Elfreda Chatman Chatman earned her Ph.D. from Berkeley and ttaught at Florida State before her death in 2002. Her book The Information World of Retired Women (1992) won the 1995 ACRL Best Book Award. Chatman’s researched the information behaviors of various minority or understudied groups including single mothers, the elderly, female inmates, and janitors. This research lead to the development of several theories including Information Poverty, Life in the Round, and Normative Behaviors as well as the main method and concept of her approach to the studies- Small Worlds.

Chatman’s Theories Chatman was concerned with social barriers to information that underserved patrons might be facing. She utilized outsider/insider theories and membership within social groups to explain these often self imposed barriers. Later, other researchers applied her theories to study information behavior of social groups such as gay males, virtual communities, and even library workers. Also used to study explains lack of interaction and utilization of some library and government resources by library patrons because of social aspects.

Information behavior is based on the Small World in which one lives. Members practice Normative Behavior to manage everyday life and to check information against social norms of the Small World. Information Poverty occurs when one relies only on the small world for information.

Chatman’s Small Worlds: Specialized populations that are seen and see themselves as outsiders and share co-ownership of a social reality. Studying 80 women in a maximum security prison, Chatman defined “Life in the round” or information behaviors within this small world: Social norms within small worlds deem information seeking behavior as appropriate or not. Information received is filtered through these norms. For everyday information seeking, members will not cross the boundaries of their world to seek information. Individuals will cross the information boundaries when: (1) the information is critical, (2) there is a collective expectation that the information is relevant, and (3) a perception that the small world is no longer functioning without information.

Chatman’s Normative Behaviors: Information behavior is socially embedded, and the values of information are socially determined. Four aspects constitute the theory of normative behavior within Small Worlds: Social Norms refer to codes of behavior within the small world to give it balance. Worldview is a set of beliefs held by members of a small world setting. Social Types are members of a small world who are assigned a specific social role. Information Behavior is members choosing not to search for needed information or rejecting useful information when it is presented to them.

Normative Behavior Today User behaviors- Explains what social barriers exist to access and how to overcome them. For Example: Study conducted with gay males and their coming out experience. Fear of exposure with negative social consequences outweighed benefits of information. Another study explained the lack of utilization of government resources online as user’s worldview (lack of trust) and privacy issues.

Chatman’s Information Poverty: Barriers between small worlds and the practice of normative behaviors cause information poverty. Chatman studied information behaviors of janitors, single mothers, and a retire community and found a impoverished information world: Think they have no resources available to them. Influenced by outsiders who withhold privileged access to information. Information poverty is determined by self-protective mechanisms which are used in response to social norms. Negative consequences outweigh benefits. New knowledge is selectively introduced into information world. Economic poverty is not the same as information poverty.

Information Poverty Today Users Rights: Information era has created the information rich and the information poor. Studies concentrate on this divide. For Example: One researcher states that the elimination of information poverty is a matter of human rights, moral concern, and the world’s social responsibility. Other researchers warn against the generalization of information poverty as only effecting those citizens of economic poor countries. Also, they stress sensitivity to other cultures and social structures.

References Britz, J. (2004). To know or not to know: A moral reflection on information poverty. Journal of Information Science, 30(3), 192-204. Burnett, G., Jaeger, P. T., & Thompson, K. M. (2008). Normative behavior and information: The social aspects of information access. Library & Information Science Research, 30, 56-66. Chatman, E.A. (1996). The impoverished life-world of outsiders. Journal of the American Society for Information Science 47(3), 193-206. Chatman, E.A. (1999). A theory of life in the round. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 50(3), 207-217. Haider, J. & Bawden, D. (2006). Pairing information with poverty: Traces of development discourse in LIS. New Library World, 107(1228/1229), 371-385. Hamer, J. (2003). Coming-Out: Gay males’ information seeking. School Libraries Worldwide, 9(2), 73-89. Jaeger, P.T. & Thompson, K.M. (2004). Social information behavior and the democratic process: Information poverty, normative behavior, and electronic government in the United States. Library & Information Science Research, 26, 94-107.  doi:10.1016/j.lisr.2003.11.006