Diffusion of Information and Knowledge: How Information Becomes Meaningful - Evolving Global Information Infrastructure and Information Transfer - page 112

and university librarians has adopted terms like “learning commons” and “research
commons” to communicate the library as a center for providing students an oppor-
tunity to engage with library and information professionals, faculty, and other stu-
dents in their pursuit of their learning.
The reader is advised to examine more closely the models described above.
In addition, numerous resources for helping the information professional engage
in teaching information literacy are now available. A sampling is represented in
the “References” section below, including Burkhardt, MacDonald, and Rathemach-
er (2010); Cox and Lindsay (2008); Crane (2014); Daugherty and Russo (2007);
Davis-Kahl and Hensley (2013); Eisenberg, Lowe, and Spitzer (2004); Farmer
(2004); Heine and O'Connor (2014); Kuhlthau, Caspari, and Maniotes (2007); Ra-
gains (2013); Smith (2011); Stielow (2014); and Thomas (2004).
The Role of Learning Libraries
Libraries have a central role in the transfer of information. Libraries have been
viewed as repositories of information for the social good. The access and trans-
fer of information is accomplished through the work of management and staff and
through the establishment of policies. Knowledge transfer, on the other hand, oc-
curs when knowledge is diffused from the individual to others. Diffusion works well
when the potential user is highly motivated to learn, when finding information is re-
latively simple, and when the search process (access, cost, time, information pool)
is reasonable. The library and information professional must be the leader and ad-
ministrator who organizes the space, staff, and information resources to support
teaching and learning. Examples of learning libraries are found in Chapter 9.
Summary
The purpose of libraries is the diffusion and utilization of knowledge. Libraries
have shifted their focus from the identification, acquisition, storage, access, and
preservation of information, a passive mode of services that accommodate dis-
semination, to a service-centered mode that supports diffusion of information and
knowledge. Diffusion of knowledge is a key element in information transfer. Diffu-
sion refers to the flow of knowledge from a source to the adopter. It denotes a pro-
cess of social learning, embracing the transfer of a new idea within an individual or
social system. Diffusion also implies a value shift.
The goal of information professionals is to create and operate information sys-
tems and services that accommodate the information needs and behavioral char-
acteristics of a specific client population. This goal requires knowledge of human