Information grounds and everyday life

Information grounds can occur anywhere and are based on the presence of individuals. People gather at them for a primary, instrumental purpose other than information sharing. Information grounds are attended by different social types, most—if not all of whom—play expected and important, albeit different, roles in information flow. Social interaction is a primary activity such that information flow is a byproduct. People engage in formal and informal information sharing, and information flows in many directions. People use information obtained at information grounds in alternative ways, and benefit along physical, social, affective and cognitive dimensions. Many sub-contexts exist within an information ground and are based on people's perspectives and physical factors; together these sub-contexts form a grand context. Information Grounds during Baby Story Time Ethnographic observation and interviewing was conducted at eleven, 30 minute sessions of public library baby/adult caregiver storytimes to discover what actually happens at these sessions. One of the surprising results was that the adult caregivers engage in everyday life information sharing about topics such as parenting, health, child development, travel, and daycare. These findings suggest that storytime programs, in addition to being important literacy events for the children participating, also act as information grounds or informal sites where information is shared. This study was funded by ALA's Carroll Preston Baber Research Grant award. Seattle contains a small, though active, Polish-American community. Transcending any one neighborhood, this network comprises several social hubs, events, and gathering places in order to actively promote Polish culture and to connect Polish-Americans with their ethnic roots. In this ethnographic study, 15 members were interviewed and participant observation was conducted in three popular gathering places. Observations involved detailed descriptions of the events taking place, the places themselves, the people and groups present, and the social phenomena which occurred in them. Findings revealed the participants' information grounds and how they were used to disseminate everyday information. Additionally, findings addressed how the social nature of information exchange, via information grounds, functioned to establish a sense of community and to maintain Polish ethnic identity within this geographically disparate social network. A world agricultural capital, Yakima Valley in Washington State attracts many migrant Hispanic farm workers. The combined transitory nature of their work along with low wages, education, healthcare and other factors contributes to their label as information poor: meaning they have little success in meeting substantial needs for information. Our study of farm workers and their families comprised interviews and observation with 60 individuals at community technology centers. The most popular information grounds were church, school and the workplace; other sites included the farm workers' medical clinic, hair salons, garages and a radio station. Food-oriented locales were noticeably absent. Participants valued information grounds because they interacted face-to-face with people whom they regarded as trustworthy and reliable. Information topics ranged from family issues, employment and legal help to gossip and current events. Information grounds also facilitated the phenomenon of interpersonal berrypicking. Over 700 college students were interviewed with the aim of developing an information ground typology. Findings showed that restaurants, social gatherings, places of work, the bus stop, library and dorms were students' most popular locales, while religious settings, shopping areas and hair salons were least. Over half of the students visited their favorite information ground everyday, at most all hours, and 70% had been going for over a year. Information grounds were of all sizes, though 40.5% had 2-10 participants. Students said they interacted with the same folks in other settings and that they greatly valued their information grounds for the everyday information that they obtained and social connections. Responses about how to improve information grounds emphasized increasing physical comfort and reducing barriers to social interaction. The Virtual Jaamati project uses location-specific computing at such places as bars, libraries and cafes to facilitate information sharing. The software enables patrons (using optional aliases) to connect to a wireless network using a personal computing device to gain access to services such as profiles, forums, announcement archives, photo galleries and intra-grounds Instant Messaging. We evaluated the information behavior of coffee shop patrons as they used the Virtual Jaamati software. Findings reveal ways in which the software facilitated communication and interaction among users.

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