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Article
Publication date: 25 April 2008

William S. Hemmig

The purpose of this paper is to examine the literature on the information behavior of practicing visual artists to determine if a consistent model emerges and what further…

7095

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the literature on the information behavior of practicing visual artists to determine if a consistent model emerges and what further research is necessary.

Design/methodology/approach

Works dealing with the information needs and uses relevant to the creative activities of visual artists are discussed in the paper. These works are assessed for their contributions toward understanding of the specific information behaviors of practicing artists.

Findings

The results show that a consistent model of artists' information behavior emerges. However, nearly all of the literature focuses on art students, academic art faculty, or librarians, and so any claim that practicing artists fit the model is largely unsupported by research. There have been no published studies of communities of practicing visual artists. The implications of defining artists as communities of practice are discussed.

Research limitations/implications

Research is proposed that studies the information behavior of communities of practicing visual artists in order to confirm or amend the existing model.

Practical implications

Practitioners will have their attention drawn to an underserved user population whose information needs and behaviors have not been directly targeted for research. They will recognize the need for study of their own artist communities and the development of services for them.

Originality/value

This paper directs the discussion of artists' information behavior away from the art‐library‐specific literature, where it has largely resided, as a means of adjusting the focus of research onto the largely unstudied and underserved communities of practicing artists.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 64 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

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Article
Publication date: 24 July 2009

William Hemmig

Little is known about the information‐seeking behavior of practicing visual artists; what research exists has focused largely on art students, art faculty and librarians, although…

4716

Abstract

Purpose

Little is known about the information‐seeking behavior of practicing visual artists; what research exists has focused largely on art students, art faculty and librarians, although an untested model does emerge. The aim of this paper is to report the findings of an empirical study of a community of practicing visual artists, and to determine whether the model can be applied to such communities.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative study was administered to a sample of a community of practicing visual artists in order to determine the community's use of various information sources in the service of creative and sales activities.

Findings

The paper finds that the model may be applied to practicing visual artists. It provides a portrait of the information behavior of a specific community of practice, and suggests how information use may differ, while following the model, among different demographic groups within the community.

Research limitations/implications

The research approach and findings do not conclusively define the uses that artists make of information. The sample size prohibits definitive analysis by demographic data. The quantitative approach facilitates effective identification of community behaviors, but qualitative research might enhance these findings by illuminating the information‐seeking and use processes of individuals.

Practical implications

Information providers will have a means of gathering and analyzing data about the information behaviors of specific communities of visual artists to be used in the creation of enhanced information environments.

Originality/value

The paper presents the first published research into the information behavior of a community of practicing visual artists without regard to alternative sources of income, academic affiliation, or library use. It presents a means of focusing on these unstudied and underserved communities.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 65 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

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Book part
Publication date: 30 June 2023

Lisa M. Given, Donald O. Case and Rebekah Willson

Abstract

Details

Looking for Information
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-424-6

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Article
Publication date: 1 March 2005

William Hemmig

Looks at the pathfinder approach to library instruction, which was developed in the 1960s by Patricia Knapp. Knapp's system focused, not on the simple provision of answers to…

3878

Abstract

Purpose

Looks at the pathfinder approach to library instruction, which was developed in the 1960s by Patricia Knapp. Knapp's system focused, not on the simple provision of answers to questions, but on the teaching of the effective use of the library and its resources– in other words, on the finding of one's “way” in the library.

Design/methodology/approach

A traditional theoretical model for the creation and evaluation of pathfinders (subject research guides) can be identified through study of the literature. This model, expressed in the design criteria of consistency, selectivity, transparency and accessibility, sprang from an impulse to serve the inexperienced user by emulating or facilitating the user's search process.

Findings

A gap in this model can be detected, in the form of a missing multi‐dimensional picture of the user and the user's experience of the information service via the pathfinder. In an attempt to fill the gap, literature examining information behavior, the search process, the design of user‐centered services, and the information retrieval interaction is discussed.

Originality/value

An experience‐centered model for online research guide design and evaluation is derived from the findings.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 33 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

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Article
Publication date: 6 November 2018

Tim Gorichanaz

The purpose of this paper is to first articulate and then illustrate a descriptive theoretical model of documentation (i.e. document creation) suitable for analysis of the…

938

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to first articulate and then illustrate a descriptive theoretical model of documentation (i.e. document creation) suitable for analysis of the experiential, first-person perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

Three models of documentation in the literature are presented and synthesized into a new model. This model is then used to understand the findings from a phenomenology-of-practice study of the work of seven visual artists as they each created a self-portrait, understood here as a form of documentation.

Findings

A number of themes are found to express the first-person experience of art-making in these examples, including communicating, memories, reference materials, taking breaks and stepping back. The themes are discussed with an eye toward articulating what is shared and unique in these experiences. Finally, the themes are mapped successfully to the theoretical model.

Research limitations/implications

The study involved artists creating self-portraits, and further research will be required to determine if the thematic findings are unique to self-portraiture or apply as well to art-making, to documentation generally, etc. Still, the theoretical model developed here seems useful for analyzing documentation experiences.

Practical implications

As many activities and tasks in contemporary life can be conceptualized as documentation, this model provides a valuable analytical tool for better understanding those experiences. This can ground education and management decisions for those involved.

Originality/value

This paper makes conceptual and empirical contributions to document theory and the study of the information behavior of artists, particularly furthering discussions of information and document experience.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 75 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

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