Competency J

Introduction

The tenth competency in the SJSU iSchool MLIS program is to "describe the fundamental concepts of information-seeking behaviors". Information seeking and information behavior are terms referring to human behavior that is so fundamental and commonplace that it can easily go unnoticed. These terms refer to the "common human cycle of needing, looking for, choosing, and using information of some kind" (Case, 2008, p. 35). Assessing an individual's information need and helping individuals meet those needs is part of the role of a librarian or information scientist.

Information seeking behaviors begin with the information user or patron and their information need (Wilson, 1981). The patron recognizes that their knowledge and understanding about a subject is inadequate to achieve some result or goal. They tend to seek out informal reference sources more often than formal sources and will be satisfied with the first appropriate solution to their query rather than trying to find the best answer. Quality is often sacrificed for expediency and convenience (Rubin, 2016, p. 378; Case, 2008, p. 37-38). The information needs of individuals vary across these strata and occur within specific contexts both internal (e.g. memories, thoughts, motivations, and personality) and external (e.g. profession, family, and friends). The information seeking process is organic and can change between information queries as well as during the information seeking process. It "is rarely a simple, linear process that comes to complete fruition" (Case, 2008, p. 40).

Information seeking behaviors are studied from a variety of perspectives including employment, role within society, and demographics (Rubin, 2016, p. 373). Many researchers have identified various ways to model information seeking. One study represented the information seeking process as six stages: initiation, selection, exploration, formulation, collection, and presentation (Kuhlthau, 1991, p. 367). Other models attempt to describe the relationship between communication, information seeking, information behavior, and information searching (Wilson, 1999). The rise of computer and internet technologies have made a major impact on individuals' information seeking behaviors. The World Wide Web (WWW) provides access to massive amounts of information and creates new ways of information searching and seeking. The WWW's chaotic and changing nature add complexity to the information seeking process. Seeking and searching for information on the WWW is a fluid, dynamic process where individuals use multiple search techniques within various contexts to find answers to their information queries.

Evidence

The following coursework completed within the SJSU MLIS program demonstrates an understanding of the concepts of information seeking behaviors.

  1. Discussion post about meeting user information needs
  2. Essay on information seeking behaviors
  3. EAD Finding Aids search project

LIBR 200 Discussion Post: Meeting Patron Information Needs

A discussion post asks whether a librarian should serve the needs of the patrons rather than the patrons' wants. Put in other words: Should a librarian be popular or right? The discussion post answer states that being right would be preferred to being popular. A patron may not recognize for themselves their exact information need. "Merely answering a patron’s question might not be enough; the individual might want a particular piece of information, only to discover that something different is needed" (Rubin, 2010, p. 275). Finding information is not usually the problem. With more electronic information resources available to more people the quantity of information is not an issue. The issue is in the quality of the data in answering the information need. "For most of the situations [librarians and information scientists] face there is not a problem getting enough information but rather with interpreting and understanding what information we already have" (Case, 2008, 40). This is the role that the information professional plays in understanding the information seeking behaviors of their patrons. If the information professional understands the information seeking behaviors of their patrons they will be able to provide more effective service in meeting their needs. They are positioned to help filter and guide patrons and clientele to sources of information that meet their information needs and in this process show patrons how they can find answers for themselves.

LIBR 202 Essay: Information Seeking Behaviors

Family history research is the study of families by identifying family lineage and history. An essay for an information retrieval course (LIBR 202) analyzed the information seeking behaviors of family history researchers (FHRs). FHRs conduct research within both professional and amateur contexts. They have unique motivations and interests for the information they seek. The information seeking behavior of FHRs is a long term, lifelong approach "carried out sporadically yet intensively" (Darby & Clough, 2013, p. 75). FHR is conducted over an eclectic range of information resources and resource types that can reveal names, birth and death locations and dates, marriage location and date, stories, and photographs about their ancestors. The focus of FHRs is on names first, geographic locations second, and lastly dates Darby & Clough, 2013, p. 74). Information sharing among peers is another unique aspect of FHRs that leads to a strengthened personal understanding of information seeking tools and techniques, advancement of personal FHR and the advancement of peers' FHR. This essay demonstrates that not all user groups and individuals follow the same information seeking behaviors. The information seeking behavior of individuals and groups can be closely connected to the context and setting for the information being sought.

