curl.P65 Subramanyam Revisited 455 Subramanyam Revisited: Creating a New Model for Information Literacy Instruction Sheila R. Curl Krishna Subramanyam arranged scientific and technical literature in a circular model in the 1970s. As a pedagogical construct, the circle con­ ceptualizes the processes of producing and consuming information. Al­ though more than twenty years old, the model is still valid. Can it be adapted to help undergraduate students of today’s information literacy curriculum understand the structure of the information they need to be able to use to succeed as students and as professionals? This paper presents the model, the revision, and its application to the information literacy curriculum for engineering and technology students. n the first chapter of his 1981 book, Scientific & Technical In­ formation Sour ces, Krishna Subramanyam presented a de­ ceptively simple model of the “evolution of scientific information.”1 In this model, information produced as part of the re­ search and development process devel­ ops clockwise around the circle. Indi­ viduals move counterclockwise around the same circle to consume information products or to conduct research. This fea­ ture makes it ideal to use in designing information literacy instr uction. Subramanyam’s model has been used by science and engineering librarians to provide a framework for designing bib­ liographic instr uction for years. Al­ though the book and the encyclopedia articles it sprang from have been widely cited, no one has revisited the model or described its use or application to bib­ liographic instruction. This paper describes the original model and the revision used as a model for undergraduate instruction for engi­ neering technology students. It addresses the importance of fitting the instruction to the audience and the adaptability of the model itself. There are other models of the literature of science and technology (for example, those presented by R. T. Bottle, Brian Vickery, and William D. Garvey), but these linear models are not as useful as Subramanyam’s circular model.2–4 Why look at models? Many studies re­ port that engineers spend a considerable amount of time retrieving, using, and communicating information. In 1991, Jean Michel made the following generaliza­ tion: documentalists and other informa­ tion specialists do not understand the real information needs of engi- Sheila R. Curl is the Assistant Professor of Library Science and Head of the Siegesmund Engineering Library at Purdue University; e-mail: curl@purdue.edu. 455 mailto:curl@purdue.edu 456 College & Research Libraries September 2001 neers, and remain ignorant of their information acquisition process.5 In a survey, Gloria J. Leckie asked sci­ ence and engineering faculty to evaluate the usefulness of library instruction. Only 33 percent of the respondents chose to answer this section of the survey; of those, 77 percent replied that the library instruc­ tion was useful and 21 percent were un­ sure.6 Research by Thomas E. Pinelli, R. O. Barclay, and J. M. Kennedy indicated that entry-level engineers lack the infor­ mation use skills needed for a successful engineering career.7 Because these entry- level engineers are former undergradu­ ate students, there is clearly need for im­ provement in library information literacy efforts. The Scientific Literature Model The structure of scientific literature can best be understood by tracing the progression of scientific infor­ mation from … the idea stage until the new information generated is disseminated through various chan­ nels and eventually becomes an in­ tegral part of prior scientific knowl­ edge.8 Subramanyam’s intended audience for his book was technical librarians and stu­ dents of technical information. He worked to integrate the inventory and expository approaches to guides to the literature. Comprehensive inventory-type guides to the literature are designed as working tools for the reference librarian and the bibliographer. Examples of the inventory type of literature guide are A. J. Walford and Eugene P. Sheehy.9,10 Ex­ pository guides to the literature empha­ size the exposition of the various forms of the literature and the search procedures (for example, Susan Ardis and Charles R. Lord).11,12 Subramanyam suggested that the huge and growing amount of scien­ tific and technical information could best be grasped by understanding the process of scientific and technical communication as well as the relationship between infor­ mation needs and information sources. When it appeared, Subramanyam’s book received mixed reviews. Eric Marshall said the diagrams “oversimplify the practical situation” and illustrate the “ideal search process.”13 H. H. Wellisch in Library Quarterly castigated Subramanyam, saying the search process diagram was “quite unrealistic and misleading.” He explained that in reference questions, one Librarians unfamiliar with a particu­ lar subject area will often consult a tertiary resource in order to direct patrons or take the next step them­ selves. does not normally start with tertiary re­ sources but, rather, with secondary sources with which the reference person is well acquainted.14 As with any model, this model attempts to present one interpreta­ tion of a complex process for the edifica­ tion of individuals not familiar with the process (library school students), in this case the literature of science and technol­ ogy, one of the most bibliographically com­ plex of all scholarly literatures. That a model must of necessity tend to oversim­ plify or idealize a process does not mean the creator of the model or the model it­ self is wrong. Librarians unfamiliar with a particu­ lar subject area often consult a tertiary re­ source in order to direct patrons or take the next step themselves. Individuals with different skill levels and needs should be directed and/or instructed to use the tool that fits their need—primary, secondary, or tertiary. User instruction efforts often approach research methodology as if it had a be­ ginning, middle, and end. Even Subramanyam articulated this attitude: “The literature search begins with tertiary resources and ends up with enough pri­ mary documents relevant to the ques­ tion.”15 In fact, it is the question that be­ gins the circle. Research becomes a fluid, iterative process that constantly circles back on itself. http:acquainted.14 Subramanyam Revisited 457 In its simplest form, the search process resembles Subramanyam’s diagram in figure 1. This model follows the process through tertiary, secondary, and primary sources but lacks