Information Seeking in Electronic Environments

by Gary Marchionini

Overview

In the computer age, it is essential for individuals to develop skills and strategies for manipulating, storing, and retrieving electronic information. This book considers how electronic technologies have changed these skills and strategies and augmented the fundamental human activity of information seeking. Writing from the point of view of the user rather than the computer, the author makes a case for creating new interface designs that allow information seekers to choose what strategy to apply according to their immediate needs. Such systems may be designed by providing information seekers with alternative interface mechanisms for displaying and manipulating multiple levels of representation for information objects. This book is multidisciplinary in approach and aims to bridge the perspectives of information science, computer science and education. It will be essential reading for researchers and graduate students in these fields.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521586740
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/13/1997
Series:	Cambridge Series on Human-Computer Interaction , #9
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	7.01(w) x 9.88(h) x 0.91(d)

Table of Contents

Information and information seeking; 2. Information seekers and electronic environments; 3. Information-seeking perspective and framework; 4. Foundations for personal information infrastructures: 5. Information-seeking knowledge, skills, and attitudes; 6. Analytical search strategies; 7. Browsing strategies; 8. Designing support for Browsing: 9. A research and development perspective; 10. The continuing evolution of information seeking; 11. Future directions and conclusion.

Editorial Reviews

"...a thought-provoking and in-depth examination of information seeking in electronic environments....a worthwhile purchase for anyone interested in an in-depth review and study of information seeking behaviors and how they have changed in, and because of, electronic environments. It would be an excellent auxiliary textbook for any course concerned with human-computer interaction in library science or computer science." Kathleen Fleming, Resource Sharing and Information Networks

"The book largely succeeds in its purposes. It is well written and makes good use of the literature...The structure of the book and the flow of ideas are logical and coherent, and researchers and practitioners in information retrieval will find it useful...this book provides a useful and timely contribution to the literature." S. Smithson, Computing Reviews

"...a welcome and needed addition to the information science literature...a well-written text on information seeking that is easily accessible by a broad audience...a great place to start building understanding of the information seeking process." Janette R. Hill, Journal of the American Society for Information Science

"Very timely...a requirement for every undergraduate computer science and information science library." J. Beidler, Choice

"Marchionini's book is interesting and thought provoking....It is very likely to become a text for library and information sciences seminars in information retrieval; it should be read by those in academic health sciences center libraries and hospital libraries who have responsibility for (or a personal interest in) education for information management and information retrieval from or in electronic settings." Ellen Gay Detlefsen, Bulletin of the Medical Library Association

"This book is recommended reading for graduate students in library information science as well as researchers and parctitioners. It provides a valuable, thoughful discussion of an important topic for all those concerened with developing information systems for addressing information seeking rather than information retrieval." Carol C, Kuhlthau, The Library Quarterly

"...a thought-provoking and in-depth examination of information seeking in electronic environments....a worthwhile purchase for anyone interested in an in-depth review and study of information seeking behaviors and how they have changed in, and because of, electronic environments. It would be an excellent auxiliary textbook for any course concerned with human-computer interaction in library science or computer science." Kathleen Fleming, Resource Sharing and Information Networks

"The book largely succeeds in its purposes. It is well written and makes good use of the literature...The structure of the book and the flow of ideas are logical and coherent, and researchers and practitioners in information retrieval will find it useful...this book provides a useful and timely contribution to the literature." S. Smithson, Computing Reviews

"...a welcome and needed addition to the information science literature...a well-written text on information seeking that is easily accessible by a broad audience...a great place to start building understanding of the information seeking process." Janette R. Hill, Journal of the American Society for Information Science

"This book achieves some understanding of the differences in the way people search for information and the way various searching software facilitates this....is academically written....is recommended for those designing search software, and will be useful, though not instructive, for academic libraries and those who instruct clients in the process of seeking information in electronic environments." Public Library Quarterly

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