A Model of the Information Seeking and Decision Making of Online Coin Buyers

Introduction. The Everyday Life Information Seeking approach suggests that much information behaviour takes place in non-work settings, for example in the pursuit of leisure activities such as hobbies. This study focuses on a community of collectors to examine how they gather information to decide whether to purchase an item for their collection when the target item has an ambiguous or deficient description. Method. Manual scanning of eBay and other online discussion board for coin buyers led to 187 postings indicating an attempt to reach a purchase decision, or to authenticate a purchased coin, through solicitation or posting of advice. Analysis. Postings were coded as to whether they dealt with 1. Ambiguous images in a listing, 2. Ambiguous statements in a listing, 3. Information missing from a listing, or 4. Sharing of other information (not restricted to a coin listing) that might possibly be used to make a purchase decision or authentication. Results. Using the example postings and the investigator\u27s earlier experiences, a model of coin buyer decision making was created, outlining the different paths and strategies that collectors may take when faced with uncertainties. Conclusion. The Internet facilitates access to both documentary reference material, as well as human information sources. The formation of virtual communities is made possibly, alongside existing face-to-face communities of hobbyists. Further studies of collectors could benefit from comparisons of information behaviour in both virtual and actual worlds

Facció de museus com a lleure seriós (serious leisure)

Peer-reviewedAmateur museums are independent museums made as leisure projects outside professional frameworks. This paper attempts to distinguish museum making as a leisure activity from professional museums and from collecting and to broadly identify some implications arising from their relations as questions of interest for future research. To do so, I rely on Stebbins theory of serious leisure (1992) and on some literature on institutionalism, collecting and museology, specially Martin¿s research on popular collecting and its relation to professional museums (1999).Els museus amateurs són museus independents que s¿han creat com a activitat de lleure, al marge de qualsevol entorn professional. Aquest article intenta distingir entre els museus creats com a activitat de lleure, els museus professionals i el col·leccionisme, i alhora identificar àmpliament algunes de les implicacions que sorgeixen de les seves relacions com a qüestions d¿interès per a futures investigacions. Per a fer-ho, m¿he basat en la teoria de Stebbins sobre el lleure seriós (1992) i en certes obres sobre institucionalisme, col·leccionisme i museologia, especialment la recerca de Martin (1999) entorn del col·leccionisme popular i la seva relació amb els museus professionals.Los museos amateurs son museos independientes creados como una actividad de ocio, al margen de cualquier entorno profesional. Este trabajo intenta distinguir entre los museos creados como actividad de ocio y los museos profesionales y el coleccionismo, y a la vez identificar ampliamente algunas de las implicaciones que surgen de sus relaciones como temas interesantes para futuras investigaciones. Para ello, me he basado en la teoría de Stebbins sobre las actividades de ocio serio (1992) y en algunas obras sobre institucionalismo, coleccionismo y museología, especialmente la investigación de Martin (1999) sobre coleccionismo popular y su relación con los museos profesionales

Information behaviour of music record collectors

Introduction: Using Stebbins's concept of 'serious leisure' and Savolainen's concept of 'everyday life information practices', this study explores the information behaviour of music record collectors. Method: An ethnographic approach was used for the study; the main data collection instrument was in-depth, semi-structured interviews with eight record collectors based in and around London, carried out in participants' homes, combined with photographs of their collections and observation of their use of preferred Websites. Analysis: Qualitative analysis was carried out on the survey, with triangulation through conversations with other record collectors, visits to record shops, and examination of some Websites named by participants. Results: The results reveal distinctive information behaviour for record collectors, with specialist knowledge, and a variety of information sources. The Internet has had, and continues to have, a profound effect on both information gathering and acquisition. Conclusions: The study shows that record collectors are exemplars of serious leisure practitioners, with distinct information behaviour. The results add to the knowledge of serious leisure as a topic for study within information science

For the win! Information needs in discourse of board gamers’ online communities

As an essential part of the human experience with numerous social benefits, serious leisure is the phenomenon that has received attention in information behaviour research. Our study aims to contribute to this field by exploring board gamers’ communities’ information practices on social media sites. In our research, we adopted collectivist approaches, and the empirical part of the study was conducted as a quantitative content analysis. We examined the three most active board game Facebook groups, one for each language: English, French and Polish. The final dataset included N=764 posts. Each post from the sample was described with 47 variables, 23 of which were based upon the codebook of question topics. The information needs expressed in the form of the online questions were in overwhelming part related to the purchase intentions, less frequently concerned tactic knowledge. The distribution of replies between topics and groups in a different language showed visible differences between each group. Although this type of hobby includes both collectors’ and practitioners’ practices, the information presented in online discourse is dominated by those specific to collectors. Both information-seeking and sharing activities proved that board gamers’ online communities form a very information-rich social world.Peer Reviewe

Book Collecting Contests in the Digital Age: Relevance and Impact of New Media

Originally presented (using Prezi - See http://hdl.handle.net/1808/10511 for presentation slides.) at the 9th International Conference on the Book, October 14, 2011, University of St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto.The Snyder Book Collecting Contest at the University of Kansas is among the oldest and longest running contests of its type among university campuses in the US. As book formats have evolved and online media expanded in the publishing and scholarly communities, book collecting contests have tended to hold onto print as a medium seemingly unique to the art of collecting. In its 55th year, however, the Snyder contest officially expanded its rules to include the eligibility of new media, similar to what library collections might contain. The inclusion of expanded media involved a variety of new issues to the practice of collecting and the evolving role of the library. Exploring the literature of collecting practices, as well as the experiences of other contests of this type, the researchers reveal both theoretical and practical issues to address when including digital content in such contests, including: the evolving perspective of what constitutes a work and what constitutes ownership, educating potential entrants on copyright in the digital environment, and marketing the libraries’ relevance in print and digital mediums

Information Seeking and Behavior Among Collectors of Vinyl Records

The study presented in this paper explores the information seeking and behavior of committed collectors of vinyl records. Through a series of thorough, semi-structured interviews with hobbyist collectors, this study provides a deeper understanding of how they search for, assess, share, and utilize different types of information to support their collecting activities. Patterns and themes in the interview data are evinced through qualitative coding and analysis. In doing so, this study introduces new contexts and perspectives to the field of leisure and information studies, and contributes additional insight into how non-professional collectors and other serious hobbyists address their information needs without the support of a formal institution or organization.Master of Science in Library Scienc

Local Music Collectors in Cultural Heritage Organizations: Finding Joy through Occupational Devotion

Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. This article first appeared in LIBRARY TRENDS, Volume 70, Issue 4, 2022, pages 574-591. Published by Johns Hopkins University Press.This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).Peer ReviewedLocal music collecting in cultural heritage organizations is a rich practice for the study of joy and information. This article examines the joyful and personally meaningful experiences of local music collectors, as drawn from interviews with twenty-two individuals at eighteen cultural heritage organizations conducted from 2018 to 2020. Collectors describe their work with local music collections to be personally meaningful, positive, and even joyful. For many, the positive affective experiences found through the blending of personal interests and professional projects is a key factor in their workplace well-being, motivation, and personal fulfillment. Collectors apply a community-engaged approach to their professional practice, finding self-fulfillment through their work and connection to the local music community. These findings are discussed within the context of the serious leisure perspective, and the pleasurable and the profound in library and information science research