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- As information environments are changing rapidly - decision
making in organizations through to the solving of the daily problems
of individual citizens - there is an increasing need for research
into information seeking and use, in order to more fully understand
human information behaviours and to facilitate the design of
more effective information systems. This volume of papers presents
some of the most comprehensive and incisive studies of this fundamentally
important phenomenon.
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- A well-known study published in the Annual Review of Information
Science and Technology in 1986 criticized the dominant characteristics
of information needs studies - that they were system-centred
rather than person-centred that they viewed persons as mechanistic,
passive users, that they conceptualized information as an objective
entity with constant meaning, that they concentrated on the external
behaviour of individuals instead of internal cognition, that
they focused on users only at the point of interaction with the
information system instead of in the larger contexts of their
lives, and that they produced over-rigid models to predict information
behaviour. To address these problems, the present volume emphasized
the study of information behaviour 'in context' - stressing the
influences of social life, historical precedent, and the pervasive
effects of communities, organiations and cultures on the information
seeking of individuals. Many of the most prominent information
needs researchers from around the world present here
a challenging overview of the current developments in information
research, addressing a wide range of theoretical and methodological
challenges in the process. The book is invaluable reading for
those concerned with the design and operation of information
systems of all kinds.
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- ISBN 0 947568 71 9
- 1997
- £45.00/US$85.00
- 'The sheer variety of theoretical and methodological approaches
described, the outcomes of longitudinal studies presented, passionate
discussion, wealth of practical detail, and the ideas from different
disciplines explored, should ensure that this volume of papers
will be referred to often, and be found to be relevant for a
long time to come.'
- Education for Information
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- '.... truly global in scope....the reader will be rewarded
with deep insight into the current issues in information needs
and seeking research.'
- Library Review
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- 'This book is a mine of information.... I will certainly
be referring back again and again to the various sections of
this thought-provoking collection.'
- Library Association Record
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- 'interesting and valuable insights into the human side
of information seeking behaviour in the work context.'
- Online and CD-ROM Review
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