Information and Emotion: the Emergent Affective Paradigm in Information Behavior Research and Theory is a most timely publication for researchers in information behaviour and students in Information Science. Not much research has been reported on affective or emotional issues, and when such research findings are scattered in journal articles and conference papers it is especially difficult for newcomers to the field and less experienced researchers to form a holistic picture of research in the affective paradigm and how to use such research in their own work. Information and Emotion: the Emergent Affective Paradigm in Information Behavior Research and Theory has taken some powerful first steps in addressing this problem.
Under the very capable editorship of Diane Nahl and Dania Bilal an expert group of researchers share their experience, findings and views on a variety of aspects concerning emotion (i.e. the affective) in information behaviour. The 24 contributors include names like Brenda Dervin, Lynne McKechnie, Karen Fisher, Heidi Julien, and Michelynn McKnight. In the foreword, Jennifer Preece notes (p. xvi):
By bringing together chapters that cover theoretical frameworks and macro‐, micro‐, and special emotional environments, Nahl and Bilal reminds us that the emotional states we bring to a task and those that the information induces influence choices we make, and ultimately how well we perform the task and how we feel about it.
The book consists of four parts. In the first part dealing with theoretical frameworks, the centrality of the affective in information behaviour is explored, as well as grounding children's information behaviour and system design in child development theories. It also covers how emotional dimensions of situated information seeking relate to user evaluations of help from sources and the role of affect in judging what is enough.
The second part deals with the macro‐emotional information environment. This includes chapters on the following: developmental social‐emotional behaviour and information literacy; affective dimensions of critical care nurses' information interaction; the role of emotion, response, and recommendation in children's book reviews in a digital library; and the role of affect in the information behaviour of undergraduate's information behaviour.
In the third part concerning the micro‐emotional information environment five chapters are offered, covering affective dimensions of information seeking in the context of reading, memories of frustrating experiences, understanding the information behaviour of stay‐at‐home mothers through affect, critical thinking disposition and library anxiety and experiencing information literacy affectively.
In the final part on special information environments, three chapters are offered dealing, respectively, with blind people, the cross‐cultural learning processes of international doctoral students in Library and Information Science education, and a small world perspective on the affective dimensions of information behaviour.
Understanding emotions in information behaviour, in addition to the bulk of research reported on information seeking and information retrieval, can greatly add to our understanding in improving information retrieval systems. It can also affect the way people select, use and process information.
Information and Emotion: the Emergent Affective Paradigm in Information Behavior Research and Theory is concluded with an excellent and extensive subject index as well as an authors' index – which can help the reader to fully exploit the value of this publication. It further offers a stunning 27 pages of references. In the line of the explanation by Diana Nahl (p. xxviii) Information and Emotion: the Emergent Affective Paradigm in Information Behavior Research and Theory can succeed very well in stimulating research in the affective paradigm:
It is hoped that this volume will inspire those working in information behavior and the related areas of human‐computer interaction, information system design, and the social informatics, to examine data in the light of the theories and findings presented, and to design studies that focus on the central role of the affect in information needs, seeking, reception, design, and use. A focus on affect in information behavior can breathe new life into research by expanding research environments to include every setting where people use and exchange information, including the mental and social information environment, and promote a cumulative and holistic approach to understanding human engagement with information.
Considering the variety of themes covered, the expertise of the contributors and editors, the indexes and lists of references, Information and Emotion: the Emergent Affective Paradigm in Information Behavior Research and Theory is a must‐read publication for every academic, student and researcher in this field. I would certainly also strongly recommend it to practitioners who need to implement services, training programmes, digital libraries, etc.
Even excellent work can, however, be improved. In this light, I would like to offer a few suggestions with the hope that there will soon be a follow‐up publication. Although the coverage of the different chapters is set out at the beginning of the book, a strong concluding chapter, offering guidance on research gaps and setting the road forward, will be a very valuable addition. More attention might also be paid to abused and marginal groups. If it is to serve as a true textbook, more can perhaps also be said about the research methods in the field, co‐operation and co‐citation between researchers/authors and how other fields of study/disciplines need to be explored.
