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Linking Everyday Information Behaviour andAsian Immigrant Settlement Processes: Towards aConceptual Framework

Safirotu Khoir, Jia Tina Du & Andy Koronios

To cite this article: Safirotu Khoir, Jia Tina Du & Andy Koronios (2015) LinkingEveryday Information Behaviour and Asian Immigrant Settlement Processes: Towards aConceptual Framework, Australian Academic & Research Libraries, 46:2, 86-100, DOI:10.1080/00048623.2015.1024303

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00048623.2015.1024303

Published online: 08 Apr 2015.

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Linking Everyday Information Behaviour and Asian ImmigrantSettlement Processes: Towards a Conceptual Framework

Safirotu Khoir1, Jia Tina Du* and Andy Koronios2

School of Information Technology and Mathematical Sciences, University of South Australia,Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

International migration is a worldwide phenomenon. However, the process ofimmigrants’ settlement is still considered an under-researched area from aninformation perspective. Navigating information throughout the settlement process isconsidered challenging but critical for immigrants. The uptake of information isdeemed significant to both the well-being of immigrants and their host countries.An important outcome of the capability to navigate information in a new landscape isincreasing the likelihood of social inclusion in a new country. More empirical researchis needed to identify the characteristics of immigrants’ information behaviour in thecontext of their settlement. This paper provides an overview of immigrants’information behaviour studies and the use of public library services by immigrants andidentifies gaps in the literature. Supported and tested by a pilot study, a conceptualframework is developed to underpin a study into Asian immigrants’ informationbehaviour in South Australia, linking their information needs, information seeking,information grounds and information sharing, and corresponding public libraryservices to their ongoing settlement.

Keywords: Asian immigrants; settlement; information behaviour; public libraries;social inclusion; conceptual framework

Introduction

Globalisation makes international migration an important and on-going concern both for

individuals and nations. There were approximately 200 million immigrants throughout the

world in 2010 (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2011), making almost 1 in

every 35 people an immigrant (Caidi, Allard, & Quirke, 2010). While some are forced

from their homelands by warfare and famine, others make decisions to move to new

countries to seek a better life. Since the end of the twentieth century, Australia increasingly

sees itself as part of the Asian–Pacific region (Jakubowicz, 2011). According to the 2011

census, 30.2% of the Australian population were immigrants (Australian Bureau of

Statistics, 2011a), with 23% of these immigrants being Asians. In South Australia, the

number of immigrants makes up one-third of its population (Australian Bureau of

Statistics, 2011b). The last three census periods have shown a significant and consistent

increase in immigrants from particular countries.

Table 1 indicates the number of people living in South Australia born in another

country across the last three censuses. The ‘growth trend’ column shows the countries of

immigrants with an increasing or decreasing trend during this period. While the number of

immigrants from European countries (Italy, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands) is still

high, the trend over the decade shows a decrease. In contrast, the number of immigrants

q 2015 Australian Library & Information Association

An early version of this paper was presented at the 23rd International Business InformationManagement Conference, Valencia, Spain, 13–14 May 2014.

*Corresponding author. Email: tina.du@unisa.edu.au

Australian Academic & Research Libraries, 2015

Vol. 46, No. 2, 86–100, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00048623.2015.1024303

from five Asian countries (India, China, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia) is

increasing rapidly. The two countries contributing the largest number of immigrants in

South Australia are India and China, with 60% and 32% growth, respectively, since 2001.

Immigrants may arrive in Australia under various schemes: they may migrate

purposefully with professional and/or economic goals (e.g. skilled migration) or they may

arrive under other schemes (e.g. spouse or dependent, special carer, family reunion).

Therefore, while some immigrants are fully skilled, others may not have sufficient skills

based on their educational backgrounds. Less-skilled immigrants are more vulnerable to

social exclusion. Lloyd, Anne Kennan, Thompson, and Qayyum (2013) claimed that

failure to build the connectedness and collaboration needed for social inclusion is

fundamentally an information problem. The authors believed information poverty occurs

when people’s information behaviour is not adequate to fulfil their needs. Information

poverty, social poverty and economic poverty may be associated, which in turn can create

personal suffering and the need for on-going government support. The complexity of these

situations means that an intervention in one area will not necessarily alleviate the problem.

