Page 168 - JOURNAL OF LIBRARY SCIENCE IN CHINA 2015 Vol. 41

Wenjie ZHOU, Hui YAN & Shenglong HAN / Exploring information divide based on a theoretical view of information source horizon 167

3 Results

3.1 Divide on the broadness of information source horizon

Existing researchers tend to contribute the information divide to number and quality of the
physical information sources which information agents can reach. Yet others regard the agency
of information agent should be a very important factor to satisfy their information needs. So
the broadness of information source horizon not only refers to physical space, but also the
perceived usefulness of information sources (Sonnenwald & Wildemuth, 2001). For this point,
a comprehensive understanding of information divide should not ignore the information source
preference of information agent. Savolainen compared a lot of existing research findings related
to information behavior and found that the meaning of information space at least includes three
aspects: 1) the physical distribution of information sources, 2) the distance between information
seeker and information source, and 3) information source horizon of information seekers
(Savolainen, 2006). Regardless of physical space or the space perceived by information agent,
both of them have a close relationship to information behavior. For example, when people believe
there is a very important information source existing nearby, they may overcome the obstacle of
physical distance and get information from it. On the contrary, even an information source is at
hand, but if people perceive it as a worthless one, they may ignore its existence. According to
Yu, there are two kinds of space for individual’s information world: social designed information
space and the information space constructed by individuals. Social designed information space is
an information space designed for the special purpose—to provide information service for users.
Satisfying people’s information need is the main function of social designed information space.
Besides, people may also construct an individual information space even those information sources
were not designed for information service originally (Yu, 2011).
The impact of social designed information space is confirmed obviously in this research. For
example, once in a focus group interview, 10 interviewees were involved, and we got following
information:
Researcher: In the past few years, did you find that you need some information urgently (For example,
those information which may be helpful when you try to find a school for your kids or when you look for a
job)? How did you get access to the information?
Interviewer W1 (male, middle school level educational background, both a business man who sells
traditional Chinese medicine and farmer): I used to need the information related to price of traditional
Chinese medicine. Aiming to gain the information, I used to ask the teachers of local school to help me
search on the Internet. At last, I also bought a computer and started to surf the Internet.
Interviewee M (male, middle school level educational background, a pancake seller): my kid is about to
enter a high school and I need to know its policy, so I consulted the teachers in that school.
Interviewee W2 (male, high school level educational background, a vegetable greenhouse owner):
I sometimes need to get some information related to pest control while I am running my greenhouse