Article #1:

Kuhlthau, C.C. (1999). The role of experience in the information process of an early career information worker: Perceptions of uncertainty, complexity, construction, and sources. Journal of the American Society for Information Science 50, 399-412.


Summary: Kuhlthau's study analyzes the information-seeking behavior and decision-making process of a Wall Street analyst, carried out over a period of 5 years. The study looks at how experience influences information workers' approaches to information-seeking tasks, and how proficiency can be attained.

Analysis:
The study examined the analyst's level of uncertainty in regards to his work as a "novice" and five years later as an "expert." The results were broken down into different categories, examining how uncertainty influenced the analyst's information seeking behavior, perceptions of tasks, and choice of information sources. Kuhlthau found that while uncertainty never went away, it greatly diminished over time as the analyst gained more experience and became more comfortable. Because of this, the analyst's perceptions changed, and he began using different approaches to his work.

While reading through the latter half of Kuhlthau's study, I was astonished at how much the analyst's "novice" information-seeking behavior mirrors my own behaviors and attitudes as a new MLIS student and library graduate assistant. When first thrust into a new work or scholastic environment, there is an urge to be "right," to prove your competence. But lack of experience hinders this, and leaves you feeling overwhelmed and anxious. There are too many options, and you simply don't know which are the right ones. Because of your unfamiliarity with the work, it may seem too complex or deceptively easy, and can frustrate you. It's a universal feeling that can be applied to many situations, not just the information science field.

Discussion Question(s):
Anxiety and uncertainty shape our perceptions, sometimes wrongly, towards our work. How can we best approach unfamiliar projects and view them objectively? How can we reduce anxiety of new workers or students?

Implications: To remedy situations like this, training combined with mentoring is key. At this stage, the new worker or student can benefit from the experience of an older coworker or classmate. A similar system might benefit the business environment as well.




Article #2

McInerney, C. (2002). Knowledge management and the dynamic nature of knowledge. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 53(12), 1009-1018.

Summary: The concept of knowledge management is explored in context of the dynamic nature of knowledge itself. Critiques are made of knowledge management programs,along with suggestions for improvement.

Analysis: One of the key points McInerney raises for discussion is the separation of knowledge into two categories: tacit and explicit. The former is knowledge that is subconscious, perceived, and personal, while the latter is expressed, organized, and shared (One can also think of spoken and unspoken). McInerney states that when tacit knowledge is not expressed or recorded, the knowledge can be potentially lost. I immediately drew a mental parallel to numerous pieces of knowledge lost to the modern world (languages, skills, history, etc.) because the information was not widely shared or recorded. I further thought of how it applies to our field of work. Frequently, librarians do the bulk of work for a user without divulging their methods, or perhaps do not share information with a user for various reasons. Could that unshared information represent a "lost opportunity" for the user, as McInerney puts it? (1012)

Discussion Question(s): Is tacit knowledge truly useful if it is never taught or expressed?

Implications: Parallels can be made to the case for teaching users how to utilize and understand the library systems; our tacit knowledge, while useful to us, can be made more useful by expressing it and teaching others.