The geography of information: placing our information needs and behaviours in context
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2015
Publisher
Facet Publishing
Abstract
Information seekers can now find the answers to their questions in many more ways than before. One of the most prevalent ways is through the use of mobile devices. According to the Pew Research Internet Project (2014), 90% of Americans have a cellphone and 58% of Americans have a smartphone. Though these figures represent only the USA, we see a similar rate of adoption amongst other nations. For many nations, the accessibility of mobile devices has caused their adoption to outpace that of traditional computers.
With more and more people using their mobile devices for different activities, librarians and information professionals must begin to look at how people are using their devices for information-seeking. With a new communication medium come different ways with which information needs can be fulfilled. In this chapter, we look at the various ways in which people use their devices to answer their questions. We will begin with a description of the ‘geography of information’, a framework that looks at the relationship between space and information. Within this framework, we will review the history of location services as well as location-aware applications. We end the chapter with a call to libraries to take a more active part in this conversation.
Editor
Gill Needham
Ally Mohamed
Recommended Citation
Carlos, A. (2015). The geography of information: Placing our information needs and behaviours in context. In G. Needham & M. Ally (Eds.), M Libraries 5: From Devices to People (pp. 193198). Facet.
