People today face a dual situation, which is characterized on one hand by changing condi-tions in the nature of the information required for adequate decision- making. On the other hand, people have failed in articulating their information needs effectively and even worse in translating these needs into the searching and retrieval of pertinent sources to meet these needs. The increas-ing demand for information has led to a tremendous volume of information sources as well as an equally large and diverse number of technologies developed to facilitate the handling of infor-mation.

In the business world, the situation previously described is even more acute due the charac-teristics of this environment (i.e., high volume, timeliness and nature of decisions). This situation has evolved in a critical nightmare for managers and business people.

A study conducted in a number of major American corporations (Debons, 1991) revealed that one of the most common demands of their general managers, scientists and engineers was the need for assistance of an intermediary in dealing with the ever-increasing volume of information. In addition, those people expressed their anxiety caused by fears of missing vital information due to the lack of an appropriate filtering and classification process. The needed intermediary must be a professional able to understand the client's psychology, particularly his information needs, also the sociology of the client's organizational culture, as well as the nature and location of various information resources. The intermediary must also be able to analyze, synthesize, repackage and organize the information gathered in a suitable way according to the client's need.

In such an environment, the information managers are overloaded by a wide diversity of tasks. This, plus the challenging conditions provoked by the proliferating information techno-logies open a space for the advent of the so called information counselor (Horton, 1982). This author suggested several activities which may be performed by this information counselor. Furthermore, Horton recognized the importance of developing an academic program leading to the creation of this new type of information professional.

Originally the idea of an information counselor was presented by Hershfield (1972). This new professional breed was conceived as a solution to the problems users commonly face when visiting the library, due to their lack of understanding and skills in handling the information resources.

Regarding the new information handling roles, Dosa (1987) proposed that reference librarians should consider information counseling "as an approach to in-depth assistance to the user" (p. 9). Dosa described a series of scenarios and the particular situations in which informa-tion counselors could offer their services. The author pointed out a direct relationship between the acquisition of information and the need for assistance, thus an increase in the first factor will also create an increase in the second.

Along the same line, Spaulding (1988) recommended that special librarians' activities should be aimed at broadening the ways in which they serve clients beyond merely providing and storing information. According to the author it is the knowledge counselor who will assume the crucial role of information intermediary and analyst between the end user and the information resources. What end users want "...are not more documents or data, but the analysis of what is available, an analysis that enables them to decide if what they are getting contains anything germane to the solution of their present problem" (Spaulding, 1988, p. 86).

Curiously, despite multiple claims and demands for the development of the knowledge coun-seling concept as a new trend for information professionals, very few concrete steps have been taken in this direction. Undoubtedly, the most outstanding attempt on this matter was the educa-tional program in information counseling developed by Debons in 1975 at the School of Library and Information Science, University of Pittsburgh. As part of this program, the operational basis of information counseling was proposed. Despite its relative success, the program was closed in 1987.

This paper suggests that the lack of an appropriate methodology is what has mainly retarded the advent of knowledge counseling. An alternative methodology is discussed based on the Pitts-burgh experience plus additional testing conducted at the Graduate School of Library and Infor-mation Science of the University of Puerto Rico. Within this context are also discussed possible applications of information technology to the handling of client's needs profiles, and the corresponding patterns of ordering data as prescribed for each case.

2. KNOWLEDGE COUNSELING DEFINED

Knowledge counseling is defined as a professional service the aim of which is to aid indivi-duals in dealing with the information and knowledge resources that are essential to their life's tasks and objectives. Knowledge counseling involves three primary functions. First, the identi-fication of the client or user's information and knowledge need(s) the diagnostic function. Second, the identification, acquisition and organization of the information/knowledge products (i.e., books, reports, AV materials, consultants, etc.) demanded of the client's tasks the prescriptive function. Third, the determination as to whether or not the client's need was met satisfactorily, the efficiency and effectiveness of the counseling procedures and practices the evaluative function (Debons et al., 1993).

3. METHODOLOGY USED

Two basic tools provide the foundation on which the knowledge counseling process is based. Those are the Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives (Bloom et al., 1958) and concept mapping.

It is understood that the process for satisfying an information/knowledge need is related to the learning/teaching process. In teaching, we take into consideration the cognitive level at which the material is directed while establishing the categories appropriate for attaining the desired objectives. A similar process occurs in attempting to satisfy a need for information. The same information/knowledge need might have different cognitive levels (i.e., awareness, comprehen-sion, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation). Consequently the strategy developed for satisfying a particular information/knowledge need will be affected not only by the understanding about the need's nature but also its cognitive level.

Assuming this situation as valid, then the application of Bloom's taxonomy should provide the mechanism for the classification of the various cognitive levels of a particular information/ knowledge need.

An information/knowledge need is not always clearly expressed by clients. Frequently, information/knowledge needs are embedded in a complex structure in which ideas, feelings and intentions intervene which difficult a simple expression of the need. In facing that problem, the use of concept mapping is recommended for the identification and organization of information needs components.

As developed by Novak (1984), concept mapping facilitates the identification of concepts in a given subject area by ranking the concepts from general to specific. The resulting map presents a hierarchical arrangement of concepts showing the relationships between them.