Inadequate access to information, for whatever reason, is likely to result in exclusion (Yu,

2011). Information poverty may then become part of a cycle in which people with limited

access to information may rely further on a social network (Lloyd, Lipu, & Kennan, 2010).

However, if this cultural network is well-connected it may act to facilitate information to

individuals. It should also be noted that full inclusion may not always be the goal of

immigrants; some may prefer ‘partial integration’, maintaining primary links with their

home culture (Ward-Lambert, 2014).

Countries accepting immigrants have a responsibility to assist in their settlement and

ease the period of adjustment for their immigrants. Efforts have been made in the

development of several programs, such as language training and citizenship programs. Yet

how immigrants deal with the new information is considered a crucial aspect in

immigrants’ settlement (Caidi & Allard, 2005). Navigating information relating to

everyday needs such as housing, employment, finance, health and education make the

early period of settlement challenging (Caidi et al., 2010). Immigrants’ approaches to and

absorption of information may be influenced by various factors, including personal and

cultural backgrounds, social networks and general adaptability, the structure of the

information landscape, and the role of mediators in a new community (Caidi & Allard,

2005; Lloyd et al., 2013). How immigrants make the adjustment to their new countries has

Table 1. Top source countries of South Australian immigrants: number and growth trend.

2001 Population 2006 Population 2011 Population

Growth trend2001–2011( # or " ) (%)

1 Italy 24,964 Italy 22,485 Italy 20,711 # 172 Germany 12,660 Germany 11,970 India 18,742 60 "3 Greece 11,677 Greece 10,782 China 15,933 32 "4 Vietnam 10,441 Vietnam 10,546 Vietnam 12,026 6.4 "5 Netherlands 8301 China 8082 Germany 11,408 # 56 Poland 6911 Netherlands 7798 Greece 9757 # 7.77 Philippines 4512 India 6830 Philippines 8858 17.4 "8 Yugoslavia 4270 Poland 6239 Netherlands 7281 # 4.19 Malaysia 4162 Philippines 5440 Malaysia 6950 11.2 "10 India 3688 Malaysia 5342 South

Africa6208 12.5 "

Australian Academic & Research Libraries 87

long been of interest. Examining any linkage between an immigrant’s information

behaviour to the individual’s outcome throughout the settlement process is an area

requiring further study. An understanding of the relationship between the accessing of

information and how an immigrant adapts to their new life may provide a key to assist with

settlement and improve future service delivery. When the aim of a nation is to develop and

maintain social cohesion and to be inclusive of minorities, such empirical studies are

required in order to develop frameworks for policy and practice.

The Australian government aims to be socially inclusive of all residents (Vinson,

2009). Many factors have the potential to result in social exclusion, including poverty,

illiteracy, educational opportunities, unemployment, poor health, and victimisation and

discrimination (Vinson, 2009). Social inclusion is the ability to develop a sense of

connectedness and empowerment as informed citizens (Lloyd et al., 2010; Vinson, 2009)

and requires the ability to function economically, socially, culturally and politically (Caidi

& Allard, 2005; Omidvar & Richmond, 2003). Access to resources is seen as critical

during such processes. Yet, as Lloyd et al. (2013, p. 122) report, ‘the most fundamental

resource, information, and the information practices and related skills that enable people to

access, critically evaluate, and use information (i.e. information literacy), are rarely

mentioned’. Without access and an understanding of the necessary information,

immigrants are at risk of social exclusion, lacking the capacity to make informed decisions

and choices (Caidi & Allard, 2005; Lloyd et al., 2013). Investigating how information

provision and information behaviour is related to the lived experience of immigrants may

provide a base for understanding the challenges of the settlement process.

In addition to obtaining information and knowledge of their new country, immigrants

need to establish themselves in the community with employment and social engagement.

