Purpose

This paper reports findings from a research project about human information behaviour in the context of serious leisure. Various forms of information activities in this context have been identified and categorised to depict common patterns of information seeking, sharing, using and producing.

Design/methodology/approach

The project adopted a qualitative approach in an interpretive paradigm using a thematic analysis method. Data-collection technique was semi-structured interview and 20 volunteers were recruited via a maximum variation sampling strategy. The collected data was transcribed and thematically analysed to identify the main concepts and categories.

Findings

The participants have been experiencing six qualities of serious leisure during their long-term engagement with their hobbies or voluntary jobs and their experiences can be fully mapped onto the serious leisure perspective. The findings also confirmed serious leisure is a unique context in terms of the diversity of information activities embedded into a wide range of individual and collective actions in this context. Information seeking and sharing in serious leisure is not only a source of personal satisfaction for the participants, it also can provide them with a sense of purpose in a meaningful journey towards self-actualization and social inclusion.

Research limitations/implications

The generalisability of the findings needs to be examined in wider populations. Nonetheless, the existing findings can be useful for follow-up research in the area.

Practical implications

This study will be useful in both policy and practice levels. In the policy level, it will be beneficial for cultural policy makers to gain a better understanding about the nature of leisure activities. In the practice level, it will be helpful for serious leisure participants to understand the value of information seeking and sharing in their leisure endeavours. Also, information professionals can use it to enhance the quality of their services for the serious leisure participants who are usually among devoted patrons of libraries, museums, archives and galleries.

Social implications

Learning about serious leisure can provide new insights on people preferences in terms of choosing different entertaining and recreational pursuits – such as indoor and outdoor hobbies – in their free time.

Originality/value

The informational aspects of serious leisure is an emerging and evolving ground of research. This paper provides empirical evidence on this topic from a specific context in the regional areas in Australia.

中文翻译：

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严肃休闲中的信息活动是自我实现和社会参与的催化剂

目的

本文报告了一个关于严肃休闲背景下人类信息行为的研究项目的发现。在此背景下，各种形式的信息活动已被识别和分类，以描述信息寻求、共享、使用和生产的常见模式。

设计/方法/方法

该项目采用了使用主题分析方法的解释范式中的定性方法。数据收集技术是半结构化访谈，通过最大变异抽样策略招募了 20 名志愿者。收集的数据经过转录和专题分析，以确定主要概念和类别。

发现

参与者在长期从事业余爱好或志愿工作的过程中，经历了六种严肃休闲的品质，他们的经历可以完全映射到严肃休闲的角度。研究结果还证实，就信息活动的多样性而言，严肃的休闲是一种独特的背景，它嵌入在这种背景下的广泛的个人和集体行动中。在严肃的休闲中寻求和分享信息不仅是参与者个人满足感的来源，还可以为他们提供一种目标感，让他们在有意义的自我实现和社会包容之旅中找到目标。

研究限制/影响

研究结果的普遍性需要在更广泛的人群中进行检查。尽管如此，现有的研究结果可用于该领域的后续研究。

实际影响

这项研究在政策和实践层面都有用。在政策层面，有利于文化政策制定者更好地了解休闲活动的性质。在实践层面，这将有助于严肃的休闲参与者了解信息寻求和共享在他们的休闲活动中的价值。此外，信息专业人员可以使用它来提高对严肃休闲参与者的服务质量，这些参与者通常是图书馆、博物馆、档案馆和画廊的忠实顾客。

社会影响

了解严肃的休闲可以为人们在空闲时间选择不同的娱乐和休闲活动（例如室内和室外爱好）方面的偏好提供新的见解。

原创性/价值

严肃休闲的信息方面是一个新兴和不断发展的研究领域。本文从澳大利亚偏远地区的特定背景中提供了有关该主题的经验证据。