The knowledge counseling practice is developed around four interviews with the client. The purposes of those interviews are:

• Identify the client's information/knowledge need(s),

• Determine the cognitive level of the need,

• Facilitate the organization of information resources,

• According to the cognitive level of the need, prescribe a specific use of the information resources, and

• Evaluate the validity of factors such as the diagnostic, the prescription and the client's satisfaction with the service as a whole.

In detail, the knowledge counseling practice comprises the following steps:

• Client answers a questionnaire provided by the counselor. Several questions aim for the description by the client of his/her information/knowledge need.

• A first interview is held during which the information provided by the questionnaire is broadened.

• Counselor develops an empathy level with the client.

• Client's information/knowledge need(s) are identified.

• A concept map of the client's need is drawn.

• Based on information gathered through the questionnaire, the interview and the concept map, the counselor should tentatively determine the nature and cognitive level of client's need in terms of Bloom's taxonomy.

• According to the concept map, the counselor develops an information search strategy.

• Information resources are evaluated according to client's preference for specific formats, as expressed in the questionnaire.

• Information gathered as result of the search, is analyzed by counselor.

• Overlapping or redundant information is discarded reducing information to the most relevant minimum.

• Information gathered according to the concept map and the cognitive level is organized.

• Present and explain to the client the diagnosis of the case, as well as the rationale behind the organization of the information resources and the prescribed way for using them.

• Counselor evaluates both diagnosis and prescription based on the following factors:

- satisfaction of client's need,

- identification of the cognitive level,

- relevance and effectiveness of the prescription,

- client's level of satisfaction with the knowledge counseling service as a whole.

4. IMPORTANT FACTORS TO BE DEVELOPED

In addition to the client's satisfaction with this service, the general acceptance of the know-ledge counseling concept and practice will be affected by the degree of effectiveness, particularly in regards to the diagnosis and prescription, that this service may reach. For this purpose, it is necessary to identify recurring patterns in relation to the cognitive levels of information/know-ledge needs. Such patterns need to be categorized and classified. It is also important to develop some kind of test that may help in the identification of cognitive levels. Those tests should be sufficiently accurate to differentiate one cognitive level from another. Consequently, the arrange-ment and prescription for using the information resources should be also categorized according to cognitive levels.

5. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY APPLIED

Various information technologies might be used in order to develop those factors described above. For instance, an appropriate DBMS software could be used to register all the information gathered through the knowledge counseling sessions with clients. Factors such as the diagnosis of cognitive levels, the organization of information resources in response to a specific cognitive level, the level of effectiveness reached by the service in every case, and the client's level of satisfaction with the service could be indexed. In order to identify recurring patterns, information from dif-ferent cases could be compared. Eventually isolated patterns could be grouped and categorized.

It is expected that specific rules for the diagnosis and prescription of information needs could be derived from the knowledge counseling process; therefore the potential development of expert systems is a definite possibility.

Although rather obvious, another use of information technologies that should be mentioned is the access to the many available on-line and CD-ROM databases for accessing information to be either presented to the client or merely offered to him as an alternative means to fill his specific information need. As most clients have an urgency for receiving a response to their queries, the knowledge counselor must be familiar with commercial databases in their various formats and have access to them as needed.

6. FINAL OBSERVATIONS

Knowledge counseling represents a fertile area for research and development. This service should not only be the opportunity to provide a solution to the extensive claims from managers and general public demanding the assistance of an intermediary who can filter, repackage and organize information resources in a fashionable way suitable to client's needs but also a chance for testing some principles and perhaps develop some theories.

Once validated, the systematization of the knowledge counseling service, may become a model for other library services, particularly the reference service.

At this point, it is necessary that our professional community adopt a truly scientific attitude in order to guarantee the adequate consideration and testing of the knowledge counseling concept and practice before ignoring it. Obviously, the adoption of the knowledge counseling concept has a long ways to go; however, its future is still a very promising one, once it is properly validated as a systematic and efficient alternative to more traditional information services.

The Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Puerto Rico, committed to the knowledge counseling concept, is planning to offer an advanced certificate in knowledge counseling. This experimental program and a rigorous assessment of the same will provide the opportunity for the validation of this concept.
 
 

REFERENCES

Bloom, Benjamin S. et al. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educa-tional Goals. Handbook I: The Cognitive Domain. New York: David McKay, 1958.

Debons, Anthony. "Information services in selected U.S. corporations." Unpublished manuscript, University of Pittsburgh, School of Library and Information Science, 1991.

Debons, Anthony, Jorge Encarnacion, Consuelo Figueras, Susan J. Freiband, Mariano A. Maura, Edwin Reyes & Annie F. Thompson, "Knowledge counseling, the concept, the process and its application," To be published in Infomediary, 1993.

Dosa, Marta L. & Darla Holt, "Information counseling and policies," The Reference Librarian, 17: 7-21 (Spring 1987).

Hershfield, A. "Information counselors: A new profession?" in Humanization of Knowledge in the Social Sciences, a Symposium, edited by Pauline Atherton. New York: Syracuse University Press, 1972. pp.29-34.

Horton, Jr., Forest Woody, "The emerging information counselor: A new career path in need of a champion," ASIS Bulletin, 8 (5): 16-19 (June 1982).

Novak, Joseph D. & D. Bob Gowin. Learning How to Learn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984.

Spaulding, Frank H., "Special librarian to knowledge counselor in the year 2006," Special Libraries, 79 (2): 83-91 (Spring 1988).