By Sarah Sell, University Communications and Marketing
The Nelson Poynter Memorial Library (NPML), in partnership with the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg and the St. Petersburg Library System, is offering several expert-led workshops to increase data literacy in the community.
The Data Literacy for Community Action (DLCA) initiative is offering four sessions at various locations in St. Petersburg from September through December. The first workshop takes place on September 5 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Center for Health Equity.
Participants will leave with an understanding of the following:
- Basic data terminology
- Data as information
- The data research process
The free workshops are designed to empower community members and nonprofit leaders to build skills in understanding, finding, evaluating and using data to solve problems and tell stories. Additionally, it can help individuals navigate the vast amounts of information they encounter online and discern credible sources from misleading ones.
“It could be someone who finished school a while ago, and they never did things with data, and now they're being told to make these data-driven decisions and want the basics of it,” said Emily Mann, project manager and associate librarian for library research and instruction at NPML. “We're trying to use local data so people see how using data within our community can make a difference in our community and how much data is already available.”
Mann, along with other data experts and guest speakers, will highlight local and public data sources related to the environment and economic inequality, how it was collected and how people can use it to make positive changes in the community.
“When people and organizations are better equipped to find, understand and work with data, they are better able to advocate for and help advance health outcomes,” said Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg President and CEO Kanika Tomalin. “It’s about helping people develop the tools they need to push for the types of changes and outcomes they want for their community. And we’re honored to play a role in that process.”
The workshops will be hosted at different locations throughout St. Petersburg, including the Foundation’s Center for Health Equity, West Community Library, NPML and North Community Library. Digital Inclusion and Community Tech House are providing technology for each workshop.
After the four sessions, USF’s Innovative Education design team will create online data literacy modules that will be available for the public to access through USF Libraries and the St. Petersburg Library system.