Efficient and effective systems and services are required with service providers, such as

public libraries, playing an important role. As the number of immigrants, particularly

Asian immigrants, in South Australia continues to grow, it is timely to examine the

patterns of information behaviour of Asian immigrants. The overarching question is: how

do Asian immigrants find and use information and how is this linked to their settlement?

This paper first presents a critical review of the literature on everyday information

behaviour and immigrants. Then, supported by a pilot study of Asian immigrants in the

city of Adelaide, it develops a conceptual framework linking immigrant information

behaviour and the outcome of their settlement process. It is hoped that this framework may

be applicable to other countries similar to Australia.

Immigrant information behaviour and information services

This section reviews the studies on information behaviour of immigrants in several

countries. Current state-of-the-art research in Australia related to immigrants is presented.

The focus of this review is on everyday information needs and seeking behaviour,

information grounds and information sharing. The literature about public library

information services used by immigrants is also reviewed.

Everyday information behaviour

Information behaviour defines how a person actively or passively connects or interacts

with sources or channels of information, either with purposive intention or without any

intention (Case, 2012; Du, 2014; Pettigrew, Fidel, & Bruce, 2001; Wilson, 2000).

Information needs indicate where a person’s current knowledge is inadequate to satisfy

88 S. Khoir et al.

their goals (Case, 2012) and are often associated with, or lead to, the seeking of further

information (Du & Spink, 2011). Everyday life information seeking refers to the

information people obtain through their normal daily activities (such as watching

television, meeting a friend and visiting a doctor) when they may not necessarily be

purposefully seeking particular information (Pettigrew et al., 2001; Wilson, 1994).

Recently, Sin and Kim (2013) conducted a survey on everyday life information-seeking

behaviour of international students in the USA. The results showed that most of the

international students used social networking sites for their everyday life information

seeking. It was found that younger students, undergraduates and people with more

extroverted personalities tended to use these sites more frequently. Another study,

conducted by Williamson, Qayyum, Hider, and Liu (2012), discussed the role of new

media in young adults’ (18–25 years old) everyday life information-seeking behaviour.

These findings showed that traditional print media was still an important source of

information and social media was used to communicate with others rather than to seek

information. However, online news media was the most preferred source for purposive

information seeking.

Immigrants’ information behaviour

The information needs of immigrants vary according to the length of stay in their new

country: newcomers (,5 years) may require a lot of information over a wide range of

areas, while longer established immigrants (.5 years) may be more pursuing personal

interests (Caidi & Allard, 2005). Acquiring necessary information on arrival in a new

country may be daunting for newcomers (Caidi & Allard, 2005) and usually this is related

to language skills and experience in their home country. The navigation of this period is

crucial and immigrants focus most of their attention on overcoming the immediate

obstacles. However, the information behaviour of immigrants is under-explored (Fisher,

Durrance, & Hinton, 2004a). Caidi et al. (2010) studied barriers relating to immigrants’

information behaviour and social inclusion, such as communication, lack of knowledge of

the new land, poor socioeconomic and family networks, and a lack of recognition of

foreign educational or professional credentials. They identified the lack of information as a

significant issue. Several possible areas for future research were indicated, including

demographics, specific information needs, expressive information activities, information

communication and technologies, transnationalism, the value of interdisciplinary

behaviour, and information environments.

A limited number of empirical studies have focused on specific immigrant groups in

(or from) the USA. For example, Fisher, Marcoux, Miller, Sanchez, and Cunningham

(2004b) studied immigrants of Hispanic farm workers in the Pacific northwest using direct

observation and interviews with users and staff of community technology centres. The

results showed that the immigrants relied more on personal networks (71%) compared to

other information sources. The study also identified some barriers such as language and

culture difference. Rho (2002) investigated information needs, information-seeking

behaviour and the use of public libraries in the first generation of adult Korean immigrants

in Texas. The findings revealed 12 areas of information need: children’s education,

educational opportunities for career development, survival information, family relation

matters, mainstream community information, business, legal aid, health insurance,

housing, computer skills, tax assistance and English literacy improvement. Like Fisher

et al. (2004b), Rho concluded that personal networks were the primary information source

for the Korean immigrants, while use of community public libraries was limited to their

