Information literacy and information seeking of public sector managers in the Welsh Government

Abstract

This paper presents an empirical investigation of information seeking and information literacy of public sector managers in the Welsh Government. A series of 23 two-stage interviews were conducted with managers from a range of grades and departments to determine the levels of awareness and use of the Knowledge and Analytical Services (KAS) and to evaluate information seeking and information literacy of public sector managers. Findings indicated that the managers engage with the information professionals within KAS when embarking on a major project such as developing new legislation or new policy. However, there was a general unfamiliarity with the full range of KAS activities and staff were more likely to seek information themselves when conducting preliminary research and for small scale information needs and that information literacy skills were limited. Our findings suggest that information literacy could be improved within the Welsh Government if services such as the KAS were more closely aligned with operational teams.