Dr Geoff Walton
Programme Leader, MA Library and Information Management.
My name is Dr Geoff Walton, and I am a Reader in Information and Digital Literacies, and Senior Lecturer in Information and Communications at Manchester Metropolitan University. I am also Programme Leader for MA Library and Information Management, and teach on the following units:
- Information Organisations and Their Management
- Introduction to Health Librarianship
- E-Learning and the Organisation
- Digital Rights and Information Organisation and Search
- Digital Organisations
I have been a Chartered Information Professional/Librarian for over 20 years and have co-authored many books, journal articles and conference papers. My research interests include digital personae, digital literacy, discourses in information literacy, social enterprise, and webometrics/analytics.
I have been a Chartered Information Professional/Librarian for over 20 years.
Tell us about your research
I am currently working on a project called ‘News that Stays News - Can poetry help combat misinformation?’ It focusses on a number of areas, such as information and digital literacy, misinformation, health information, health literacy, reading and poetry.
Why did you decide to carry out this research?
My main research interest is in how people engage with information such as news media, social media and in the internet more generally. How they read it, make judgements about it and ultimately why they choose to trust one source above another.
How does your research fit in with real-world issues?
I am interested in developing and training which enables people to make well-calibrated judgements about the information they encounter. This can be particularly important when people are reading information about vaccines and other health related information. The pandemic has revealed the problem of health misinformation (the so called ‘infodemic’), and how that led to some unnecessary deaths.
The pandemic revealed the problem of health misinformation, the so called ‘infodemic’.
How does your research inform postgraduate study at Manchester Met?
A large part of being a librarian and/or information professional is helping people to find good quality information and make sound judgement about the information they encounter. We look at this in a number of units.
Why is your research relevant to postgraduate students?
The subjects of information, digital, and media literacy are high on the agenda within the field of Library and Information Science. In fact, the professional association the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) has a specialist interest group, the Information Literacy Group (ILG), devoted to this topic.
We have an excellent relationship with NHS England, and students have secured jobs in that sector.
Can students get involved?
Students could get involved when they come to do their Dissertation - they could carry out an original piece of research that would support this project. There could also be the chance of making useful industry contacts. The project is co-led with Professor Andrew McMillan in the Department of English, and current partners include Manchester Poetry Library, NHS England Knowledge and Library Services, and UCL. This will expand as the project develops.
We have an excellent relationship with NHS England, and students from the course have secured jobs in that sector. In addition, NHS England are partners in our Placements Programme, so this could benefit students looking to get real-world experience with a work placement.