Information in housing aid and advice centres: Report of a preliminary study

Abstract

A study of three Housing Aid/Advice Centres (HACs) used structured, non-participant observation to collect data about the work and organizational characteristics affecting information use and needs in HACs; the way, and sources from which, housing advice workers seek, receive and store information; and the role of information in the advice-giving process. The main findings of the study emphasize the need to understand the day-to-day work of the HAC worker before drawing conclusions about information needs or designing information systems. The key characteristics affecting the HAC workers' information use and needs include: a high proportion of time spent in direct communication and very little in reading or writing; a highly fragmented pattern of work; and the development and maintenance of a network of contacts. The study concludes that, whilst the HAC's approach to housing aid (casework, referral, or whatever) is an important determinant of information needs, in all three HACs, little use is made of documentary information; ‘intelligence’ systems and training are as important as documentary information systems, and information plays a relatively minor role in the advice-giving process, advice and advocacy functions are almost always more significant. The implications of the findings for the role of librarians/information specialists in relation to advice agencies are discussed and some suggestions are made for the improvement of existing information services and systems in HACs.