A major concept in Library and Information Science fields is “information needs”, and it is a topic of discussion in regards to user studies. For such a key concept in the LIS field, it is also one that is frequently debated and has no concrete definition. Tom Wilson explains that this is because information itself is a “troublesome concept”, with numerous definitions and evolutions through time (1981, p. 659). There is also difficulty in separating the concept of “information need” from “information wants”, “expressed demand”, “satisfied demand”, and other similar terms (Wilson, 1981, p. 661). The main difficulty in this regard is that an information-user can know what they want, but not always know what they need. An information-professional, such as a librarian, may be able to satisfy a want while true needs are unmet. Often, an information-user only initiates information-seeking behavior when there is a want, not a need. Referred to as task-based information needs, this is when there is a motivator for information-seeking, such as a student looking for resources for an assignment (Savolainen, 2012, p. 493).
Brenda Dervin’s Sense-Making Theory relates to task-based information needs and describes how information-users are situationally bound to information-needs. This Sense-making model uses three key words: situation, gap, and use (Dervin and Dewdney, 1986, p. 2). Situation refers to events in a person’s life that create a gap, or lack of sense (Dervin and Dewdney, 1986, p. 2). Thus a situation could be, for example, a diagnosis of diabetes or a new technology added to their workplace. The gap—lack of sense—would be not understanding diabetes and wanting to know how to adjust their lifestyle, or not knowing how to use this new technology but wanting or needing to learn. Use, therefore, is what the person hopes to do with the information that they gain to get over that gap (Dervin and Dewdney, 1986, p. 2). In the former example, that use could be using information to prepare meals as well as understand what is happening with their body. In the latter example, that use would be being able to use the new technology at their workplace, giving that person a new desirable skill for their résumé as well as increase their production at work. A gap, therefore, is an information need.
However, seeking out information to bridge these gaps is not enough, especially if an information-user is not certain of their exact information needs and where to begin their information search. An information-seeker may approach an information professional such as a librarian for guidance, or attempt to find the information on their own. However, neither a card catalog nor an information professional may know the exact need when an information-seeker begins their search, which usually leads to the game of verbal Minesweeper known as the reference interview to determine what the root information-need is. An information-seeker may request information about diabetes, and it is an information professional’s job to narrow down exactly what they want to know. Questions that an information professional might ask in this regard would include: Is this juvenile diabetes or diabetes in adults?; Type one or type two?; Why does a body develops diabetes or how to live with the disease?; etc. This is why Dervin refers to this phenomenon as “sense-making”: the reference interview is designed to literally make sense of the information-seeker’s request.
But for immigrants whose first language may not be English, conveying information-needs and carrying out information-seeking behavior may have more hurdles in sense-making. An immigrant may know how to seek information, but struggle with reading English, understanding American colloquialisms, or other cultural differences create a barrier. There may be miscommunications in conveying what information one is trying to seek or give. Information-seeking also may not be specifically looking for information in the form of facts and data. Information-seeking can include looking for works of fiction, such as novels and picture books, that immigrants can read for personal enjoyment or read with their children to encourage life-long literacy. If non-English-as-first-language immigrants have difficulty finding these materials in their first language within their new community, where else have they started seeking information? The information-seeker also may seek out an information professional, but if the information professional does not have readily available resources that would benefit the information-seeker or if linguistic and cultural differences hinder the sense-making process.
This is where the public library’s response becomes a key concept. As an information organization, the public library’s goal is to help information-seekers meet information-needs and become information-users. However, meeting those needs on an ethnocentric level is hazardous to the information organization, immigrant information-users, and the community as a whole. Therefore, the library needs to make a response to the research results regarding the information-needs and information-seeking behavior of the minority community they wish to serve in various ways, such as collection development, programming, and a variety of on-hand materials. By providing a response, the public library is facilitating a continuous flow of information for use on a more equitable level.
Works Cited
Dervin, B., & Dwedney, P. (1986) “Neutral questioning: A new approach to the reference interview.” Research Quarterly, 25(4). Pp. 506-513.
Savolainen, R. (2012) “Expectancy-value beliefs and information needs as motivators for task-based information seeking.” Journal of Documentation, 68(4), pp. 492-511. DOI: 10.1108/00220411211239075
Wilson, T. (2006) “On user studies and information needs”. Journal of Documentation, 62(6), pp. 658-670. DOI: 10.1108/00220410610714895