Although it is frequently taken for granted that using the World Wide Web for the purpose of ‘finding out’ is one of life’s less taxing challenges, there has always been a multitude of pitfalls that can affect an individual attempting to locate information in order to satisfy a particular need, especially when the seeker is young and unfamiliar with the demands of the process.
Many of the potential problems stem in some way from uncertainty, ignorance or misconception. For example, a significant issue highlighted by Durrance is that the person may not know whether the material they need is available.1 Over twenty-five years later, Świgoń, in attempting to present a ‘complete list of information limits’ (p. 364), would cite evidence from other writers when drawing attention to a closely related – although even more fundamental – problem, i.e. it may be that the person cannot be sure that the relevant material actually exists. There is, in Świgoń’s words, an ‘unawareness barrier’ (p. 369).2
We can also identify variations on the central concerns of Durrance and Świgoń. Much is often made of the fact that youngsters tend to struggle either to recognise their needs for information or to formulate statements of them.3 According to Walter, “With their more limited experience of the world, children lack the frame of reference to articulate many of their most pressing information needs” (p. 113).4 On some occasions, they do have a sound understanding of these needs and can convey them perfectly adequately but their naïvety gives rise to other problems. In particular, they may fail to realise that man’s knowledge of the world around him is insufficient to provide a satisfactory answer to the question that preoccupies them.
In previous work, I have written how one young inquirer whom I interviewed, Ian, was disappointed when he learnt that only a general indication was available when he was hoping to find out the precise number of stars there were in the galaxy.5 In short, the problem here was not one of uncertainty as to the existence or availability of the desired information; rather, the expectation that it did exist was erroneous. An adult is more likely, of course, to appreciate from the outset that there remain grave limitations in our knowledge of the universe and, indeed, with regard to many areas. Ian’s error well illustrates an observation I have made when presenting, with my colleague Naomi- Hay-Gibson, a new model of how young people find information – in some circumstances, ‘initial assumptions driving the action taken may have been based on misapprehensions’ (p. 69).6
Untrustworthy Search Images
There are various other information-related problems that emerge once false beliefs have taken root in a child’s mind. One arises when unsoundly based search images are involved. A search image is created when, after interactions with an information entity, an individual acquires a mental picture of the source or its contents and they draw on this at a later time when aiming to locate material necessary to meet a certain need.7 The seeker may, for example, comb a familiar book for a specific diagram, guided by a mind’s eye recollection of the illustration. It may well be, however, that the image is insufficiently clear or detailed for the action taken to be as efficient as the individual would wish. Crucial details may be missing and the person may be forced to resort to the age old perspective in relation to the desired information ‘I’ll know it when I see it’, thereby adopting a stance that is more reactive than proactive. In extreme cases, the search image may simply be inaccurate.