the indicator of infor­ mation flow from the tertiary source back to the user. This is the indicator that re­ produces the activities that occur every day in offices, labs, and libraries around the world. Scientific and technical re­ searchers rely heavily on tertiary infor­ mation in the form of handbooks, tables, directories, and reviews. In revising Subramanyam’s model, a structure appropriate for use in design­ ing undergraduate instruction emerged. The circular model was attractive because of the way it comes around on itself again and again. This model was turned one segment to the right, and the twelve en­ tries became eight. This adaptation is based on analyzing Subramanyam’s model and revising it based on the current environment and the needs of a different audience (under­ graduate engineering students). Subramanyam’s model, a series of twelve circles arranged in a circle, begins with the idea-generation stage of the re­ search process and progresses to what he calls the information utilization stage (fig­ ure 2). Along the way, Subramanyam identifies the primary (nonformal com­ munication, preliminary communication, invention protection, conference, research report, journal article), secondary (surrogation), and tertiary (repackaging, compaction, secondary surrogation) sources of information. Attached to each circle in the model are the bibliographic packages produced as part of that activ­ ity. The time frame, in years, appears in the center of the circle between the re­ search and the bibliographic products it creates. Each step in a clockwise direction around the circle takes us further in time from the original research. Subramanyam mentions that the infor­ mation creation process begins with an idea but omits the idea stage from the model. He mentions the information need in discussing the use of the scientific lit­ erature but does not return to it. His model is drawn as a circle but is not circular. Rather, it is more U-shaped. Information utilization does not lead to research and development, but an information need does. The element needed to transform the U-shape into a circle is the identification of an information need. Subramanyam talks about information as the product of the research effort, but the result of satis­ fying an information need can be new in­ formation, a new product or service, a new process, or an improvement of an existing process. “Engineers consume information, transform it, and produce a product that is information bearing; however, the infor­ mation is no longer in verbal form.”16 This information may be verbal, visual, or tacit. FIGURE 1 The Search Process The search process and the direction of information flow (from Encyclopedia of Library and lnformation Science, vol. 26) 458 College & Research Libraries September 2001 FIGURE 2 Subramanyam's Model The evolution of scientific information. (from Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, vol. 26) To access information on these physical products, one must go beyond traditional models of library research—forming the thesis statement and then finding back­ ground information and books, journal articles, and newspaper articles to support the thesis. It is important to remember that the overwhelming majority of engineering and technology undergraduate students go into industry upon graduation, not into graduate programs. Thus, instruction must be tailored to help them be success­ ful in their undergraduate careers and pro­ fessional lives. Description of Subramanyam’s Model The twelve o’clock position in Subramanyam’s circle represents research and development. The products of this ac­ tivity include laboratory notebooks and diaries, sources rarely seen outside the laboratory unless they are supporting liti­ gation, but they form the basis of future publications. At one o’clock is nonformal commu­ nication. This includes correspondence between the researcher and colleagues inside and outside his research group and memoranda sent within the larger orga­ nization. Outsiders will not have access to this information unless it is shared by one of the correspondents (sender or re­ ceiver). Preliminary communication of the re­ sults is at two o’clock. This moves the in­ formation from the gray literature to the true primary literature of the discipline. Here, the author receives feedback from selected colleagues or mentors; the infor­ mation can be shared in a letters journal or as a short communication in a refereed journal. Results can be picked up by an abstracting and indexing service for the first time. Researchers outside the author’s Subramanyam Revisited 459 invisible college find out about it through current awareness services or SDI. The researcher may want to seek in­ vention protection, three o’clock on the circle. Many countries deny patent pro­ tection if the information was published or presented anywhere before the patent application was filed. In the United States, inventors have a year to file after publi­ cation or presentation. The patent or pub­ lished patent application becomes part of the primary literature when the patent- granting institution publishes it. Approxi­ mately 70 to 80 percent of the informa­ tion published in patents does not appear anywhere else in the technical literature.17 At four o’clock is conference literature. In engineering, this format runs a close second to the periodical literature in im­ portance. Many professional societies sponsor annual meetings to present origi­ nal research. Conference papers appear in a variety of formats, most commonly as preprints, proceedings, and reprints. The major abstracting and indexing ser­ vices cover many conferences. Five o’clock is the research report, which includes dissertations, theses, and technical reports written to satisfy a gov­ ernment or corporate funding agency. Engineers in industry, with its competi­ tive pressures, are more likely to publish their findings only within the corpora­ tion.18 Many corporations develop exten­ sive archives of internal technical reports, which should not be ignored by the in­ sider. Librarians often focus on refereed jour­ nals, but professional, technical, and trade journals are used as well. These are at the six o’clock position. Subramanyam also includes computer programs, trade cata­ logs, and standards and specifications in the primary literature of science and tech­ nology. The seven o’clock position introduces the secondary sources and is called surrogation. This includes abstracting and indexing services, bibliographic da­ tabases, catalogs, and bibliographies. Many