Ways of Experiencing Information Literacy: Making the Case for a Relational Approach

Susie Andretta is a name that is bound to be familiar to any reader with an interest in information literacy. Until recently, she was the Editor‐in‐Chief of the Journal of Information Literacy and the author of various notable works on the subject herself. Her new book is derived from her PhD research, which examined the perspectives of postgraduate information management students with regard to how they experience information literacy. Since information literacy has, traditionally, tended to be viewed from the standpoint of the educator rather than the learner, for this reviewer it is her emphasis on the latter that provides much of her project's appeal.

The research discussed in the volume has satisfied the scrutiny of the author's doctoral examiners so the reader can be confident that it is academically sound. The structure of the book adheres closely to the way in which we might expect a PhD thesis to be organised. After an introduction in which she defines her readership and orientates these individuals in terms of the later material, Dr Andretta presents chapters which:

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  explore the nature of two key concepts that underpin the work, i.e. phenomenography and the relational approach to information literacy (Chapter 2);

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  address the methodology and methods she employs (Chapter 3);

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  report her findings, in terms of themes emerging from the data (Chapter 4) and case studies of the information literacy experiences of individual students (Chapter 5); and

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  offer conclusions (Chapter 6).

Dr Andretta sets herself a formidable task in the introduction. She intends that her volume will be useful to parties as diverse as academic librarians, faculty staff, postgraduate students in cognate disciplines and doctoral students. Scholars will certainly welcome the rigour of her research and the detail in which her project is covered, especially in relation to the experiences of the sampled learners. In what is easily the longest chapter in the book, the author makes considerable use of direct quotations from the informants, thereby adopting a classically qualitative style of reporting. A significant challenge when presenting the results of research of this type lies in striking a suitable balance between the abstractions that are used to introduce the main themes and illustrating the issues with the words of the participants. A carefully constructed opening statement is necessary for the reader to understand properly the nature and scope of the issue that has been identified, while the quotations give a vivid and meaningful dimension to the matters at hand. Although some of the introductory abstractions here are very brief and limited to a single sentence, generally the essence of the theme is well conveyed.

In many ways, the book provides an object lesson in how phenomenographical research may be conducted and how the finished product should look. The honesty with which Dr Andretta acknowledges shortcomings and problem areas associated with her study is testament to her reflective capabilities and professionalism as a researcher. The practitioner angle, however, often seems to receive less attention than the scholarly one and it is pertinent to remember that many information professionals have scant enthusiasm for learning about the minutiae of individual research projects. Typically, their principal interest lies in knowing the implications of the work for them. The fact that a “contribution to practice” section runs to less than four pages in the conclusion may well disappoint such professionals. This brevity is surprising when one considers that the book is part of a series that the publisher, Chandos, has devised specifically for the information professional.

Although Dr Andretta makes appropriate reference to the key figures whose work has contributed significantly either to her area of interest or to the methods she employs, with, for example, Christine Bruce, Ference Marton and Louise Limberg receiving due recognition, the extent of self‐citing is striking. The references list includes as many as 24 entries under Andretta's name. These amount to over a quarter of the total number of references. Self‐citing is, of course, a much debated issue in academia, and the frequency of self‐citation here will divide thought. Some readers will be of the opinion that it simply reflects Dr Andretta's undoubted standing in the field; others may feel that it is a little self‐indulgent. It is noticeable, too, that, if we disregard the Andretta sources, just 10 per cent of the remaining items listed in the references date from the last five years.

A key value of any book that repackages a research project that has previously been addressed in a doctoral thesis is that it can render the study more accessible to interested parties. Unfortunately, this benefit is somewhat negated by the high cost of the volume – the recommended retail price is £47.50. This should not be taken as a criticism of Chandos in isolation; the high cost is a reflection of a grave problem that afflicts academia more widely. Nevertheless, whilst Dr Andretta's work may well be of considerable value to postgraduate and doctoral students, especially, many will no doubt be deterred from buying their own copy by the price and will prefer to borrow the volume from their academic library.

In summary, this is a highly competent book, well written and based on meticulous research but the degree of satisfaction that readers will gain from it will probably vary appreciably according to the particular camp in which they belong.