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Introduction. Universities rely increasingly on contract academic staff for teaching and research activities; yet, working in precarious conditions, these staff face significant challenges in finding relevant workplace information, in engaging with colleagues, and in building their careers. This study examines contract academic staff perceptions of precarity and workplace marginalisation, focusing on the implications of situational and environmental influences on their information practices. Method. In-depth, semi-structured interviews with 34 contract academic staff, working in various disciplines across Canadian universities, were conducted to examine their information practices. Analysis. Interview data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, drawing on everyday life information seeking and information marginalisation theories. Results. Results of the study show that 1) contract academic staff conduct their work within isolated information environments; 2) this isolation leads these staff to develop highly individualised information practices; and 3) the information activities of contract academic staff are often immobilised, due to the precarious contexts that shape their work and personal lives. Conclusion. Precarious employment and information marginalisation are deeply entwined for contract academic staff. This results in frustration, disappointment, and uncertainty with their work and personal circumstances. Institutional challenges can seem intractable, particularly where task-related information provision (when available) cannot address systemic concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study that investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the experiences of early-career academics' information behavior, in relation to information acquisition and sharing, leading to information overload and avoidance. It provides practical suggestions to universities to support early-career academics during this time, including limiting mass emails and tailoring information to specific academic communities.

Introduction. This paper presents a qualitative exploration of university students' experience of searching an online public access catalogue. The study investigated how students conceptualise their searching process, as well as how students understand themselves as seekers of information. Method. Following a search task, thirty-eight university students were interviewed using a qualitative, semi-structured interview design. The interviews explored students' experience of searching, conceptualised aspects of their searches, their information seeking strategies, confidence in searching, and any difficulties encountered. Analysis. The interviews were analysed using a grounded theory approach. The analysis involved iterative review and constant comparison of the transcripts, including line-byline open coding followed by a second round of focused coding. Results. The results of the project present an emergent theory that explores a set of conceptual patterns in students' searching mental model of online systems, a typology of searchers' perceptions of their information retrieval skills (i.e., their searcher self-concept), and categorisation of types of searchers. Conclusion. With increased knowledge of how students conceptualise their search process and view themselves as seekers of information, educators and information professionals can work more effectively with students to search for the literature of their disciplines. Similarly, system designers can devise interfaces that suit students' needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]