“Library users come to a library to find books”

Abstract

Purpose: Considering the perceived significance of librarians and information experts as professional information seekers and information seeking educators and of the institutional setting of information work, very little is known about the information practices of librarians and information professionals, their contexts and implications for libraries and their users. The aim of this study is to explore the information interactions of library professionals within and in relation to the context of the setting of the library.Design/methodology/approach: The analysis is based on a qualitative case study of a large North European city library. Material was collected using information seeking diaries, interviews and ethnographic observation in the library space. Findings:The information practices of librarians are contextual to the setting of the library within which the meeting of the assumptions of library users of the use of that particular system play a significant role. The systemic interplay of librarians, library users and other parts of the system constrains the breadth of the available information at libraries, but at the same time, keeping to a particular set of shared norms and practices of library use also facilitates the use of the system. Research limitations/implications:The generalisability of the findings is limited by the fact that they are based on an individual case study. Practical implications:The systemic nature of library and its reproduction in a process of structuration underlines the need to develop information services in libraries from a holistic perspective that takes into account the practical implications of the shared norms and assumptions of how a library should work.Originality/value: There is little earlier research on the information practices of library and information professionals, particularly with specific reference to its implications for libraries and their users.

Information Sharing as Embodied Practice in a Context of Conversion to Islam

“…Research on information access, seeking, and representation in leisure settings, migration, healthcare, and the home has expanded information science beyond contexts such as schools and libraries, which continue to be focal points in the field (Allard 2015;Cox and Blake 2011;Dali 2013;Given et al 2016;Gorichanaz 2015;Hartel 2010;Lloyd 2014a;Loudon, Buchanan, and Ruthven 2016;McKenzie 2010;Quirke 2015;Tinto and Ruthven 2016;Huvila 2013;Lloyd 2009;Molopyane and Fourie 2015;Pilerot 2016;Takhteyev 2012). Although religious practice is another important part of everyday life (refer to, e.g., Statistics Canada 2013), with the exception of a small number of studies on information seeking and use among Christian clergy (e.g., Michels 2014;Roland 2012;Roland and Wicks 2009), research about the role of information in religious practice remains marginal.…”

Stop, Collaborate, and List ‘Em: Creating Local Metadata to Promote User Discovery of Minoritized Identities in a STEM Collection

“…We audited the collection by using two common information seeking modes common for both patrons and librarians: searching the library catalog and shelf browsing (Huvila, 2013;Jiang, 2013).…”