Title Expand Your Palate, Flex Your Mind: A Book Tasting

Class Patrons at a public library who are 18+

Total Duration of Workshop ~35-40 minutes
Description This workshop is about why and how we live in filter bubbles and how to combat
solely interacting with content that is familiar, matches personal viewpoints, or is immediately
presented. Through a book tasting, attendees are able to see how the concept of filter bubbles
expands and impacts their everyday decisions.
Materials PowerPoint presentation, YouTube video: Beware online "filter bubbles" | Eli Pariser,
technology/computer with the capability to project PowerPoint and video, book “menus” with
space for attendees to write under each book title, writing instruments, books from multiple
genres and forms (for number of books to gather, the librarian should consider estimated
workshop attendance +2-3 additional books)
Learning Outcomes
After this workshop learners will be able to:
1) Identify when a filter bubble is present
2) Identify impacts of filter bubbles
3) Identify a book that they are interested in reading that differs from their usual genre or
form selection
Outline
Introduction ~ 1 minute
1) Introduce yourself and state what genres of books you are drawn towards and why
2) Goals: we will be examining filter bubbles and learn how and why they exist within the
internet. Additionally, we will extrapolate the concept and examine how it impacts our
book decisions.
What Are Filter Bubbles? ~ 2-3 minutes
1) The history of the term and definition (~1 minute)
a) The term filter bubble was coined by Eli Pariser and popularized in 2011 by his
book titled The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding From You

b) according to Merriam Webster a filter bubble is “an environment and especially

an online environment in which people are exposed only to opinions and
information that conform to their existing beliefs”.

2) Librarian to ask hypothetically “What does this really mean?” (~1 minute)
a) when we search online there are algorithms in place that “personalize” our search
results. This curates the information that we see in a way that only lets us
consume half of the information available or the information that the algorithms
 deem to be favorable to us. This sort of personalized curation is seen in digital
mammoths such as Google and Facebook.
i) Sources consulted: The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding From
You by Eli Pariser ; “Understanding Echo Chambers and Filter Bubbles”
by Kitchens, Johnson, and Gray

Why Do They Matter? ~9-12 minutes

1) What is happening online (~5-6 minutes)
a) Librarian to show clip from Eli Pariser’s Ted Talk that shows the filter bubble in
action on Facebook and Google. Video link: https://youtu.be/B8ofWFx525s play
from beginning until minute marker 3:41. Title of video is “Beware online ‘filter
bubbles’ | Eli Pariser”

b) The use of personalized algorithms on sites that we utilize every day forces us to
exist within an echo chamber, which leads to:
i) A lack of interactions with people who have diverse perspectives or
opinion challenging perspectives
ii) Intellectual isolation
iii) An inability to question our thought processes
iv) Heightened polarization of viewpoints

2) This information came out in 2011, has anything changed? (~3-4 minutes)
a) Yes, and no.
i) The popularity of the knowledge of filter bubbles has allowed many
people to at least be aware of these features, but these algorithms are very
much still in use today. The most noticeable way that one can see these
features play out is through targeted advertisements.
ii) The good news is that within Google’s settings there is an ability to turn
off personalization

b) Demonstration on how to turn off personalization in Google

i) Settings--> manage your Google account--> Privacy & personalization--
>Personal results in search--> toggle off or manage what you want
personalized! Let attendees know that there is also a way for them to shut
off personalized advertisements by following a similar string
ii) Pause to see if anyone has questions

Extension into our everyday thought processes ~2-3 minutes

1) Expanding from the online world to the physical world

a) Explanation of how the concept of filter bubbles can be used in everyday thinking
i) Due to the constant use of filter bubbles that exist within the virtual world,
and the impact that it has on our intellectual curiosity, a way to think about
 the larger umbrella of “filter bubbles” is through the idea of what books
we select to read
ii) Librarian to ask do we select books based on their genre, form, cover, all
of the above? Are we limiting ourselves to selecting books based on what
we already know we like? Do we only read books that are popular within
a certain community that we identify with? Are we selecting books that
support our predetermined viewpoints?

Putting Questioning into Practice, Book Tasting Activity ~12 minutes

1) Attendees stay where they are seated. Librarian to pass out the book “menu”, which have
the titles and genres/form of the selected books typed on them plus room to write
a) Each attendee will be given one book to start
b) They are to examine the book, read the blurbs, description, title page, title page
verso or anywhere else that they deem to have enough information to decide if it’s
a book they would like to read—they will be given 1 minute with each book
c) On their menu, they will make note of if the book in front of them is a book they
would read, if they have already read it and what about it they liked, or what
about the book they do not like and why they think they don’t think that they
would read it.
i) Once the “tasting” of a book is complete have attendees pass the book to
the left
d) Repeat steps 1b-c enough times for roughly 7-9 books to be examined by each
attendee
i) Librarian to keep track of the 1-minute timer for each book tasting and tell
attendees when to switch
Assessment ~3 minutes
1) Once 7-9 books have been “tasted”, ask people to share one book that they perhaps would
not have normally picked up but are interested in reading or one book that they would
absolutely not read and have them share why.
Conclusion of Program ~1-2 minutes
1) Recap
a) Filter bubbles are traditionally thought of in the context of digital environments.
However, the concept of them and the echo chambers that they create can extend
into our everyday choices, as seen through our book selections
b) Acknowledging the existence of filter bubbles within our online presence allows
us to question the information that we are initially presented with online and
challenge our personal beliefs.
c) Breaking out of our everyday filter bubbles can let us expand our interests and
invites discourse between diverse viewpoints
2) Thank attendees for coming