Australian Academic & Research Libraries 89

children’s educational needs. Shoham and Strauss’ (2008) study identified US immigrants’

information needs while settling in Israel. These needs included housing, schooling,

health, driving, banking, legal issues, work and language. More recently, Rodriguez-Mori

(2009) examined the information behaviour of Puerto Ricans who relocated to central

Florida, focusing on how social networks were used in the immigration process. The

results demonstrated that personal social networks were used to satisfy most of their

information needs. With poor public library facilities in Puerto Rico, these immigrants had

little experience of using libraries as a resource. The aforementioned studies show that

interpersonal relationships are crucial for immigrants’ information needs, positing that the

historical lack of a library in their homelands geared these immigrants’ information

behaviour towards social networks. Throughout the literature, there is a strong emphasis

on immigrant’s reliance on social networks (Courtright, 2005; Fisher et al., 2004b; Hakim

Silvio, 2006; Tompkins, Smith, Jones, & Swindells, 2006).

In Australia, there have been a few information studies on immigrant populations

(Kennan, Lloyd, Qayyum, & Thompson, 2011; Lloyd et al., 2010, 2013). For example,

Kennan et al. (2011) reported on refugees’ information behaviour in relation to social

inclusion in New South Wales using a socio-cultural approach. The participants included

representatives from public libraries, multicultural councils, settler groups and service

provider groups. The study findings showed that refugees moved through three different

phases: transitioning, settling in and being settled, which did not always happen

sequentially and were often iterative. In a further analysis, Lloyd et al. (2013) discussed

refugees’ information literacy behaviour and how these practices contributed to social

inclusion. The study reported that there was a significant relationship between information

literacy and social inclusion, with poor information literacy leading to social exclusion.

In that study, visual information sources, such as shopping catalogues and store circulars,

and social and embodied information, such as learning from other people’s experiences to

shop cheaply, wearing appropriate clothing for a job interview, were identified as

significant parts of the information landscape. The findings also emphasised the

importance of service providers, including public libraries as mediators and navigators for

the refugees. The studies by Kennan et al. (2011) and Lloyd et al. (2013) focused on

humanitarian refugees. Their findings may not necessarily generalise to Asian immigrants

who have not been forced from their homeland and are subject to a different set of policies

and programmes.

When social inclusion exists, people have the resources, opportunities and capabilities

to learn, work, engage and have a voice in a country (Australian Social Inclusion Board,

2012). In the case of immigrants, it refers to the outcome of a successful settlement

process. This means immigrants have access to formal and informal education, work in

society professionally or voluntarily, connect with people in cultural settings or

recreational services, and have the ability to express an opinion on circumstances affecting

them. Barriers emerge in the process, often relating to language skills, education and

previous cultural experience, including work-related information skills (Lloyd et al.,

2013). Access to information, as well as the ability to evaluate it and apply it in daily life,

are considered fundamental for people in a new environment (Lloyd et al., 2013).

At this point in time, little research has been carried out to understand specific groups

of immigrants and how they settle into their new country. Studies of Asian immigrants’

information behaviour have not been conducted in the Australian context. To the best of

our knowledge, no study has investigated the information needs of Asian immigrants, the

way Asian immigrants use their networks, and the role of the Internet and other

technologies in their information seeking and linked this behaviour and experience to their

90 S. Khoir et al.

settlement process. While we propose to study immigrants from the group of the top five

Asian countries, differences between cultures, age groups, professions and Information

Technology (IT) familiarity (among others) may emerge.

Information grounds and sharing of information

As one of the foci in this paper, information grounds are considered an important

dimension of information behaviour. Pettigrew (1999, p. 811) defined an information

ground as ‘an environment temporarily created by the behaviour of people who have come

together to perform a given task, but from which emerges a social atmosphere that fosters

the spontaneous and serendipitous sharing of information’. Informed by this definition,

many places may be seen as information grounds, such as restaurants, supermarkets,

salons, fitness centres, folk festivals, book clubs and other informal social settings. Fisher,

Landry, and Naumer (2007) proposed three dimensions of information grounds: people

related, place related and information related. Table 2 presents these information grounds

and the characteristics that are associated with each. In Adelaide, an example of where all

three dimensions are present is the Central Market area, where numerous Asian shops,

cafes and restaurants are located.

