Approaches to socio-cultural barriers to information seeking

Publication date: Available online 20 February 2016 Source:Library & Information Science Research Author(s): Reijo Savolainen A conceptual analysis derived from the literature on sociocultural barriers to information seeking focuses on the features of such barriers and their impact on information seeking in diverse contexts. A typology is presented that identifies six main types of socio-cultural barriers: barriers due to language problems, barriers related to social stigma and cultural taboo, small-world related barriers, institutional arriers, organizational barriers, and barriers due to the lack of social and economic capital. Socio-cultural barriers are man-made constructs originating from social norms and cultural values. They have mainly an adverse impact on information seeking by restricting access to information sources and giving rise to negative emotions.
Source: Library and Information Science Research - Category: Databases & Libraries Source Type: research