Information Management Skills

Information Management Skills

Technology changes, information management problems remain the same (Etzel and Thomas 1996). For some people, the problem is one of access--being "ex-communicated" from the information society by the economics of information technology (Fortner 1995). For others, the problem is coping with information satiation. The abundance of information channels and sources forces people to choose among an excess of options, or else they choose to concentrate on a limited but more manageable data stream (ibid.). This problem is compounded by the chronic fear of incompleteness or the intimidation of learning the mechanics of hardware and software use (Haywood 1997). In the pre-Web world, library classification systems enabled information seekers to experience both specificity and serendipity. Now, the Web has lots of serendipity but achieving specificity is more difficult (ibid.).

Other information management issues are emerging in the electronic environment. Computers lend an aura of authority to the information found through them, leading users to make assumptions about the nature, quality, and comprehensiveness of what they find (Froehlich 1997; Kerka 1999). In addition, information seekers tend to give too much weight to information that has the following characteristics: readily available, consistent with past experiences, "vivid" rather than pallid, or encountered first rather than later (Froehlich 1997). Lack of restrictions and the ease with which data can be manipulated on the Internet have increased the proliferation of misinformation and the incidence of fraud (Kerka 1999). Diverse learning styles, affective states, and technical skills all have an effect on the outcome of an information search (Information Management 1998; Wang and Tenopir 1998).

These factors underlie the need for information management skills. The key to information management is self-management, keeping in mind that the goal of information seeking is finding the answers to personally meaningful questions. With that goal in mind, you can release some anxiety about keeping up with everything, accept the need for continuous learning, remember that non-Internet information sources remain useful, and seek to develop both information seeking skills as well as the capacity for critical analysis, integration, and application.

Etzel and Thomas (1996) recommend using an information management strategy that is derived from your personal or professional goals. In developing such a strategy, ask yourself: Will this information help fulfill my goals? When determining what to retain, remember that information is perishable and its importance decreases over time. Ask yourself: When, how, and in what situation will I use this information again?