Counts and Fisher (2010, p. 99) presented a framework for information grounds, which

is an underpinning of the study reported here. They stated that an information ground has

seven defining characteristics. It can occur anywhere, has purpose, is attended by different

social types, creates social interactions, facilitates information sharing and flow, facilitates

information use and creates benefit and contexts (see Figure 1). The basic assumption in

viewing information grounds from this perspective is that where social interaction is free

and easy then information flows in many directions. While these propositions are created

from a study with mobile social networking users, they may be confirmed, changed or

improved when testing to different contexts such as Asian immigrants.

Information sharing is a crucial dimension of information grounds (Caidi et al., 2010),

often described as the interaction between people and sources of information, between

formal and informal channels, and between social and technical searching (Du, Liu, Zhu,

& Chen, 2013; Talja & Hansen, 2006). Through a clear understanding of information

grounds, it is possible to create or develop new ways to facilitate information exchange

(Fisher et al., 2007). With the phenomenon of online social networking, the online

environment should now be considered as a new space where immigrants meet and share

information. This means that immigrants without skills and access to this space may be at a

disadvantage.

Table 2. Information ground characteristics. Adapted from Fisher, Landry, and Naumer (2007).

Information ground characteristics

People related Place related Information related

Size Activities SignificanceTypes Friendliness Frequently discussedFamiliarity Comfort How created/sharedRoles Location TopicsMotivation Privacy –– Ambience –

Australian Academic & Research Libraries 91

Public library services for immigrants

The role of public libraries is changing; they are not only places to keep books and

information, but also public spaces to promote community interaction and involvement in

society (Caidi, 2006; Khati, 2013; Yu, 2011). In the digital age, information culture related

to libraries and learning needs to stress knowledge and learning styles that take into

account user needs and services, rather than focusing on collection development (Caidi,

2003). However, public libraries still have the responsibility to contribute to the provision

of information resources (Caidi, 2006).

Ongoing global trends of increased international migration and the digital revolution

form the basis of many changes within the public library system over the past decades

(Chelliah, 2014). As a public service and social institution, public libraries are responsible

for serving a diverse community with varied needs (Branciforte, 2012) and potentially

may act as a ‘university of the people’ (Antwi, 1989, p. 286). For example, public library

services are able to support social inclusion through education programmes (Khati, 2013).

It is noted that the public library may be seen as a hostile environment to immigrants who

perceive it as ‘an unwelcoming environment that may create a sense of being outsiders’

(Burke, 2008, p. 34). However, it may actively facilitate social networking for immigrants

in providing a safe and welcoming public space, catering to their needs (Caidi & Allard,

2005) and helping with the challenges of multiculturalism (Audunson, Essmat, &

Svanhild, 2011). Audunson et al. (2011) concluded that the role of public libraries for

immigrants includes helping in the settlement process, providing opportunities for keeping

in touch with their culture of origin, facilitating communication and providing a bridge

between minority and majority cultures. Several studies have been undertaken to explore

the services and use of public libraries by immigrants (e.g., Audunson et al., 2011; Fisher

et al., 2004a; Shoham and Rabinovich, 2008).

Fisher et al. (2004a) acknowledged the necessity of using ‘building blocks’ to assist

immigrants in their use of public libraries, such as beginning by explaining the role of the

library and its safe and accommodating environment; introducing the resources available

and teaching acquisition of library skills; and encouraging them to tell family and friends

about how libraries can help them. These building blocks may develop a trust that will

allow immigrants to seek assistance from library staff. As libraries have been established

for the use of their communities, seeing the library from the immigrants’ perspectives and

Contexts SocialInteraction

Flow andShare

Information

InformationGrounds

Anywhere

Purpose

People

Benefits

Figure 1. Propositions of information grounds. Adapted from Counts and Fisher (2010).

