ios, it may seem strange to consider a real-world phenomenon like information behaviour via a work within this genre. It is apparent, however, even from the most cursory examination of Westfahl’s collection of science fiction quotations that SF has much to say on the subject of information.3
In its “index of themes and
motifs”, Wehmeyer’s review of an array of novels for young people which present visions of life in the future lists an impres- sive number of titles under the headings, “information control”, “information stor- age – errors” and “information storage, nonbook”.4
Tveit, meanwhile, cites two journal papers in support of her claim that libraries occupy a position of prominence in the fantasy/science fiction genre.2
It
is a measure of their importance in this field that a futuristic version is allocated an entry in Di Fate’s Catalog of Science Fiction Hardware, specifically within a chapter devoted to “quality of life”. In addition to outlining the history of infor- mation provision, the authors speculate on how information may be made availa- ble and accessed in the centuries to come.5
The Plot In The Champions, Nemesis is an international organisation – somewhat akin to the United Nations – dedicated to maintaining the global balance of power. Its three top agents, Craig Stirling, Sharron Macready and Richard Barrett, are equipped with superhuman abilities that enable them to complete a range of missions highly successfully. The episode The Night People sees a holidaying Sharron explore Cornwall in the pursuit of her love of architecture. Given that she has already revealed her expert knowledge of architecture to Richard and she is willing
The Night People episode.
to spend at least some of her current leave seeking out noteworthy buildings, Shar- ron’s interest would seem to meet several of the criteria necessary for it to qualify as “serious leisure” and she is clearly an “activity participant”.6
Her visit to one property alarms its owner, Douglas Trennick, who is keen to main- tain a cloak of secrecy around nefarious activities in which he is involved. Whilst perpetuating rumours about witchcraft in the area in order to scare off locals, Trennick captures and detains Sharron. Acting on a hunch, Craig and Richard believe that intrigue may be afoot and travel to Cornwall. In rescuing Sharron, they first discover and then thwart a plot by Trennick to inflate the price of uranium artificially and so boost the profits of his company.
Relationship to Information Behaviour Theory
Much of what takes place in The Cham- pions story can be understood in terms of models associated with IB. Westbrook’s five-part synthesis (consisting of “need- ing”, “starting”, “working”, “deciding” and “closing”) forms an especially pertinent framework for conceptualising the events.7
1. Needing – Craig and Richard first sense that what is happening in Cornwall may be suspicious during a telephone call from Sharron. At this stage, there is no obvious threat to her and the unease her colleagues feel may be equated with Taylor’s description of a “visceral” infor- mation need, i.e. “a vague sort of dissatis- faction”.8
The Champions is a cult British television adventure series of the 1960s.
48 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
2. Starting – After discussing Sharron’s call between themselves, Craig and Rich- ard make the decision to go to Cornwall and investigate personally.
3. Working – It is when they have
arrived in south-east England that much of the agents’ information-seeking action occurs. They soon accumu- late background insights into the area, with Craig making separate inquiries at Cornwall’s public records office and the county witchcraft museum, whilst Richard quizzes a man in the local hostelry, the police and a well-known poacher. These activities may be deemed charac- teristic of Kuhlthau’s “prefocus explo- ration” stage of information-seeking.9 Specifically, the agents’ conversations with others about people, places and phenomena with a view to identifying promising leads is consistent with Kuhlthau’s claim that in prefocus exploration the individual investigates information on the general topic in order to extend their personal under- standing, determine several possible foci and ultimately arrive at one in particular.9
Suitably informed, Craig considers himself now “steeped in local tradi- tion”. For her part, Sharron, before her capture, solicits independent verifica- tion of a spurious claim made to her by Trennick and, when no such corrobora- tion arises, her curiosity grows. She also consults the landlord of the establish- ment in which she is staying after she is the victim of a veiled threat to her wellbeing. In all the situations where the protagonists put their questions to others, whether they be professionals or local residents, we may say that their information need is presented in the “compromised” form as it is understood by Taylor.8
4. Deciding – Craig and Richard ter- minate their information search when they learn about the nature of Trennick’s scheme from reading a counterfeit
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