To help researchers and library patrons as well as ensure the long-term preservation of archival holdings and collections, archivists create detailed descriptions of items and collections in their archives. These detailed descriptions are called finding aids. The finding aid is used by archivists as well as patrons to know what is in an archive and where to find the materials in the archive’s collection (Duff & Stoyanova, 1998, p. 44). The finding aid has been encoded in various formats throughout its history. The Encoded Archival Description (EAD) is a digital encoding format for finding aids in an online environment (The Library of Congress, 2012).

A final project in a course about online searching (INFO 244) provided an opportunity to apply principles of information seeking behaviors to the use of EAD finding aids. The project was an online presentation including slides and notes that explored the role of search and online EAD finding aids. Patrons and clientele of archives and special collections rely on finding aids to meet their information needs and complete their research. This project showed that the combination of EAD finding aids on the World Wide Web aligned well with Bates' berrypicking search technique (Bates, 1989). The display and search interfaces for these finding aids vary widely and lack consistency. Poorly designed search interfaces act as a barrier to successfully searching for information in finding aids. Keyword searching was an information seeking behavior that found the greatest success as compared to subject-based searches against finding aids.

The project findings recommended that search interfaces should be aligned with Bates' (1989) model of search strategies providing a broader range of access points to the finding aid. Finding aid search interfaces should allow for a variety of access points including subjects, names, dates, and geographic locations. The project also concluded that a focus on the design of the search interface ignores understanding user information seeking behaviors. Better understanding the information seeking behaviors of archival finding aid users will lead to improving search and search interfaces for EAD finding aids.

Conclusion

With an increase in the quantity of information items and sources it becomes increasingly challenging to navigate the deluge of information available in society to find answers to one's information needs. Librarians and information scientists have sought to understand how patrons and clientele seek information by creating models that explain their information seeking behaviors. Some models of information seeking behavior explain the causes for how one seeks as opposed to the process they take in searching (Järvelin and Wilson, 2003). Information seeking behaviors by individuals and groups are dynamic and commonly utilize multiple strategies and models to find information (Xie, 2012). There are a wide variety of models explaining individuals' and groups' information seeking behaviors. Because of the organic nature of search and information seeking behavior there may not be a universal approach to explain all aspects and issues in the information seeking process (Xie, 2012). In order to meet the needs of their patrons and clientele (and reinforce the value and significance of their information organization) librarians and information scientists must shift to become "truly user-oriented, innovative, [and] experimental" to fully understand and match the needs of their patrons and clientele (Wilson, 1981, p. 668). Coursework and projects completed in the SJSU MLIS program provided training and experience to better understand information seeking behavior for the purpose of better meeting the needs of others.

References

Bates, M. J. (1989). The design of browsing and berrypicking techniques for the online search interface. Retrieved from https://pages.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/bates/berrypicking.html

Case, D. O. (2008). Information seeking. In K. Haycock & B. E. Sheldon (Eds.), The portable MLIS: Insights form the experts. (p. 35-41). Westport, Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited.

Darby, P. & Clough, P. (2013). Investigating the information-seeking behaviour of genealogists and family historians. Journal of Information Science, 39(1), 73-84. doi: 10.1177/0165551512469765

Duff, W. & Stoyanova, P. (1998). Transforming the crazy quilt: Archival displays from a users' point of view. Archivaria, 24, 44-79. Retrieved from http://journals.sfu.ca/archivar/index.php/archivaria/index

Järvelin, K. and Wilson, T. D. (2003). On conceptual models for information seeking and retrieval research. Information Research, 9(1). Retrieved from http://www.informationr.net/ir/9-1/paper163.html

Kuhlthau, C. C. (1991). Inside the search process: Information seeking from the user's perspective. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 42(5), 361-371.

Library of Congress. (2012, July 11). About EAD. Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/ead/eadabout.html

Rubin, R. E. (2016). Foundations of library and information science. Chicago: Neal-Schuman.

Wilson, T. D. (1981). On user studies and information needs. Journal of Documentation, 37(1), 3-15. Retrieved from http://informationr.net/tdw/publ/papers/1981infoneeds.html

Wilson, T. D. (1999). Models in information behaviour research. Journal of Documentation, 55(3), 249-270. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000007145

Xie I. (2012). Information searching and search models. In Bates M. (ed.) Understanding information retrieval systems. (p. 31-46). Abingdon: Taylor & Francis.