92 S. Khoir et al.

being aware of some necessary stages to build immigrants’ confidence in the institution

may overcome some of the challenges immigrants face. This may consequently allow the

public library to more adequately support immigrants’ information needs.

In the last 5 years, the provision of multicultural library services within public libraries

in Australia has been a priority; seen in the development of programmes such as those for

culturally and linguistically diverse communities (Cunningham, 2004; Steed et al., 2011).

Providing multicultural public library services is more than just providing collections in

languages other than the national languages (Cunningham, 2004). To support cultural

diversity in Australian society, state and territory libraries collaborated on the creation of

the MyLanguage project (Steed et al., 2011) in order to provide resources through a web

portal which accesses search engines, web directories, government websites and updated

news headlines across the globe in many languages. MyLanguage serves patrons speaking

over 60 different languages, enabling them to find information in their first language

(Steed et al., 2011).

Focusing on the information behaviour of Asian immigrants

Understanding what immigrants want and need is not a simple task. It is challenging and

needs evidence-based research (Caidi & Allard, 2005). Looking at the settlement of

immigrants through the prism of information behaviour should open new insights into the

current trends in accessing and processing information. Traditionally, immigrants have

been studied with the assumption of information poverty. While this may still be true for

humanitarian refugees (despite goodwill), focusing on Asian immigrants may provide a

new and dynamic picture of the way immigrants can access and mobilise resources to

facilitate their settlement. This population comes to Australia with new skills and

aspirations, into a world geared to facilitating international exchanges.

A review of the current literature in the field highlights the absence of empirical studies

relating to the information behaviour of immigrants in Australia:

. While there is research relating to refugees, there is no study focusing on the

growing Asian population.

. Few studies differentiate between the information needs of newcomers and longer

established immigrants.

. The relationships between information needs, information seeking, information

grounds, and information sharing throughout immigrants’ settlement and how these

relate to settlement are not well understood.

. There is little analysis into whether current services provided for immigrants in

Australian public libraries contribute to supporting immigrants in their daily lives

(e.g. whether library services meet immigrants’ real information needs).

A large-scale study is planned to bridge these identified gaps and provide a more

comprehensive understanding of how Asian immigrants identify information needs, and

how they seek information when they are settling in Australia. It is also considered useful

to examine places where they meet and share information including physical and virtual

places. These may influence how and where they communicate and interact with a new

community and how they connect with their home land.

Pilot study

A pilot study preceded the planned large-scale research to test the data collection

instruments and to gain preliminary results. The pilot study was conducted in mid-2013

Australian Academic & Research Libraries 93

with eight Asian immigrants from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, India,

Vietnam and China using three data collection methods including survey, photovoice and

interview. A printed survey was designed to capture the overall landscape of immigrants’

information behaviour during their settlement. In order to incorporate participant-

generated perspectives into the data, photovoice was used; ‘a process by which people can

identify, represent, and enhance their community through a specific photographic

technique’ (Wang & Burris, 1997, p. 369). This method gives a voice directly to people

who have little or no access to policy makers to record, document and discuss their life as

they see it and capture it through images (Wang & Burris, 1994, 1997). All participants

decided that the use of their mobile phones would be the easiest way to capture images

relevant to their experience. The participants participated in a short training session

concerning picture themes relevant to the research and were informed of ethical issues

relating to picture taking, such as privacy, subjects’ permission and prohibited places.

Using photovoice allowed a more personal expression of participants’ experiences,

enabling them to indicate areas of frustration and concern as well as encouraging them to

share personal experiences of which they were proud. Once the photographs had been

taken, a face-to-face, semi-structured interview was conducted to explore more deeply the

immigrants’ perspective of their information behaviour. All interviews took place in

locations convenient to the participants and each lasted from 30 to 60 minutes.

The data were analysed using several methods. Questionnaire data were statistically

coded and analysed. Photographs were analysed under themes according to the

photographs selected by the participants and the corresponding stories they told in the

interview sessions (Wang & Burris, 1997). The interviews, including the discussions of

participants’ experiences that went beyond the presented images, were analysed using an

open coding method (Du & Evans, 2011; Weber, 1990). The data from questionnaires,

photos and interviews were then combined together for further analysis.

