Chandra Prabha, Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Lawrence Olszewski and Lillie R. Jenkins
This paper seeks to understand how users know when to stop searching for more information when the information space is so saturated that there is no certainty that the relevant…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to understand how users know when to stop searching for more information when the information space is so saturated that there is no certainty that the relevant information has been identified.
Design/methodology/approach
Faculty, undergraduate and graduate students participated in focus group interviews to investigate what leads them to satisfice their information needs.
Findings
Academic library users describe both qualitative and quantitative criteria, which lead them to make rational choices determining when “enough” information satisfices their need. The situational context of both the participants' specific information need and their role in academic society affects every stage of their search – from the selection of the first resource, to ongoing search strategies, to decisions on how much information is enough.
Originality/value
These findings broaden the scope of earlier user research, which tends to focus on the more static views of habitual information‐seeking and ‐searching behavior, by applying theoretical frameworks for a richer understanding of the users' experiences.
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THE death of Sir John Ballinger was the cardinal library event of January. Elsewhere one of our contributors has gathered his memories of this distinguished past president of the…
Abstract
THE death of Sir John Ballinger was the cardinal library event of January. Elsewhere one of our contributors has gathered his memories of this distinguished past president of the Library Association. Here we pay tribute to a great librarian whose devotion to all that is best in the service was life‐long and who received honours which are not always given to librarians. Achieving a relatively important library position in early life, he not only gave his city an admirable service; he found time to work for all the general interests of the profession. The respect and gratitude, and indeed the affection, of all of us surrounded his later years and go with him to his grave. Our sympathy is respectfully expressed to Lady Ballinger and her family.
THE relinquishing of the Presidency of the Library Association by Dr. Arundell Esdaile must of course receive the attention it deserves. This will probably be when the new…
Abstract
THE relinquishing of the Presidency of the Library Association by Dr. Arundell Esdaile must of course receive the attention it deserves. This will probably be when the new President, Mr. Cashmore, is inducted into the office at Birmingham—an event which we understand will take place early in February.
NOW removed to Chaucer House, Malet Place, London, W.O., the Library Association is in its permanent home adjoining University College and the new National Central Library. Some…
Abstract
NOW removed to Chaucer House, Malet Place, London, W.O., the Library Association is in its permanent home adjoining University College and the new National Central Library. Some strenuous work has yet to be done by the secretary and his staff before the ceremonial opening, but when Chaucer House is completed it should not only facilitate and permit the growth of the work of the Library Association; it should also form a meeting place of great value. We refer not only to meetings of a formal character, although room for these, for council and committee meetings and for examinations will, for the first time in our record, be adequate; we refer rather to the clubbable meetings that have hitherto been rather difficult. For many years librarians have advocated a professional club, where meals might be taken, friends might meet, and some of the social amenities generally be possible. There seems to be an opportunity here; but, clearly, no such club idea can be realized unless there is a definite desire for it, and, what is more, practical use made of it. If the London members dropped in regularly some catering scheme could be arranged which the provincial members could take advantage of too whenever they visited London. Can this be done? Other professions have managed it. It is merely sense to recognise that the provision of refreshments and other necessaries can only be made if there is a regular demand for them which will at least pay their cost.
ALL the auguries for the Bournemouth Conference appear to be good. Our local secretary, Mr. Charles Riddle, seems to have spared neither energy nor ability to render our second…
Abstract
ALL the auguries for the Bournemouth Conference appear to be good. Our local secretary, Mr. Charles Riddle, seems to have spared neither energy nor ability to render our second visit to the town, whose libraries he initiated and has controlled for thirty‐seven years, useful and enjoyable. There will not be quite so many social events as usual, but that is appropriate in the national circumstances. There will be enough of all sorts of meetings to supply what the President of the A.L.A. describes as “the calling which collects and organizes books and other printed matter for the use and benefit of mankind and which brings together the reader and the printed word in a vital relationship.” We hope the discussions will be thorough, but without those long auto‐biographical speeches which are meant for home newspapers, that readers will make time for seeing the exhibitions, and that Bournemouth will be a source of health and pleasure to all our readers who can be there.
