Competency J

Statement of competency

Note: Competency I has merged with J

“Google can bring you back 100,000 answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one.”

Neil Gaiman

Introduction

All people have information needs that must be met in order for them to complete certain tasks, whether those are chosen or imposed. Information behavior is defined as the method by which “human beings interact with information, in particular, the ways in which people seek and utilize information” (Bates, 2010, p. 2074). This behavior may include students that need to answer questions for their homework assignments, researchers looking for information pertaining to their topic of study, people about to cook that want recipe, friends in a heated debate over their favorite movie looking up information to prove their arguments, hobbyists search for templates to help them on their latest project and so on. Whatever the case may be, librarians are there to help connect people to accurate, relevant, and appropriate information they need.

Researchers have studied people’s information-seeking behavior and created concepts based on their findings. These fundamental concepts are useful to consider when trying to assist individuals that come to librarians for help. Depending on where a person is in their information search and how they choose information are important factors to pay attention to when employing said concepts. Furthermore, having an understanding of information-seeking behaviors enables librarians to create effective pathfinders or library guides for patrons to use.

Key Concepts

Information Seeking Process

One of the most insightful models is the Information Search Process (ISP) created by Carol Kuhlthau in 1991. This model describes the stages, tasks, and emotions a person experiences when they need to fill a gap in their knowledge. Below is a chart detailing this process. Recognizing where a person is at in their information search and what emotions they are confronting can help librarians tailor their service to a person’s needs.

Kuhlthau's ISP Model (Bell, 2015, p. 213):

1. Initiation: Recognizing a need for information (result of lack of knowledge). Uncertainty, apprehension

2. Selection: Identify and select general topic or approach. Optimism (upon achieving task)

3. Exploration: Need to locate information about topic, become informed, integrate new information with previously held constructs, reconcile sources providing inconsistent or incompatible information. Confusion, uncertainty, discouragement, frustration, sense of personal inadequacy

4. Formulation: Focus, personalize topic by identifying and selecting ideas from all the information retrieved. Increase confidence, sense of clarity

5. Collection: Gather information related to the the restated, focused topic; clearer sense of direction allows for more efficient, relevant interactions with information systems. Confidence increases, interest in project increases, uncertainty subsides.

6. Presentation: Prepare presentation of findings. Relief, satisfaction (or disappointment if search has not gone well)

Berry-Picking

Bates (1989) describes berry-picking as a process by which “people adapt the [search] strategy to the particular need at the moment; as the need shifts in pan or whole, the strategy often shifts as well — at least for effective searchers” (p. 413). Berry-pickers do not conduct straightforward, systematic approaches to finding information. Rather they pick and choose what information suits their purposes as they search for information. Typically, they start with broad topics and then narrow down their search for the right information. They may veer off into different directions depending on what they find, or double back when a certain search does not suit their needs.

Sense Making

Brenda Dervin’s Sense-Making Model, created in the 1970s, describes the process by which people become aware of their situation with an information gap in their knowledge, and what methods they use to fill that gap. The features of this model are the:

• Law of Least Effort (people will pick the first rather than the best results)

• Friends and family are the preferred information sources over institutions

• People can be overwhelmed by the amount of information available

• Information seeking is an evolving process

• People want personable service about their information needs rather than a data dump from librarians

• Information seeking can be a creative process (Case, 2018).

When librarians acknowledge these features they can better serve the needs of their patrons. For example, an individual may want information quickly and will not wait for an in-depth hunt for resources. Additionally, too much information is counterproductive as people may not be able to process everything they are given. Therefore, being highly selective of the information a librarian chooses to share with the patron may be prudent. Furthermore, the paths people take to get information may meander, lengthen, shorten, or be found by chance. What is important is that people get the information they need.

Evidence

Conclusion

Recognizing the information-seeking behaviors that patrons exhibit can help to deliver the type of service that would best suit their needs. Being aware of what questions are imposed versus deriving from self-interest is important too. Students that need facts for an assignment are not necessarily interested in the information they receive. However, they do need actual facts to do their work. By contrast, a genealogist would be very interested in learning about the details of individuals in their family tree. They may wish to know more about the search process and talk to the librarian about this topic as well as receiving the information. For the patron that is in a hurry, giving them information promptly without much explanation about the process of finding the information is appropriate. However, for hobbyists, it is best to try to connect with the patron and teach them how to search for information on their own if they are interested.

References

Bates, M. J. (1989). The design of browsing and berrypicking techniques for the online search interface. Online Review, 13(5), 407-424. https://doi-org.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/10.1108/eb024320

Bates, M. J. (2010). Information behavior. In J. D. McDonald, & M. Levine-Clark (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences, (4th ed.). Retrieved from https://doi-org.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/10.1201/9780203757635

Bell, S. S. (2015). Librarian's guide to online searching: cultivating database skills for research and instruction (4th ed.). Libraries Unlimited.

Case, D. O. (2018). Information seeking. In K. Haycock, & M. Romaniuk (Eds.), The portable MLIS: Insight from the experts (Second ed., pp. 49-56) ABC-CLIO, LLC.