Marginalized Knowledge: An Agenda for Indigenous Knowledge Development and Integration with Other Forms of Knowledge

Taylor and Procter (2006: 1) strip information seeking down to the ability to scan literature efficiently, using manual or computerized methods, in order to identify a set of useful articles and books. Affirming Taylor and Proctor’s assertions, Kari and Savolainen (2003: 163) state that information seeking manifests itself in the doer’s looking for and consulting information sources.
Kakai, Ikoja–Odongo and Kigongo–Bukenya (2004: n.p) purport that information seeking is a basic activity indulged in by all people and manifested through a particular behavior. Nel (n.d: 25) defines information seeking as a process in which humans engage in order to purposefully change their state of knowledge, while Kari and Savolainen (2001: 5) perceive information seeking as a purposive process in which the individual attempts to find information through information sources in order to satisfy his/her information needs. Wiberley, in Kakai, Ikoja–Odongo and Kigongo–Bukenya (2004: n.p), regards it as an aspect of scholarly work of most interest to academic librarians who strive to develop collections, services, and organizational structures that facilitate information seeking. Choo, Detlor and Turnball (2000: 14) note that purposive information seeking focuses on the perceptions and behaviours that lead to information being found, including the identification, selection and use of information services. Case (2002:5) postulates that information seeking is a conscious effort made to acquire information in response to a need or gap in one’s knowledge.
The underlying issues resonating from the above definitions are that information seeking is a process or activity that involves the consultation of sources. These sources can be manual or computerized, and seeking is often the behaviour, pattern or way one goes about consulting these sources. Reasons as to why people engage in information seeking vary, ranging from personal, to professional or recreational. The statement below by Cheng and Shaw (1999: n.p) succinctly sums up our fascination with information seeking, “Information seeking is an important activity in our daily lives. We look for information for different purposes, in many situations; we develop a variety of behaviors to encounter, seek, comprehend and use information. Approaches to information occur in different situations and in response to a wide array of needs, wants and desires. Not surprisingly, information seeking has been the subject of much research in library and information science, in addition to fields as diverse as business, public administration, market research, management, consumer research, medical informatics, health sciences, communication and psychology of personality.”