The Embedded Librarians Café

I’ve been teaching a course on human information behavior once a year for 6 or 7 years now. (The actual title of the course is “Use and Users of Libraries and Information”, but it’s really about human information behavior.)

In all that time, I’ve used a couple different texts with the course, and recently I haven’t used any text book at all.

That’s about to change. I’ve found a book that does a really good job of surveying what information science has learned about information behavior. It’s Introduction to Information Behaviour, by Nigel Ford (Facet Publishing, 2015). It’s a well organized synthesis of a great deal of theory and research.

I recognize this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. It’s academic and can get rather dry in spots. But I think it’s relevant to embedded librarians because we have to be astute observers of information behavior and the role of information in the functioning of organizations and groups. A knowledge of the theory and research can inform our reflections and understanding of what goes on in our workplaces, and help us become more effective.

So, if you’re willing to invest a few hours in a fairly detailed introduction to the study of information behavior, you may want to check this out.

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