The preliminary results indicated that immigrants’ information needs are divided into

three categories: general (such as accommodation, transportation and local culture);

personal (personal needs such as jobs, English literacy and networking) and formal

(official needs such as immigration, education and tax assistance). Finding

accommodation and employment were the two most urgent information needs. The

immigrants faced new procedures in dealing with accommodations such as bonds, rentals

arrangement and inspections, while job references, local experience and addressing

selection criteria were concerns in finding a job for the immigrants. The analysis indicated

that general and formal information needs were sourced primarily through the Internet,

while personal networks were the major information source used to satisfy personal

information needs. Informal settings were the prime information grounds, with

participants meeting friends and acquaintances in homes, cafes and malls. More formal

grounds were offices, campuses and libraries. Online social networks, such as Facebook,

Twitter and LinkedIn, also became important information grounds for immigrants. The

findings showed that most participants were able to satisfy their information needs. They

experienced themselves as settling well into their new country, largely feeling accepted

into their communities and intent on securing citizenship. Moreover, public library

services were used by some participants to meet their information needs, particularly in the

first days of settlement. Services such as English classes, collections about Australia

including printed, online and audio visual collections, and library multicultural

programmes were considered helpful to support their new life in South Australia. Public

libraries were also seen as good places to find new friends, though some participants did

not use the services or only used it for their children.

94 S. Khoir et al.

From the pilot study, the questionnaires, photovoice instructions and interview

protocols were improved to include specific questions for the larger scale study to proceed.

Both printed and online questionnaires were designed to ensure a larger scope in the data

collection process. It should be noted that all participants in the pilot study were young

adults with tertiary education and a facility with English before their arrival. More details

about the pilot study can be found in Khoir, Du, and Koronios (2014).

Immigrants’ information behaviour framework

The pilot study provides a better understanding of how to position the future research and

shape the focus. Based on the pilot study and the reviewed literature, an initial framework

is presented in Figure 2.

The framework is presented to illustrate the link between the information behaviour of

Asian immigrants and their settlement processes. The duration of stay is considered as it is

anticipated that immigrants who have arrived more recently will have different

information needs, characteristics and habits from those who have been in the country for

5 years or more. Hence, they may face different challenges and barriers, as well as have

different strengths. This framework helps to identify the kinds of information the

immigrants need for their settlement, how they seek information, from what sources, and

where they meet and share information. The categories of information literacy and

information poverty and social inclusion/exclusion exist in a continuum and may be

situational and time-specific, or in fact definitive. We propose that capability in

information behaviour will generally result in a positive settlement process that reflects

social inclusion; the corollary of this is that information poverty may be associated with

social exclusion.

Public library services in Australia, with commitments to serve immigrants as a

specific group, are also to be examined in the large-scale research. Thus, aspects of

information behaviour and public library services have the potential to influence Asian

immigrants’ settlement and social inclusion into their new country. Immigrants face

barriers and challenges in their new country, but they also have strengths or special

InformationBehaviour

BarriersChallengesStrengths

>5 years

BarriersChallengesStrengths

>5 years

AsianImmigrants

InformationNeeds

InformationSeeking

Behaviour

InformationPoverty

SocialExclusion

Settlement

InformaionLiteracy

SocialInclusion

InformationGrounds and

Sharing

PublicLibrary

Services

Figure 2. Proposed conceptual framework of Asian immigrants’ information behaviour relating tosettlement.

Australian Academic & Research Libraries 95

capabilities which will be explored in this study. The study is intended to contribute to the

information behaviour field and public library services, providing an in-depth analysis of

Asian immigrants’ information behaviour and settlement process using a mixed-methods

approach.

Conclusion and future research

There has been little research concerning the information behaviour of Asian immigrants

and their use of public libraries in Australia. This paper describes the phenomenon of

immigrants’ information behaviour and its linkage to their settlement processes in a new

land. It also provides an understanding of how public libraries are expected to facilitate

immigrants’ settlement by creating more specific and tailored programmes based on

immigrants’ information needs. A pilot study was conducted based on the review of the

existing literature and identified gaps. From this a conceptual framework was developed,

which may be further refined as the project progresses, linking the quality of information

practices and settlement process.

