Moving towards the information user: Some research and its implications

Abstract

Library and information service provision is still dominated by ideas derived from a positivist view of information science. Some of the consequences of this stance are examined including the distortion of such concepts as the ‘information user’, ‘user education’ and ‘information need’. A fresh approach to information research and development is described, based on greater understanding of information users. The limitations of the phenomenological approach to information service design are explored. The second half of this article describes the Education Management Information Exchange, an experimental research project aimed at developing and testing a range of information services for education officers and advisers in local authority education departments. Three phases of the project are outlined: an exploratory phase which included observation of education officers at work; a six-month trial period in which services were tested; and the current operational phase during which services are being offered to all LEAs in England and Wales. The role of an EMIE-style service in relation to decision-making is discussed and the case is advanced for closer involvement of users in information service design and provision.