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Technologies such as the Internet and World Wide Web are changing our conceptions of information systems,from who uses them and how they are used, to how the systems are created and who is doing the creating. Everyday users are afforded the same information retrieval opportunities as information scientists or librarians by using emerging information systems such as the Web. Yet, defining best practices for assisting users in finding the information they seek remains an unrealized goal. Discovering how users engage in information retrieval and strategy building while searching for information in open-ended systems such as the Web is an area in need of exploration if these systems are to fulfill their potential as tools for information seeking and learning. This paper describes a theoretically and empirically based framework for how users formulate and employ information-seeking strategies in open-ended information systems (OEISs). Background information and challenges related to OEISs are provided. OEIS theoretical and user perspectives are described. An example based on a recent research study is provided to illustrate use of the OEIS information-seeking framework. Implications for practice and research are offered.l
Information technologies continue to expand on a variety of levels. Point-and-click access to and creation of information, is now a desktop activity available to anyone, anyplace and anytime (Dawson, 1996; Gehl & Douglas, 1997). Informal (e.g., personal Web pages) as well as formal (e.g., university library collections) information sources are increasingly accessible via the Internet and the World Wide Web. The ability for the everyday user to customize and even create personal information space is now available through specialized Web-based technologies (see, e.g., Apple's Cyberdog [www.cyber dog.apple.com] or Northern Lights [www.nlnet .melfort.sk.ca]). Additionally, these open-ended information systems (OEISs) have created an environment where information-seeking activities are no longer the sole domain of librarians or information scientists, nor must search activities occur in a particular context (i.e., the library). The exponential growth and use of the Internet and Web have had and continue to have substantial impacts on how we share and access information (Tenopir & Lunin, 1998).
Bringing information systems to the level of manipulation and accessibility by the everyday user is indeed a major accomplishment. However, significant issues remain unresolved, many of which have carried over from traditional information systems (e.g.,...