LIS 5053: Information Users in the Knowledge Society

Syllabus course description:

Information use by people in various roles, situations, and contexts, individually and in groups. Information behavior and the influence of learning and cognitive processes; value systems; and situational, psychological, sociological, and political perspectives. Application of study of user information behavior to textual, graphical, and visual representation of knowledge. Includes both theoretical models and practical methodologies for study of uses and for user-centered design of information and knowledge systems and services.

Learning objectives addressed:

• Learn about the evolving nature of reference
• Understand best practices for offering of reference services
• Improve reference interview techniques
• Identify trends in information seeking habits
• Understand the use of technology in the process of discovering information
• Improve leadership skills
• Be familiar with user needs to effectively organize and design resources

Assignment

I have selected one of my reflection papers and an assigned essay to demonstrate my understanding of information seeking, use and needs. These assignments allowed me to apply the concepts from readings to my own experiences. As a result I improved my ability to understand research and its implication for practice.

The reflection paper related to managing the boundaries of information science. Comparing Bates' Invisible Substrate of Information to Plato's Republic, I made the argument that librarians must strive to be philosopher kings.

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"Reading Bates' discussion of the boundaries of information science, I am reminded of Plato’s Republic, in which Socrates describes the role of philosopher kings in understanding the true form of things. At times it is difficult to wrap one’s brain around the fact that we study the form of forms and as Bates (1999) suggests it requires being exposed to the theory of forms vs. content and representation vs. knowing to comprehend the study of information science. Just as one must see the truth of an object to determine its form, as librarian we must understand the true nature of a record of information and our relationship to it to make sense of it."

The assigned essay asked us to reflect upon two readings and apply them to our understanding of professional practice. I used readings providing an introduction to research and the two major approaches positivism and interpretivism to make a case for the use of web analytics in ISB research.

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"As the book explains, it is essential librarians understand how to read and apply research. In that same vein, it is necessary for librarians to understand how their research can be useful in other arenas. It seems the development of information systems continues without the voice of librarians. It is almost if the very domain claimed by librarians is slipping out from beneath as they try to make sense of “every book has a reader” in a digital realm. By conducting research for practical application by the stakeholders themselves, the use of web analytics offer librarians a chance to reclaim the domain, gain status and reassert the value added benefits of the profession."

Please find the full versions attached below.