watching television programmes, where there may be no information-seeking intended, but where information acqui- sition may take place nevertheless.” 3 In the last ten years, I have been pleasantly surprised by information-re- lated features appearing unexpectedly on such diverse Radio Four series as All In The Mind, Analysis, A Point Of View, Archive On 4, Broadcasting House, Front Row, Just One Thing, Law In Action, More Or Less and Why Do We Do That? The pattern is reminiscent of the Law of Scatter formulated by Bradford. He found in his own research that much information on a given sub- ject appeared in journals that did not specialise in that area.4
Peripheral Information It may also be possible to relate to our situations content that does not deal specifically with the information world at all. For example, earlier this year, again entirely by good fortune, I happened across an episode of the BBC World Service programme, In the Studio, that concentrated on the “wayfinding” strategies devised to help visitors navigate around the collections of exhibits in two museums.5
I soon
realised that much of what was being discussed could apply to large library environments, as well.
Through induction, we may extend, too, information-related ideas pre- sented in highly specific contexts in order to give them greater utility. Some years back, I used a critique of two books reviewed in an episode of the series, Inside the Bermuda Triangle,6
October-November 2024
to assemble a new generic framework for evaluating information and drew on a discussion of the methods employed by reporters in the documentary, Call Your- self an Impartial Journal? 7
to construct a
tool that enabled my Sixth Form EPQ can- didates to ascertain how far they had been truly objective in their projects. In short, I have found within radio programmes raw material for
l learning, i.e. using the presented infor- mation in its existing form to enhance my knowledge;
l transferring, i.e. applying to my situation ideas originating in related or separate fields;
l synthesising, i.e. creating a new prod- uct, which I have gone on to deploy in my classroom.
In addition, we should not overlook the potential value of fiction, either in itself providing insight or as material that may prompt us to seek high quality factual content elsewhere. In terms of the first possibility, whilst recently reflecting on attitudes to public libraries, I was reading – entirely coincidentally – John Christopher’s The Guardians, a dysto pian novel for young people. The opening paragraphs offer a fictitious portrayal of a public library and I saw immediately its relevance to my area of interest. I should not have been surprised by my chance discovery; Daniel Gooding’s series of pieces in the Information Professional
some years ago on libraries and librarians in fiction tells us that both play significant roles in stories across a range of genres.8 On another occasion, I was exploring the information worlds of ordinary citizens, and watching a scene in The Night People episode of The Champions television series reminded me of the importance of muse- ums as information-providing organisa- tions. I then pursued this theme in reports and academic journal articles.
Habits and information transfer Erdelez recognises the power of “positive reinforcement” – individuals who have been serendipitously successful are keen to continue and, in time, super-encoun- terers rely on such chance discoveries as an integral part of their information processes.9
This is certainly true of myself. I have now Revalidated my Fellowship status every year since 2021 and on each occasion that I am considering my strat- egies for the next twelve months, I find myself anticipating that the fortuitous discovery of radio programmes will offer me several appropriate activities. This approach has not yet let me down. By no means all the characteristics of super-encounterers are likely to be helpful to the Professional Registration candi- date, however. Erdelez explains how such individuals not only connect with infor- mation that will be useful to themselves; their “happy accidents” also result in the discovery of information which may be of
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