Pat Dixon

Models of young people’s information seeking

Although models form a typical outcome of modern research in library and information science, few have been constructed to represent the information behaviour of young people. This article reviews those models that have been developed and outlines several that have emerged from a recent research project undertaken in north-east England with four-to eighteen-year-olds. The first of the new models is devoted to general patterns in the informants’ information seeking, regardless of the type of source exploited. It begins with the development of an information need and concludes with the making of decisions with regard to the completion of a search. The remaining four models are smaller scale in nature, with each covering the use of one of the following - books, CD-ROM software, the Internet or other people. The article concludes by considering the value of the models that have been created to populations beyond the sampled youngsters.

Youngsters’ Use of Other People as an Information-Seeking Method

Use of other people has often been found to be the most frequently employed and most successful method by which youngsters obtain information. Nevertheless, significant questions remain largely unanswered, especially with regard to the types of information need that are met via this action, the sorts of people typically approached in order to satisfy needs of particular types, the actions taken by adults in response to youngsters’ approaches to them and the problems that youngsters face when using other people. In an attempt to shed more light on these outstanding issues, this paper draws on the findings of an essentially qualitative project devoted more generally to the information needs and information-seeking action of young people. The article closes by offering recommendations, based on the project’s results, for future practice in the teaching of Information Skills.

Strengths and Issues in Implementing a Collaborative Inter-University Course: The International Masters in Information Studies by Distance

This paper reports the development of an international Masters in Information Studies between the Universities of Parma (Italy) and Northumbria (United Kingdom). Rather than concentrating on a detailed discussion of course content, it considers the strengths of an international collaborative course development and delivery and the issues involved in developing such a course and gaining approval for it through the different procedures of two countries.

The employment of quality measures in libraries: cultural differences, institutional imperatives and managerial profiles

The paper discusses which factors influence the adoption and use of quality measurement tools in libraries. With very different practices and implementation strategies in different countries, compares the situation in Denmark and the UK. The basis for the comparison is a comprehensive survey of managers in the library sector.

Debates and paradoxes surrounding the use of qualitative methods

Although qualitative methods have been employed for many years, there remain many unresolved issues for investigators wishing to undertake work of this type. This paper, aimed primarily at students and inexperienced researchers, considers some of the most pertinent of these matters and suggests responses that the investigator may make. Some of the issues under scrutiny are expressed as “debates”, in which the contrasting standpoints of different writers are presented. This discussion is followed by coverage of “paradoxes”, in which either there may appear to be inconsistencies within the qualitative paradigm or the investigator is likely to encounter problems in attempting to satisfy different criteria within it. Provision for one such concern may lead to the detriment of the researcher’s attempt to address another. The paper concludes by acknowledging that, although some of the matters raised can be addressed through processes such as prioritising, there remains much disagreement among researchers as to the best courses of action for addressing many of the outstanding issues.

Sequential or selective access? Young people's strategies for finding information in non-fiction books

Despite the prominence now given in schools to information skills, little research has investigated how young people actually locate information in books. This paper draws on the results of a recent qualitative investigation to explore their methods in this regard. Two forms of behaviour were identified. In some instances, material within books was accessed sequentially — the user started at the beginning of the volume and turned the pages individually, sometimes in search of a picture dealing with the specific matter of interest. On other occasions, selective access was favoured. Here informants usually, although not always, exploited a contents list or back-of-the-book index. Sometimes a certain youngster employed different approaches according to circumstances such as the topic of the need and the thickness of the book. Informants put forward a range of reasons for their use of either contents lists or indexes, but the rationale for exploiting either finding aid was often similar. The paper concludes by assessing the implications of the research results for the teaching of information skills. In particular, it highlights the importance of discussing with pupils the need to avoid expedient and inefficient methods of finding information.

Developing a criteria‐based quality framework for measuring value

If information professionals are to measure the value of their services, they must talk directly to users and listen to what they have to say about their lives, as well as measuring the service in terms of value for money. Whilst acknowledging the necessity of data concerned with processes and procedures, the concept of value can only be fully explored by going to the individual user directly, within a specific context. Researchers must make the anecdotal believable, trustworthy, worthy of being considered alongside other types of hard data, and a constructivist approach to collecting, analysing and presenting qualitative data can be used effectively to achieve this. The UK government has pledged to deliver public services to meet the needs of citizens, not the convenience of service providers, by involving and meeting the needs of all different groups in society. Its Best Value review represents one of the most far reaching challenges facing those responsible for local services. Can its framework provide the flexibility to support all those who have a stake in measuring value of library and information services?

Measuring electronic information resource use: towards a transferable quality framework for measuring value

Focuses on the research outcomes of a longitudinal, in‐depth investigation of the electronic information resource use of 16 young people. Aims to provide a flexible, qualitative framework that can be applied within local contexts to enable context‐specific understanding of electronic information resource use. Concludes that, although the groups may remain consistent, personal constructions and notions of value within those groups is more likely to be context‐specific.

Youngsters’ use of public libraries for information: Results of a qualitative research project

As public libraries straggle to compete with domestic electronic materials for use by young people, more research is needed to explore youngsters’ exploitation of and attitudes to these organisations. This paper investigates such issues by drawing on the results of a qualitative research project sampling 188 English youngsters between four and eighteen years of age. Attention is specifically focused on the use of public libraries for information purposes. Public libraries were used to varying degrees across the sample. Many information needs prompting their employment emerged from school work but informants also sought material in support of their own interests. Preferred libraries were often those with the largest collections. The childrens section was exploited by library‐going first schoolers, the adult department by children at high school and a combination of both by many middle school children, often depending on the need. Substantial criticisms were made of libraries, including unhelpful opening hours, the time necessary to make use of them and unsuitable or overwhelming bookstock. When other, more favoured sources of information became available to youngsters their library visits tended to dwindle. These findings have substantial implications for practices both within schools and in the libraries themselves.