Problem-solving Skills for Librarians

Every time a librarian conducts a reference interview, does research for a patron, teaches a workshop or bibliographic instruction session, that librarian is modeling good problem solving skills. When the same librarian is faced with the challenge of a micromanager, a coworker who is a trouble maker, or team workers who are not working, immobility sets in. These problems seem insurmountable. The same discipline and strong learning skills that propelled the librarian through graduate school, the good written and oral presentation abilities, and the critical thinking demonstrated every time librarians answer a question, are still there. Librarians are just little reluctant to flex these problem-solving muscles outside of their comfort zone. There are numerous problem-solving strategies that can be applied and the key to success is to apply one, any one. Approaching challenges in a calm, objective manner will allow librarians to employ their analytical, resourceful thinking to the development of solutions. The steps to problem-solving involve recognizing there is a problem, defining the problem, breaking it apart into components or factors, determining who is impacted, establishing a dialogue with those stakeholders, brainstorming potential solutions, and then securing involvement in change and participation toward a solution and implementation, even if steps are small. This presentation will provide examples of several problem-solving techniques that could be applied. Problem-solving frameworks will be discussed and worksheets with multiple choice problems and solutions will be reviewed. Problem scenarios will be presented and practical problem-solving techniques will be demonstrated

Towards a model of information behaviour of a information provider: a mixed methods study.

Not much is not known about the totality of information behaviours of information providers from among the plethora of library and information science literature. This research aims to describe, categorise and devise a representation of information workers experiences as they engage in information behaviours in a health information provider organisation in Scotland. The organisation is a typical example of an information services provider where decision makers constantly strive to improve the quality of their information outputs by attempting to understand the information behaviours of their employees and respond to changes in the external information environment. A model of information behaviour becomes a useful tool for understanding what goes on within the information provider organisation. With pragmatism as its philosophical tether, the qualitatively-driven sequential mixed methods study uses critical incident interviewing within Heideggerian phenomenology and then a questionnaire survey to capture value-adding information behaviours, feeling states as outcomes of information behaviour, and perceptions of internal impact of information behaviour. The research subjects are invited to participate in a respondent validation workshop where a model of provider information behaviour is co-created. The findings reveal 3 core information behaviour types (information acquisition behaviour, information production behaviour and information dissemination behaviour) and 2 associated information behaviour types (multitasking and collaborative information behaviours) in a non-linear relationship. Several positive and negative feelings are identified together with information workers perceptions of how their information behaviours impact on the internal information environment of their organisation. The core and associated information behaviours are further categorised and their subtypes are validated on returning to the research participants. Recommendations for practice and further research include introducing Web 2.0 technologies in the provider organisation to enhance information dissemination, reviewing the value of some information activities in the provider organisation, investigating the mechanism of the information behaviour trigger, and further research on the role of feelings and individual characteristics before and after information interactions. The findings provide insights of information interactions of an information provider that make a significant contribution to LIS knowledge

The information-seeking behaviour of economically disadvantaged communities: a case study of the Amsterdam community in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa

This study examined the information – seeking behaviour of members of the economically disadvantaged community of Amsterdam. The study involved both a qualitative and quantitative investigation of the critical factors that affected information – seeking, need, and use in the Amsterdam community. The research design included a study of various information behaviour models with particular emphasis on Wilson’s 1996 general model of information – seeking behaviour. The three factors identified by Wilson for the study of various groups’ information behaviour were personality, work – related or work – role and environmental factors. Information science researchers, in the study of rural communities’ information behaviour, have used these three factors extensively. The data collection was triangulated with the use of survey, observations, and focus group discussions and in – depth interviews. The findings show how the person, in the context of information – seeking and the role-played within a given environment, could determine information needs and use. A person in the context of information – seeking, could be a father, a mother, a group leader, a nurse or a teacher. The main elements are the situation within which a need for information arises, and the person performing a role in an environment situated within the context of information – seeking. Information was found to be a critical commodity for the socio – economic, political, and educational development of any given community. Recommendations were made that could transform the community of Amsterdam, through the provision of sustainable information

Collaborative information behaviour (CIB) of undergraduates in selected universities in Tanzania.

