Volume 60, Issue 2

How does information lead to changes in human behavior? Why have current information theories been inadequate to shed light on this and related questions? Library and Information Science (LIS) has arrived at a crucial juncture in its relatively brief theoretical history. In addition to the cognitive and physical perspectives in our study of information, a new paradigm has been suggested; the affective paradigm. This new perspective offers keys to unlocking questions about the nature of the interaction of human and information. In recent years we have developed deeper knowledge and deeper specializations, drawing together and combining knowledge from multiple fields in order to advance our own knowledge. The relationship between information needs and information seeking has been well studied. The ways in which people use information is not as well understood because of the complex nature of human behavior. Drawing from other fields that study human behavior, however, muddies the traditional boundaries of LIS, creating some possible discomfort as we trespass into lesser known intellectual territory. Pushing our boundaries also forces questions of our self-identity as a discipline. What constitutes Library and Information Science, either in whole or in part, becomes more difficult to define and can lead to greater fragmentation. Alternatively, the incorporation of multiple perspectives may be the defining core of what constitutes LIS. The focus of this talk is to look at LIS from the outside in, from a multidisciplinary perspective, in order to shed light on questions of how information can lead to changes in human behavior. Drawing from other fields of study, the impact of information on human behavior will be explored in light of what other fields may have to offer.

Coping with unemployment has been studied since the 1930s. Unemployed people's information behaviour, meanwhile, has only just begun to raise interest among researchers. To study both of these in order to find out whether there is a connection between unemployed people's information practices and coping functions is a whole new venture. This research is a quantitative study of coping functions and information behaviour of long-term unemployed people in Finland. The objective is to study what kind of information seeking practices long-term unemployed people have, what kind of coping functions they use to manage their life situation, and if there is a connection between their information seeking activities and coping functions. Studying their information seeking practices concentrates on everyday life information seeking and is divided into orienting and problem-specific information seeking according to the theory of Savolainen. The research material comprised 750 responses from people who had been out of work for more than a year and thus provides a good representation of Finnish long-term unemployed. The results indicate that long-term unemployed people are fairly active in their information seeking practices and use both active and passive coping functions. They also suggest that there is a connection between coping functions and information seeking practices of the long-term unemployed. It appears that high problem-focused copers are significantly more active in orienting information seeking than medium and low problem-focused copers. In problem-specific information seeking, those who use a lot of mixed-focused coping proved to be most active.

This paper focuses on the extent to which online information sharing practice is socially motivated. A key interest is how knowledge of the existing social connections between actors may predict their information sharing behaviour when they move into an online environment, and the relative importance of these connections when set against other factors that may motivate online information sharing within a closed group. The examination of online information exchanges between members of a defined community of bloggers reveals that those with established off-line relationships are more likely to interact with one another when they move into an online environment than those who have not enjoyed earlier contact. The findings of the empirical study are evaluated with reference to social exchange theory, with acknowledgement of the importance of shared social capital as a prerequisite for the efficient operation of work-groups, both in face-to-face and online environments. It is concluded that social exchange theory can be deployed as a means of explaining online information sharing behaviours. The study findings have implications for the design of environments for purposes of online information sharing, especially in terms of the provision of substitutes for physical proximity in distributed organisations, the operation of reward systems, and expectations for communities to develop their own information sharing ecologies.

To manage their health effectively, persons living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) and their caregivers require reliable, up-to-date information about HIV/AIDS and its treatment. Access to timely health information is often a challenge for residents of remote or sparsely populated communities. In this paper we present findings from a research project conducted in three rural regions of Canada in which we investigated how rural PHAs, along with their formal and informal caregivers, exchange HIV/AIDS-related information and support. In the analysis of results, we use a conceptual framework taken from the literature of organizational learning. In particular, we consider how ideas about person-to-person information exchange that have emerged from social network studies in business settings, as well as how Etienne Wenger's ideas about communities of practice apply to the health information behaviour of rural PHAs and their caregivers. The patterns of experience reported by study respondents illustrate the power of access to timely support from trusted informants, as well as the deepening of knowledge at the community level when interpersonal connections are consciously formed and maintained.