The large-scale study will encompass a population reflecting the immigration intake in

South Australia, as shown in Table 1, using a stratified sampling (Creswell, 2009; Fowler,

2009; Neuman, 2011). It will adopt the definition of an international immigrant provided

by Caidi et al. (2010, p. 495): ‘International migrants include anyone living outside their

country of citizenship but the conditions of permanence in the term immigrant exclude

those living abroad temporarily, such as visitors, migrant workers, and international

students.’ Therefore, the participants in the forthcoming study will be screened based on

the following criteria: those who were not born in Australia and come originally from

India, China, Vietnam, the Philippines or Malaysia are adult (at least 18 years old), are not

visitors, immigrant workers or international students, who hold a permanent resident visa

or have become an Australian citizen, and who live in South Australia. Among the

available immigrant studies in Australia, this evidence-based study is potentially

significant and novel, particularly for South Australia. The proposed research will

distinguish between new and longer established immigrants and enable an understanding

of how their information needs vary at different stages. How immigrants’ information

behaviour relates to the success of this settlement process will be investigated, as well as

public library services. The study will be conducted based on the immigrant’s perceptions

of their experience in their settlement and the theoretical concepts of information literacy/

poverty and social inclusion/exclusion.

This project will contribute to the information behaviour field and information services

both theoretically and practically. Utilising three different approaches (survey, photovoice

and interviews) will provide a substantial base to enable a more comprehensive picture of

information behaviour. Researchers may benefit from the theoretical analysis and the

model to be developed and stakeholders may have the empirical data necessary to create

more conducive institutional environments for immigrants. The results will have

implications for cultural, social and economic studies concerned with immigration across

Australia. In doing so, it may also contribute to studies of immigration in similar countries.

More specifically, recommendations will be made to public libraries as an important type

of information institutions, to provide services that match the needs identified in

supporting immigrants in an adopted country. As a result, more practical and tailored

library programmes may be created to facilitate the immigrants’ information needs

through an understanding of both the skills they bring to their practices and the barriers and

challenges they face during their settlement. As a by-product of being involved in this

96 S. Khoir et al.

project, immigrants participating in this research may become more aware of the public

library services available for their benefit.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the editors and anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. We alsothank Geoff Strempel from the State Library of South Australia and Wendy Baker for theirenlightening discussions during the preparation of this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Funding

This work was fully funded and supported by Australia Awards Scholarships.

Notes

1. Email: safirotu.khoir@mymail.unisa.edu.au.2. Email: andy.koronios@unisa.edu.au.

Notes on contributors

Safirotu Khoir is currently a Ph.D. student at the School of Information Technology andMathematical Sciences, University of South Australia, Australia. Her research is on informationbehaviour of Asian immigrants in South Australia. Earlier, she was a faculty member at the GraduateSchool of Information and Library Management, Universitas Gadjah Mada, and director of NationBuilding Corner (2009–2012) at the same university. She was previously involved in a projectconducted by Curtin University Library, Western Australia, ‘Elizabeth Jolley Research CollectionProject’ (http://john.curtin.edu.au/jolley/) in 2007.

Jia Tina Du is a lecturer in the Information Management Program, School of InformationTechnology and Mathematical Sciences at the University of South Australia, Australia. Dr. Du iseditorial board member of the journals Online Information Review and Aslib Journal of InformationManagement. Her research interests are in interactive information retrieval, web research and humaninformation behaviour. She was 2010 Highly Commended Award Winner of the prestigiousInternational Emerald/European Foundation for Management Development Outstanding DoctoralResearch Awards in the Information Science Category.

Andy Koronios is the Head of the School of Information Technology and Mathematic Sciences at theUniversity of South Australia, Australia. Professor Koronios has extensive experience in bothcommercial and academic environments and has interests in electronic commerce, informationquality, IT-mediated business models, enterprise architecture and information governance. He alsohas a keen interest in the changing role of the modern CIO and the development of IT professionals.

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