The user and the information seeking process 

User Education for Information Literacy

Rodica MANDEAL

Octavia-Luciana PORUMBEANU

The article reviews concisely the nature of the user information needs, the factors which influence the decision to seek information, different obstacles occurring during this process and the most significant findings of the user behaviour studies in the conditions of the new information and communication technologies (ICT) that influence the documentary mediation.  

User education is an important activity which the infodocumentary structures have to develop in order to meet as good as possible the information needs of the communities they serve. Many libraries and organizations in the library and information science field from all over the world have built tools and have started training programs, paying a special attention to the concept of information literacy and putting an emphasis on the information skills which the users must acquire for dealing with the changes that the developments in the information technologies area have determined in recent years at the level of the entire society.  

On information users in the light of five Swedish doctoral dissertations

Information users in Iceland: is their behaviour changing with the advent of online electronic publishing and distribution?

Arja MANTYKANGAS

Stefania JULIUSDOTTIR

The aim of this article is to present five modern - perhaps some of us would prefer calling them postmodern - Swedish doctoral dissertations on users and information. In the five studies, the users can be followed in different environments. Two theses are in the field of Library and Information Science, one in Pedagogics, one in Business Administration and one has as a theme Technology and Social Change.  

The article offers a brief introduction to Iceland and its literary life and the library system. Conditions for information use in the electronic environment and access to electronic publications in Iceland are described then. The information user in the paper environment and the information user in the electronic environment are presented, and benefits along with drawbacks of electronic dissemination of knowledge and information are discussed.

The importance of information and document user studies

Octavia-Luciana PORUMBEANU

The users represent a fundamental element for the infodocumentary structures so that the good knowledge about them and the understanding of the behaviour they have in the process of information seeking are essential for libraries, documentation centres and other information services. The satisfaction degree of the users’ needs depends on the quality of the information products and services. This can be improved only by having data about the expectations and needs of the communities, which the infodocumentary structures serve, data that can be obtained through user studies.