INFORMATION BEHAVIOUR AND LITERACY EDUCATION BLOG


Hello everyone,

I am very excited to welcome you all to my blog where we shall be discussing issues pertaining to information seeking behaviour and information use for various categories of information users. Please feel free to provide feedback at mlonyenichisi@blogspot.com.

Our topic for discussion this week is "A SHIFT FROM INFORMATION SYSTEMS TO INFORMATION UERS".

 In the past literature used to focus much on the systems that provided the information rather than the users of the information. The focus was on artifacts and venues of information searching and these included books, journals, newspapers, television, schools, libraries and universities. Information seeking mostly relied on the sources and how they were used rather than the individual users and their needs.

 However the focus has since changed when it comes to information seeking as now more emphasis is put on meeting expectations and preferences of the users. Before we get into details on that let us dwell a bit on the myths or troubles associated with information behaviour. People have different beliefs, come from different backgrounds and cultures and grew up in different environments. Accommodating such diverse groups is never easy as some hold certain beliefs that cannot be easily changed. One of the myths that people have is that they believe that only objective information is valuable. The argument here is that people are rational beings who process data from the environment to analyze alternatives and then make decisions. Information seekers rely on easily available information and that people tend to settle for the first satisfactory source on information. Users normally rely on authoritative leaders in the society. 

The other myth that users have is that they believe that the more information you have the better. But this is not always the case because you can get large amounts of information but not get informed. What is important is understanding the information that you have no matter how little. In other words quality matters more than quantity. Yet others believe that objective information cannot be transmitted out of context. This is highly debatable as any research can be questioned so long as you have facts to back up your view. Another myth that information seekers have is that information can only be acquired through formal sources. Much as it is highly recommendable to use formal sources of information informal sources can also be valuable sources subject to scrutiny from the user. People use informal sources such as friends and family whom they have known all their lives.

Some information users believe that there is relevant information for every need and that more information cannot satisfy human needs. One interesting myth is where people need to understand that it is  not always possible to make information available or accessible. Lastly we need to understand that formal information systems are limited in what they can accomplish and that people will continue to come up with their own answers in their own unique way. 

 

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