Small world lives: Implications for the public library

THIS ARTICLE ADDRESSES WAY IN WHICH information professionals might reexamine the world of information from small world perspectives. Information behavior in small world lives has been little touched on in the literature. However, issues raised in this discussion should lead to further considerations regarding this phenomenon. The approach to this subject is not intended to provide practical hints for information system design or the delivery of information into these environments. It is anticipated that others who are more gifted in these matters will make use of this research in more practical dimensions. Four concepts are used to develop a conceptual scheme in which to examine small world lives-i.e., social norms, world view, social types, and information behavior. The authors make extensive use of ethnographic inquiries to illustrate how qualitative methodology can be used to examine the information worlds of ordinary people. Findings suggest that qualitative methodology is a rich, and fruitful approach to the investigation of social worlds that fall outside the traditional environment of public library use. The contribution that this article acids to the field is to revisit the role of rile public library in responding to factors that constitute information behaviors.