Page 170 - 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 169

are higher compared to his educational background. Even this interviewee only has a junior school
level educational background, he gained a great volume of information from those people who
have heterogeneous knowledge scopes. Thus, the interviewee enriched his knowledge structure.
He showed us his application forms for a plant project, we found that the forms were professional
not only in terms of language expression, but also in terms of project demonstration. For this
interviewee, the information space is so broad that it is easy for him to extend his education level
through his information practice. On the contrary, some interviewees only have solo information
channels and their information seeking behaviors are passive. Thus, their information source
horizon was limited. For example:
Researcher: How do you get information related to your selling of the vegetables?
Interviewer Z2 (female, primary school level educational background): Whether or not I could get
the information I need depend on my personal experience. I have never analyzed the market-related
information myself and have never take the initative to communicate with the vegetable wholesaler. If the
wholesaler does not purchase my vegetable door-to-door or if the price is too low, I may lose money. The
profit of vegetable is so low that I am going to give up the greenhouse plant program next year.
Although the interviewee’s business, to plant and sell the vegetables, urgently needed
information support, due to her very small information source horizon, she not only had no
attempt to get these information, but also performed a passive reaction for her business—to
give up the vegetable planting program. Generally speaking, the information poverty of this
farmer is manifested at two aspects as following: Firstly, she had never used the social designed
information source to meet her information need. Secondly, the interviewee constructed a narrow
information horizon which was limited by her personal experience. Thus, it can be seen that the
reasons for information poverty include not only shortage of information sources in the physical
world the information agents living in, but also lack of the ability and awareness to bring more
information sources into her/his information horizon. In this sense, the physical existing of the
information sources is the substantial basis to broaden the information source horizon and the
personal constructed ability and awareness of information agent are the main channels to enrich
the information source horizon of information agents. In short, both the physical existence and
personal construction ability contribute to the formulation of information source horizon of
information agents, and information divide is created in this way.
In summary, from the perspective of the space of individual information practice, some people
made a good usage of the social designed information space and positively sought information in
her/his information practice. Thus, these people broadened their constructed information space and
formulated a broad information source horizon. Finally these people got an advantaged position
in information divide. On the contrary, due to narrow information source horizon, some others
usually have solo information sources and passive behavior in their information practice. Thus,
these people were located in disadvantaged positions in information divide.