Library and Education Collaboration: Strategies for Reawakening Students' Critical Reasoning in the Brain Rot Era

Abstract

The brain rot phenomenon in today's digital era shows a decline in critical thinking skills due to the consumption of instant, shallow, and repetitive content. This condition is a big challenge for the world of education, which should play an important role in fostering analytical, reflective, and creative reasoning in students. However, the reality is that the current educational process often fails to thoroughly develop students' critical reasoning skills, and the brain rot phenomenon exacerbates this issue. For this reason, this research aims to examine collaboration between libraries and education as a strategy in regenerating students' critical reasoning power amid the current massive digitalization. The method used in this study involves library research, examining various sources such as scientific literature, books, journals, and papers on literacy, critical pedagogy, and the transformation of library functions in the modern education system. The main result of this study shows that the synergy between libraries and education can be a practical approach to restoring students' critical thinking skills. Libraries now serve not only as storage spaces for collections, but also as learning spaces that can foster intellectual exploration, collaboration, and reflection for students. Through the integration between librarians and educators, students are encouraged to access, critique, and utilize information in a deep and meaningful way. The findings also confirm that collaboration between libraries and education is a strategic step to address the brain rot phenomenon and restore education's primary function as a place to develop students' critical reasoning. Thus, the synergy of libraries and pedagogy is key in rebuilding the awareness of deep thinking in the midst of a fast-paced and instant digital society.