The Information Culture Framework as a Component of the Digital Curator’s Toolkit Fiorella Foscarini Faculty of Information University of Toronto Canada Gillian Oliver School of Information Management Victoria University of Wellington New Zealand DigCurV Conference, Florence, 6-7 May 2013

Presentation Overview Understanding the context of digital information creation and use Concepts of organizational culture and information culture Information Culture Framework (ICF) Teaching implications

Understanding Context Limitations of existing models, methods and strategies  OAIS; DCMI; DIRKS; IP COP; MoReq2010; etc. Notion of ‘human activity system’  “People, processes and [structures] are inextricably linked…  People issues are predominant, fundamental and challenging as they concern culture, philosophical attitudes, awareness of [information management] issues, preferences, knowledge and skills…” (McLeod et al., AC+erm Project. Final Report, 2010, p. 17)

Organizational Culture “A pattern of shared basic assumptions invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that have worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore to be taught to new members...” (Schein, 1985)

Information Culture Information culture vs. Culture of information “Information cultures… [are] the manifestations of organizational culture that portray values and attitudes towards information in organizations” (Oliver, 2011)

A Layered View of Culture LevelDefinition Supranational Regional Ethnic Religious Linguistic Any cultural differences that cross national boundaries NationalCollective properties ascribed to citizens of countries ProfessionalSets of values and practices acquired through training and formal education OrganizationalSocial and normative glue that holds organizations together GroupCultural differences contained within a single group, workgroup, or other collectivities at a level less than that of the organization Karahanna et al. (2005) IGI Global © - Reproduced with permission

Information Culture Framework III IT governance Trust II Information-related competencies Awareness of environmental requirements I Values accorded to information Information preferences Language considerations Regional technological infrastructure

Information Culture Framework III IT governance Trust II Information-related competencies Awareness of environmental requirements I Values accorded to information Information preferences Language considerations Regional technological infrastructure

Information Culture Framework III IT governance Trust II Information-related competencies Awareness of environmental requirements I Values accorded to information Information preferences Language considerations Regional technological infrastructure

Information Culture Framework III IT governance Trust II Information-related competencies Awareness of environmental requirements I Values accorded to information Information preferences Language considerations Regional technological infrastructure

Teaching Implications ICF purpose: ◦ To raise future digital curators’ awareness of the social, cultural, ethical, economic, political, and technological influences that constrain and enable creators, users, and preservers of digital objects To be applied in conjunction with other tools Ethnographic methodology

Thanks!