Ph. D. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2016.This study investigated collaborative information behaviour (CIB) of undergraduate students through collaborative learning assignments in selected Tanzanian universities. The study also examined the challenges that undergraduate students encountered during collaborative information seeking, sharing and use and the applicability of Wilson’s (1996) model of information behaviour in collaborative learning context. The study population comprised of second year students from the departments of Botany and Zoology of University of Dar es Salaam, fourth year students of architecture from Ardhi University and second year students studying forestry from Sokoine University of Agriculture. Teaching staff from respective departments and academic librarians from respective university libraries were also polled. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the sample for the study. The findings indicated that students’ CIB is highly contextualized and is shaped by learning tasks objectives, tasks requirements, students’ domains of study and collaborative learning environments. Interactions with human sources of information as well as, observation of natural and human-made information objects are the dominant information behavioural seeking practices of students. Furthermore, findings revealed that students’ information sharing behaviour is both voluntary and involuntary and is motivated by geographic proximity, trust among group members, shared learning goals, tasks division and group norms. The research findings also suggest that information use in collaborative learning involved processing of raw information, making sense of information, applying and sharing of information and collaborative construction of new knowledge. The study makes contributions in terms of theory, policy and practice. The contributions include a proposed model of students’ collaborative information behaviour, providing policy directions to policy makers to create programs and guidelines that can be used to strengthen Academic-Community-Partnership for information and knowledge sharing and introduction of a blended focus group discussion technique that combines information literacy and group interview. In light of the results of the study recommendations for universities, university libraries, academic librarians and members of teaching staff are provided. The recommendations are related to developing information infrastructure that supports different collaborative information behavioural activities, the effective use of indigenous knowledge of local people during students’ field work and the establishment and strengthening of Academic-Community-Partnership (ACP). The recommended future research areas include collaborative information behaviour (CIB) in virtual collaborative learning environment and how students use natural environment as the source of information during collaborative learning

Information seeking behaviour of first-generation students at the University of Johannesburg

This study is an investigation into the information seeking behaviour of first-year first generation (FG) students. The qualitative phenomenological approach was applied to sought understanding of factors influencing this groups’ information seeking behaviour. It endeavoured to determine the students’ information literacy abilities and benchmark these against the library’s current information literacy training course. A purposive convenience sample was drawn from FG students enrolled in the extended programme of the Mastering Academic and Professional Skills (MAPS) in the Humanities at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) who completed the library’s information literacy course. Seventeen students participated. A literature review indicated that FG students’ socioeconomic situations in their homes leave them academically unprepared for higher education, with inadequate cognitive skills to solve information problems and carry out academic tasks, which in an academic context require information literacy skills. The empirical findings confirmed this. The literature revealed interplay between the academic context and the study group’s everyday life context giving rise to the group’s information needs and triggering information seeking activities. Situations in the students’ everyday life context and academic context influenced their information seeking behaviour. Interconnectedness between contextual components and their personal experiences was evident in their information seeking behaviour, which reflected an inability to find information to support their information needs. The intervention of the library’s information literacy training course improved the respondents’ information literacy skills and enabled them to find the required information. The findings enabled the development of a conceptual model graphically illustrating FG students’ information seeking behaviour. Furthermore, the library’s information literacy training course could be reviewed and improved by exploring a more blended learning approach; making the online component of the course more user-friendly; training MAPS mentors in information literacy so that they can fully assist the FG students; educating librarians on FG students’ information seeking behaviour. This study yielded understanding of the influence of two different contexts influencing information seeking behaviour and facilitated employment of an adapted information literacy training course to equip FG students to function successfully in an academic context.Information ScienceD. Litt. et. Phil. (Information Science

Exploring the Information behaviour of expectant and new mothers: a longitudinal study

The rise in online information-seeking raises important questions for information systems researchers, such as how can we tailor information resources to meet the needs of diverse user groups? The study of information behaviour may be able to provide the answers. Information behaviour is the study of human interaction with information resources, the influencers of that interaction, and how information is processed and used. Information behaviour studies place the user at the centre of the investigation. To-date, information processing and use is one area of information behaviour where uncertainty exists, caused by inconsistent defining terminology and a dearth of empirical investigation. This thesis presents an adapted health information behaviour model, a revised version of Wilson (1997). The model highlights the iterative nature of information behaviour while explicating information processing and use. The model is evaluated using a prospective longitudinal case study of expectant and new mothers. As a user group, they are a challenge for information providers attempting to judge their information resource requirements. Expectant and new mothers seek and consume a diverse range of topics from a variety of resources. They do not just seek information for themselves, expectant and new mothers also seek information concerning the health and well-being of their families. The objective of this thesis is identifying design guidelines for eHealth information resources for expectant and new mothers. This is achieved by understanding how expectant and new mothers process information resources. For the purpose of this research, information processing is determined through an analysis of the subjective assessment criteria used to evaluate and compare different information resources. This thesis illustrates connections between subjective assessment criteria and other areas of information behaviour, such as information use outcomes and task type. The longitudinal nature of the study affords the opportunity to observe changes in information behaviour over time