Information Theory Models

We talk a lot in class about what the works by the information theory scholars mean to us as information professionals. Sometimes, I struggle to answer that question. When reading the articles, I try to think of the various models and theories in terms of working with children in a public library setting. With children, the base of knowledge is different, and their ability to use systems (both in the specific and broad sense) can be limited. Based on what we have looked at so far, the model that seems as though it would work the best with children is Brenda Dervin's "Sense Making" model. I'm sure part of the reason it seems as though it would apply so well to children is the cute diagram it evokes: a man on one side of a ravine, with his goal on the other. If I were to try to explain to a child how to seek information, this seems like the easiest one for him or her to understand. Taylor's idea of question negotiation would also work well with children, in some ways. While the questioning may be the best way to get the intent out of the child, depending on the age and temperment, the child may become easily frustrated or lose interest in the information. In a school library setting where the child may often have to have the information for an assignment, the loss of interest could be detrimental to their grades. However, it could also cause problems in the public library setting by potentially stifling an intellectually curious child. I think to maintain interest of the child as well as spark independent research, it is important for libraries to have "kid friendly" systems that are easily searchable with or without assitance for elementary age children. That would go along with the idea of systems being user oriented, but also oriented towards a specific group of users.