Cultural information needs of long-settled immigrants, their descendants and family members: use of collective and personal information sources about the home country

This paper presents findings from a study that explored why and how long-settled immigrants, their descendants and family members seek and use information about their country of origin and how they manage personal information about their cultural heritage legacy.

15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants from the Croatian community in New Zealand.

The main findings reveal two categories of information needs related to a home country: internally motivated and externally motivated. Information is accessed through a network of family and friends, cultural societies and embassies. These information sources are perceived as reliable and trustworthy, and able to offer an interpretation of information along with access to information. The findings highlight the value of personal collections as information sources and the impact of personal information management practices on preserving and sharing information about one's cultural heritage.

This article contributes to the discussion about information needs and practices of immigrant communities by offering arguments that focus on (1) long-settled immigrants, their descendants and family members, and (2) seeking information about home country culture and heritage, and (3) the role of personal collections and personal information management in maintaining personal cultural heritage. The results of this study may be of use to libraries, archives and museums in designing and offering their services to expatriates of their country and immigrants in their country, and to the wider information management sector developing services in personal information management.