Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies News

Medieval information literacy: ID:EALS webinar highlights

January 26th, 2026

On January 21, the ID:EALS webinar series hosted “Medieval Information Literacy: Research Into Practice,” featuring Dr. Kristin Leaman, assistant professor at Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies, and Dr. Andrew (Drew) Whitworth from the University of Manchester. The webinar highlighted how medieval and early modern scholars navigated complex information systems, showing that information literacy has deep historical roots.

Dr. Whitworth discussed how medieval scholars were trained to navigate manuscripts and other premodern sources. He emphasized that information literacy was taught through social and institutional systems, not just individual skill. His talk highlighted the close relationship between information, authority, and power.

Dr. Leaman explored medieval dis- and misinformation using frameworks from Information Science and Book History. Although the terms are modern, misleading and harmful information existed in the Middle Ages, often targeting marginalized communities. She organized her work into two areas—dis- and misinformation during the Middle Ages and about the Middle Ages—with case studies including the Malleus Maleficarum, its role in the western European witch trials, and responses by Reginald Scott and King James I. She also highlighted misreadings of medieval images and weaponized medievalism, the intentional misuse, and distortion of the Middle Ages to serve contemporary political, ideological, or violent agendas. Dr. Leaman emphasized the responsibility medieval scholars have in contextualizing and debunking this form of disinformation and misinformation.

The webinar demonstrated how medieval and early modern information practices continue to shape how knowledge, authority, and disinformation function today. By connecting historical case studies to modern frameworks, the speakers showed the value of studying information literacy across time.

View the talk recording on the Institute for Information Literacy’s website.