The Socialization of Information Behavior: A Case Study of Cognitive Categories for Library Information

Abstract

This article describes several sessions of a larger case study that examined cognitive categories for library information in a group of children in kindergarten through grade 4. While the initial motivation for the project was pragmatic in nature, theoretical issues relating to people’s cognitive categories for information are examined as well. Literature indicates that the manner in which people categorize information reflects their understanding of that information. People categorize information based on their own unique experiences, all of which contribute to their overall understanding of the world. The shared knowledge of a culture that is contained in a library, however, needs to be classified in a manner understandable by the entire community. It is of interest, therefore, to the library and information science community to examine the manner in which a library user moves from his or her personally typified categories for information toward the library’s categories for information in order to successfully interact with the library. This case study focuses on a time when many people first experience formal instruction relating the library’s method of organization—it examines the cognitive categories for library information of participants in kindergarten through grade 4 for differences that might indicate a move from a more personal understanding toward a more sociocultural understanding of information in the library. In addition to examination of an important theoretical issue, this research may lend insight into the development of systems more supportive of interactions with information in a culturally organized corpus.