Abstract

Thoughts on information services strategies to fit with the routines of personal information management that users adopt in a digital information overload (infoxication) setting. The patterns of information use, as well as the breaking points of the information use routines that serve as creative instants of reorganization and streamlining of the burden of stored personal information, are the starting point of the proposed debate on responses to infoxication, both in terms of planning for resources and services and of guiding and training users. The conclusion is reached that in this information overload setting, regular archiving or discarding of information adds value to the information retained, but infoxication happens just at a time when no action is imperative to optimize limited analog space, given the marginal costs of digital storage or access.

Abstract

A large part of the research on personal information management is scattered through many journals due to the intrinsic characteristics of this topic. This work tries to compile a more complete, global and integrated study of that type of management strategies. Our study offers an analytical model of the informational behaviour of a group of individuals (students of an e-learning university, UOC) who have a positive perception of the information and communication technologies and use them intensively in their academic, professional and everyday contexts. From this qualitative research (24 interviews and content analysis), four user profiles (reactive, passive, comprehensive and proactive) have been identified in relation to personal information management and its relevant variables: access, management and use of information, cognitive style, attitude, information-related competencies, ICT perception, and academic, professional and everyday contexts. These profiles show the differences in information behaviour for each context (daily life, professional and academic). Identification of the user profiles was the essential first step in a user centered service design that addresses the specific intervention/contribution appropriate to each user type, taking into account tool and process requirements needed for them to develop efficient information behaviours

Abstract

Access to quality content is key to research and one of the core values that scholars assign to the library. Bibliographic data play a fundamental role in university libraries, which devote abundant resources to obtaining and hosting them for access. This study investigates where and how bibliographic information is discovered, and highlights the role of search engines, databases, repositories, and web-scale discovery services in that process. The effort that libraries have made in implementing these services seems to have paid off in relation to the increase in the use of collections. However, Google remains the top option for discovering scientific information. This is a review study, based on the analysis of original research and results from recent reports.