Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Melvil Dewey at Columbia University in the 1870s was the first librarian to artic-
ulate the need for service in the profession; hence, he was the first librarian to im-
plement new user-paradigm views. Identifying the need to provide reference ser-
vice to the library's clientele, he hired two reference librarians for that role. By doing
so, he demonstrated a shift in his value system, the initial move toward the user as
most important in management decision-making.
The values of the profession began to change, and the movement to a user-
centered paradigm began. As time passed, more user services were developed,
and research was conducted on these services in order to assess their value and
to improve them. When the focus shifted from information sources and circulation
to serving clientele, the profession more frequently applied social science theories
to better understand the individuals and groups that were information users. That
change in emphasis has been noteworthy in the gradually increasing application of
social science theories to LIS research; examination of human behavior, learning
theory, cognitive styles, role theory, social psychology, and sociology is applicable
to the LIS field in order to serve clientele and to facilitate diffusion.
Diffusion of information is the critical function whereby people understand in-
formation so that it can be put to use. In Chapter 4 we acknowledged that it is
the mission of organizations and professionals in various fields to diffuse informa-
tion. The ultimate purpose is to enable learning to improve one's life and to effect
change.
Information professionals can work with individuals and groups to help learners
identify and utilize information resources for a variety of purposes. The role of the
information professional is to assist individual information users to identify appro-
priate information resources for their purposes and to help clients make sense of
the information they have found. Making sense of information is the key to learn-
ing, the key to the diffusion of information.
How Information Becomes Personal Knowledge
As we consider how learning takes place, we will consider this issue from two
perspectives: that of the individual learner and that of groups. The latter is con-
cerned with both small groups (for example, school classes) and sub-societies (for
example, senior citizens).
Individual Learners
The goal of information professionals is to create and operate information sys-
tems and services that accommodate the information needs and behavioral char-
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