Information seeking in theory and practice - Rethinking public services in libraries

The philosophical and practical work of M.M. Bakhtin provides an important aid to theoretical grounding with regard to information seeking. In particular, his ideas of dialogic communication suggest a way to engage in the act of information seeking and the accompanying mediation. His work is especially important because of its phenomenological basis, which emphasizes and intentionality of communication, the connection of practice to being, and the relationship between self and other. Bakhtin's thought offers a framework for the rethinking of public services in libraries.