This paper uses findings from a research study called Net.Weight to examine the concepts of interaction, information quality and Internet-based information from the perspective of people engaged in managing their weight. The Net.Weight study was a two-year project funded by the British government's Department of Health and located in the city of Brighton and Hove. It examined the potential for increased, innovative and effective uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to support the self management of weight. The study had several inter-related research strands and the findings discussed in the paper emerged primarily from participatory learning workshops and evaluative interviews. The paper demonstrates that the interaction between people is an important aspect of the information process, which is often neglected in the literature. It suggests that exploring the user-user dimension might add to the understanding of information effectiveness. It also suggests that an approach to information and health literacy which includes a social as well as an individual perspective is necessary. On quality assessment, it supports findings from other studies that organisational authority is a key measure of reliability for lay users and that quality assessment tools have a limited role in the assessment process. The Net.Weight participants embraced the Internet as a medium for weight management information only when it added value to their existing information and weight management practices and when it could be integrated into their everyday lives.

While universities generate knowledge, they may not often effectively reuse and share that knowledge. Academic colleagues sometimes reinvent the wheels to recreate the same or similar type of knowledge and intellectual work. As the forum is a popular online teaching tool, this research focuses on the examination of how knowledge, created by a learning and teaching community in forums within an online learning environment, can be reused when a subject is run again or handed over to a different colleague later. It is qualitative interpretive research. To investigate the sharing and reuse of knowledge amongst academics, a focus group was conducted with eight experienced subject coordinators who have used online forums in teaching. They were from three different university schools and different disciplines. The participants produced a plethora of rich information regarding potential knowledge reuse about subjects, focusing on subject contents, assignment help, class discussions, learning difficulties and experiences. This study suggests that the development of a knowledge-sharing culture, university policies, or knowledge management leadership can effectively encourage sharing and reuse of knowledge within a university environment. This is an empirical investigation of a theoretical hypothesis raising issues for further research. The paper is based on a full understanding of the existing state of knowledge in the field and is an original contribution to understanding of the issues. The treatment shows evidence of critical evaluation and conclusions appear relevant and soundly based.

The project, “Seeking Synchronicity: Evaluating Virtual Reference Services from User, Non-User, and Librarian Perspectives,” studied the habits and needs of virtual reference services (VRS) users to identify characteristics for informing library system and service development. The results of the online surveys and telephone interviews for users of VRS are the focus of this paper. One hundred thirty-seven VRS users completed web-based online surveys and 76 completed telephone interviews. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics, grounded theme analyses, and the Critical Incident Technique. Findings indicate that participants had used other modes of reference service. However, they found chat reference to be the least intimidating mode. The leading factor for choosing VRS was convenience. Anytime/anywhere access to VRS, its immediacy, and efficiency were factors in service selection. Knowledgeable librarians with positive attitudes and good communication skills also were found to be critical. Results for members of the Net Gen were compared to those of older adults. Both Net Gen (Net Generation) and adult participants were likely to be repeat users and had positive reactions to VRS. Net Gens were more likely to use the service if it was recommended to them. It was also more desirable to the younger VRS users to have the ability to develop a personal relationship with the librarian and to interact with a specific, familiar librarian. Users of VRS want librarians to provide specific information quickly, through a variety of formats. This article provides implications and recommendations for practice and library education. Librarians need to provide accurate information in a variety of service modes in a hybrid reference model that provides convenient, authoritative, reliable services to meet an array of diverse needs and communication preferences.

Increased needs for information about health have been observed among elderly people, who constitute a growing group. This paper will present a small-scale study on elderly people and health-related information, and take a closer look at the role of libraries as a source. The study was conducted in order to test a questionnaire. The respondents are 65 years or older and belong to the small Swedish-speaking minority in Finland. The health information behaviour of the respondents is approached through the concept of health information literacy (HIL), meaning the abilities to recognize a need for health information, to identify and use likely information sources, and to evaluate, understand, and use the information in order to make good health decisions. Fifty-five self-administered questionnaires were distributed through a snowball-sampling method. Forty-six questionnaires were returned by mail. Descriptive statistics and a One-way ANOVA were used for the analysis. The results show that libraries and library staff were fairly little used, and even less as sources for health information. When the respondents needed health information, they usually turned to medical expertise. The HIL of the respondents seemed sufficient in some respects, but weaker in others. Needs were identified and sources chosen seemingly easily, but some problems were found in understanding. Also quality assessment seemed to be difficult for many respondents. There might, thus, be room for a broadening of the information environment of the respondents, as well as of other elderly seekers of health information. Enhancing people's (health) information literacy is often suggested to be the information profession's responsibility. As long as there is only little or no interaction between elderly people and libraries, this task is difficult, and more research is needed to find out how libraries could reach out to the growing group of elderly people.