information systems from the inside in order to begin dismantling oppressive structures and making information equally available for all.