A. Spink et al., INFORMATION-SEEKING AND INFORMATION NEEDS OF LOW-INCOME AFRICAN-AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS - WYNNEWOOD HEALTHY NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECT, Proceedings of the ASIS annual meeting, 34, 1997, pp. 271-279
Citations number
11
Language
INGLESE
art.tipo
Article
Categorie Soggetti
Information Science & Library Science","Computer Science Information Systems","Computer Science Information Systems
This paper reports findings from a project investigating the informati
on seeking and information needs of low income African-American househ
olds at the Parks at Wynnewood in Dallas, Texas. Three hundred Wynnewo
od households were surveyed during April-May 1996 regarding their hous
ehold situation and their need for community and information services.
Findings are reported regarding their information seeking behavior, p
articularly with regard to employment, health, news and security issue
s. Residents' information seeking focused on family and neighbors, wit
h lower use of external channels, except for health information. The i
nitial study is being extended through 50 in-depth interviews with vol
unteer Wynnewood households. The results of the interviews will be qua
litatively analyzed in conjunction with the survey results. Findings f
rom the study will be important, as they constitute the largest study
ever conducted on the information needs, gatekeeping roles, and inform
ation seeking patterns of low income African-American households. The
study will provide a valuable data set on the lifestyle and informatio
n behaviors of African-American households and guide the development o
f an information resource center and information literacy program for
Wynnewood Project residents. The overall findings will also be importa
nt for the development of theoretical models of information seeking an
d use.