The Place of the Puhoi Library in the Recreational Information Seeking Behaviour of the Puhoi Community

Abstract

This study investigates the perceptions of Puhoi Town Library by local residents. Puhoi is a small rural village north of Auckland and has a volunteer-run library which is presently underused in a borrowing capacity by local residents. The research focussed on the use of Puhoi library as a place and as a recreational information source. Alternative sources for recreational information were explored, taking into account the demographics of the participants. Wilson's (1999) revised model of information seeking behaviour formed the basis of the theoretical framework for this study, which included browsing and incidental information acquisition methods as well as focussed active searches. This was seen within the context of everyday life information seeking (Savolainen, 1995) and investigated recreational information needs. Academic and work-related information seeking behaviour was not investigated in this study. Results showed that perceptions and use of the library were influenced by demographic and social variables. The library was used regularly by a small but increasing number of Puhoi residents, but most found the opening hours and the physical limits of the collection too restrictive for their recreational information needs. Alternative formal and informal sources were used by all participants for specific recreational information needs, and most participants for non-specific needs. However, although many participants did not actively use the library, there was unanimous support for its continued role as a working library and a strong feeling of community loyalty for local services.