香蕉影视

Published: September 10, 2025

This piece originally appeared on the website of the and is shared with permission.

By Molly Reed, PALNI Strategic Communications Director

INDIANAPOLIS 鈥� Religious leaders play a vital role in guiding Indiana communities, but how do they decide what information to trust in an era of rapid technological and social change?

A new study funded by the (PALNI) sheds light on how clergy across denominations seek, evaluate and share information 鈥� and what gaps exist in their training and resources.

The 鈥淚nformation Literacy Assessment of Religious Leaders鈥� project, led by Karl Stutzman, MLS, former Director of Library Services at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary 鈥� in collaboration with Indiana librarians and Ruth Szpunar聽补苍诲听Eric Bradley, consultants from 鈥� found that while faith leaders prize strong information literacy skills, they face challenges with misinformation, digital overload and access to academic resources.

Key findings include:

• Misinformation concerns. Clergy often struggle to identify reliable online sources and worry about the influence of media bias on their congregations.
  
• Digital adoption. Smartphones and online searches are routine tools, but leaders report difficulty managing information overload. Leaders voiced interest in toolkits to help them responsibly engage with the media and digital platforms.
  
• Community impact and diverse perspectives. Many leaders acknowledged the value of incorporating voices from marginalized communities to broaden their own understanding and better serve diverse congregations.
  
• Gaps in academic resource access and training. Some leaders were unaware they could use theological or university libraries. Improved outreach and support from libraries could help bridge this gap.

鈥淥ur team started with some hypotheses about ways religious leaders are approaching information literacy in a time of rapid technological and social change, but there was scant research to help us identify ways librarians could collaborate with them,鈥� said Stutzman. 鈥淲e now know that religious leaders prize information literacy skills and model them in various ways. At the same time, we learned that these same leaders need tools for building up information literacy in their communities.鈥�

This research provides new opportunities for librarians to work collaboratively with clergy in equipping them with information literacy skills that ripple outward through their congregations and broader networks.

The project involved librarians from Anderson University, Earlham College, Grace College and Seminary, and Concordia Theological Seminary. A full report will be released later this year.

For more information, on the PALNI website. For more information about PALNI, .

The Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) is a non-profit organization that supports collaboration for library and information services for 23 colleges, universities and seminaries throughout the state. From its inception in 1992, the PALNI collaboration has been a key avenue for its supported institutions to contain costs while providing more effective library services. More recently, PALNI has adopted a model of deep collaboration that pools resources and people as a tool to expand services while containing costs. Simultaneously, PALNI is expanding collaboration within its institutions and with external library partners to address challenges and build cost-effective services.

• Category: News