AT the Conference at Folkestone of the London and Home Counties Branch of the Library Association, Mr. Jast gave one more example of his old fire and vigour in a paper which he…
Abstract
AT the Conference at Folkestone of the London and Home Counties Branch of the Library Association, Mr. Jast gave one more example of his old fire and vigour in a paper which he entitled Publishers and Librarians. No doubt in other pages than ours the text will be given in full. Here, in summary, we may say that he dealt with some of the needs of librarians and readers for well‐produced editions of good books which for some reason were obtainable only in double‐columned small type or otherwise almost unreadable or at any rate unattractive form. He instanced Disraeli's Curiosities of Literature. He urged that if a sufficient number of public and other librarians represented this want to publishers, promising that the libraries would support such an edition, it was unlikely that the request would be ignored. A further suggestion arose from the established fact that in the welter of editions of certain books many were ill‐produced and unworthy to be placed in the hands of unsuspecting bookbuyers. Robinson Crusoe was a case in point, and as many parents desired their sons to read this they were often persuaded to buy editions which were unsuitable. Here he made a suggestion which is entirely practicable: that the Library Association should examine all of the common classics for form and for textual accuracy—a feature in which he alleged that some were deficient—and fix on suitable editions, allowing the publisher to add to their title‐pages “approved by the Library Association.” We seize upon this point first because there is nothing Utopian about it. It is a work that ought to be done.
HARROGATE will be notable as the venue of the Conference in one or two ways that distinctive. The Association Year is now to begin on January 1st and not in September as…
Abstract
HARROGATE will be notable as the venue of the Conference in one or two ways that distinctive. The Association Year is now to begin on January 1st and not in September as heretofore; and, in consequence, there will be no election of president or of new council until the end of the year. The Association's annual election is to take place in November, and the advantages of this arrangement must be apparent to everyone who considers the matter. Until now the nominations have been sent out at a time when members have been scattered to all parts of the country on holiday, and committees of the Council have been elected often without the full consideration that could be given in the more suitable winter time. In the circumstances, at Harrogate the Chair will still be occupied by Sir Henry Miers, who has won from all librarians and those interested in libraries a fuller measure of admiration, if that were possible, than he possessed before he undertook the presidency. There will be no presidential address in the ordinary sense, although Sir Henry Miers will make a speech in the nature of an address from the Chair at one of the meetings. What is usually understood by the presidential address will be an inaugural address which it is hoped will be given by Lord Irwin. The new arrangement must bring about a new state of affairs in regard to the inaugural addresses. We take it that in future there will be what will be called a presidential address at the Annual Meeting nine months after the President takes office. He will certainly then be in the position to review the facts of his year with some knowledge of events; he may chronicle as well as prophesy.
Darren C. Treadway, Emily D. Campion and Lisa V. Williams
In a world that glorifies power, the lives of the powerless serve as context for testimonies of salvation that in their pretentiousness more often reinforce the reputation and…
Abstract
In a world that glorifies power, the lives of the powerless serve as context for testimonies of salvation that in their pretentiousness more often reinforce the reputation and self-esteem of the powerful hero than transform the lives of the oppressed. Whereas these types of popular human-interest stories may raise awareness of the conditions surrounding the powerless, they do little more than advance the notion that these individuals are without hope and must rely solely on the generosity, resources, and leadership of the powerful populations by which they are exploited. We seek to offer a contrasting perspective in this chapter. That is, we present a framework that challenges messianic notions of leaders of ineffectual populations and presses forth with the idea that powerlessness is a more common condition than feeling powerful and that only the powerless can alter their destiny.
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THE note of the Conference at Harrogate was the question of unemployment in relation to libraries. The arguments advanced were intended for the wider public rather than for…
Abstract
THE note of the Conference at Harrogate was the question of unemployment in relation to libraries. The arguments advanced were intended for the wider public rather than for librarians, and reproduced a now fairly familiar argument that the issues of books from libraries have increased by leaps and bounds since the beginning of the depression. It is quite clear that many men who normally would not read quite so much have turned to books for consolation and guidance. The fact that branch libraries were closed at Glasgow as an economy measure, and were afterwards re‐opened under the force of public opinion, would emphasize the opinion generally held that in times of economic stress it may be an even greater economy to increase expenditure upon libraries than to curtail it. This argument is, of course, in a region which the average material mind of our governors cannot always reach. It is nevertheless true, and the Conference provided ample evidence of its truth.
SEPTEMBER finds the summer irrevocably over, although there will still be one or two very beautiful months in the English autumn remaining. It is usually the time when the older…
Abstract
SEPTEMBER finds the summer irrevocably over, although there will still be one or two very beautiful months in the English autumn remaining. It is usually the time when the older librarian thinks of conferences, and today he realizes regretfully that these have receded into what already seems a remote past. This month as we write we have to repeat the expectation we have expressed every month since May that before these words appear in print the threatened lightning attack on the life of England will have been made by the Nazis. It is becoming so customary, however, that one can only suggest that so far as circumstances allow we proceed with our normal work. The circumstances may make this difficult but they should be faced. One thing stands out: that in public libraries, at anyrate, the demands made by readers have gradually returned to their usual level and in some places have risen above it. This does not always mean that the figures are as high as they were, because in many of the great cities and towns a part of the population, including a very large number of the children, have been evacuated. In spite of the pressure on the population as a whole, it would seem that head for head more books are being read now than at any previous time.