LI 835 Information Transfer
in the Disciplines

Dr. Susan Ward Aber
Information transfer medium,
Štrba, Slovakia.
Photo by J.S. Aber, 17 July 2007.

Information Transfer in the Geosciences

Librarians interested in understanding information needs and seeking behaviors could benefit by investigating the information transfer process among sets of people and within specific disciplines. Students in LI 835 have had the opportunity to examine the information transfer process and investigate information needs and seeking behaviors in activities 1-3 among disciplines other than geoscience. Many of you recognized that constructivism and sense-making theoretical frameworks could be used to examine teaching roles and tasks, namely faculty course preparation and instruction. While patterns and similarities were identified among faculty, differences were recognized as well.

One difference described by students included active vs. passive teaching styles, which were defined by faculty actively facilitating learning through an interactive exchange in the classroom vs. passively lecturing to note-taking students. Differences also exist in the type and format of information resources needed and the process and place individuals seek and access these sources. While books and journals are a resource mainstay in academic libraries, they are not the only information resources that faculty use for course preparation and instruction or that their students needed for completing assignments. Likewise, while the academic librarian and library are the obvious people and places to satisfy information needs related to higher education teaching and learning, they are not always the choice and destination for faculty and students. Although you investigated various disciplines, this lecture will again use information transfer in the geosciences as an example to illustrate information needs and seeking behaviors, to relate barriers and concerns, and to introduce gray literature resources.

Background

Even though there are many subfields of study in the geosciences, the general purpose of geoscience is to observe, document, and interpret Earth and the universe as an interconnected system. A systems approach highlights the interdependence of the lithosphere-solid Earth, atmosphere-air, hydrosphere-water, and biosphere-people and all living organisms. For the geosciences, the Slovakian Adventures case study already introduced in this course serves as an example. One researching and teaching instance is illustrated below, which was taken from www.geospectra.net/kite/tatra/tatra.htm#other_sk.


Kite Aerial Photography can be used as a researching
and teaching method. This KAP image of the
Hornad River shows the political border between
Slovakia and Hungary. The river meanders naturally,
and the white c in the vegetated areas mark overflow
channels the river will use in times of flood. This new
path can eventually cut off the tight bend and move
property ownership from one country to another!
This image is southwest of the current path of the
Hornad River, which is shown in the image to the left.
The white c mark former paths of the river and where
the river is still likely to go in times of flooding. Kite
Aerial Photography documented this flood plain and the
meandering nature of rivers. Investigating natural processes
has implications for appropriate human land use.

This lecture went on to discuss barriers information transfer in a global sense and academic settings, as well as the barriers resulting from gray literature resources. My course was first offered for university credit in the spring 2007 semester. Visit Course Schedule and Syllabi to see when it will be taught again for ESU, slim.emporia.edu/program/syllabus/syllabus.htm. Specifically, this course was designed to introduce students to the general nature of questions and guiding paradigms of information transfer and communication within academic disciplines using an international experience for geoscientists as an example. If you are interested in this course, please contact Dr. Aber at saber@emporia.edu.

Return to the syllabus academic.emporia.edu/abersusa/835/syllabus.htm.

This page was for the use and benefit of students enrolled at Emporia State University, School of Library and Information Management slim.emporia.edu/. For more information contact the course instructor, S. W. Aber, e-mail: saber@emporia.edu Thanks for visiting! Webpage created: August, 2007; last update: June 17, 2008.

Copyright 2007-2008 Susan Ward Aber. All rights reserved.