databases now contain or link to the full text of the article identified in the search and from there to articles refer­ enced in the bibliography. This blending of secondary and primary resources streamlines the search but can confuse the unsophisticated researcher. At eight o’clock, repackaging of infor­ mation into handbooks, tables, and direc­ tories begins. These tools provide rapid access to specific pieces of information and end up on bookshelves and desktops in the offices and labs of individuals throughout an organization. Nine o’clock is compaction. The infor­ mation has been integrated with existing knowledge and published as mono­ graphs, treatises, textbooks, and encyclo­ pedias. Secondary surrogation is located at the ten o’clock position. These sources are necessary because of the proliferation of the primary and secondary literature of the sciences. This circle includes lists of indexing and abstracting services, guides to the literature, and bibliographies of bibliographies. Librarians and others un­ familiar with a particular segment of knowledge or who are new to a field use these sources most often. Subramanyam saved information uti­ lization for the eleven o’clock position. It is here that the revision of the circle be­ gins. Revising the Model The goal of information literacy instruc­ tion for engineering students, the devel­ opment of information-savvy profession­ als rather than “little librarians,” requires a model that works for the education of the undergraduate engineering student. Utilizing this model, originally developed for the education of information profes­ sionals, a structure more appropriate for use in designing undergraduate instruc­ tion emerged. The revised model begins at twelve o’clock with information uses and needs. These are followed by research and de­ velopment, informal communication, in­ tellectual property protection, formal communication, abstracting and indexing services, background information (hand­ http:literature.17 460 College & Research Libraries September 2001 FIGURE 3 Information Life Cycle books and encyclopedias), and guides to the literature. At that point the circle be­ comes complete, leading back to informa­ tion uses and needs. Information Literacy Model The processes of information production and consumption always begin with an information need. As figure 3 shows, this is the twelve o’clock position on the in­ formation literacy model. Someone wants to build a better mousetrap, or market research shows that the population is ripe for a new widget. A team begins work­ ing on it. At this point, the designers may be working in both directions around the circle at once. Moving counterclockwise, they examine what has been done before, especially in their own firm or industry. Senior researchers and mentors may be tapped for their knowledge and insight. At the same time the team members be­ gin to work on their own ideas, they are applying the tacit knowledge they have gained in their education and professional experience. During this process, they are keeping records of their progress. They may keep lab notebooks or diaries con­ taining a record of mistakes and suc­ cesses, blind alleys they have followed, and productive efforts. Only individuals attached to the work itself usually see these documents. Moving into informal communication there is now a product. Dissemination efforts may include department seminars, Subramanyam Revisited 461 reports to the larger organization, and in certain environments reports to col­ leagues outside the parent organization, but distribution is still fairly narrow. Af­ ter developers have begun to send reports and memoranda to a department head, documents are likely to become part of the corporate archive or library. Intellectual property protection in­ cludes patents (processes, products, com­ positions of matter and improvements thereof), trademarks (products or ser­ vices), trade secrets, and/or copyrights (creative efforts). Some activities skip this step entirely; in other cases, this circle forms its own complete process. Research in this literature may occur at several points in the design process. Patent re­ search is conducted to investigate patent­ ability, avoid infringement, invalidate another ’s patent, and/or determine the state of the art. Formal communication includes con­ ference papers, research and technical reports, journal articles and their pre- prints and reprints, and books. Some of these information products go through the peer review process. Examples of this literature may include preliminary re­ ports of research in Science or a letters journal, product announcements in trade journals, reports written to satisfy fund­ ing agencies, review articles in scholarly journals, and books. Some disciplines emphasize one type of formal communi­ cation over others; others use the entire range. Abstracting and indexing services cover a range of bibliographic tools from Wilson titles in print and online to review journals, catalogs, citation indexes and indexes to product catalogs, industry standards, and data sets. Abstracting and indexing services range from those aimed at a primary school audience to narrowly focused titles serving researchers in fluid dynamics. Resources on the Internet fit in here as well, such as amazon.com, fatbrain.com, and freetradezone.com. New technologies such as bots and spi­ ders and push-and-pull technology are changing the way we look for informa­ tion, but these technologies are beyond the scope of this article. Background information includes the remaining secondary and tertiary tools of a discipline: handbooks, directories, textbooks, and encyclopedias. Hybrid (Internet) portals that provide access to a number of types of information on a given area belong here as well. ComputerSelectWeb is a good example of this type of resource; it contains full text Databases and publishers’ Web sites can automate the dissemination of new research through updates to saved searches or automated table of contents services. or abstracts of articles appearing in ma­ jor computer industry journals and newspapers; descriptions and specifica­ tions of hardware and software products; and profiles of computer companies. Guides to the literature cover an entire subject area or are specific to an indi­ vidual course and a particular collection. They can be arranged by subdiscipline or by type of resource. Moreover, they can be excellent resources in adapting the model discussed here for use in other subject areas. This model describes the scientific and technical literature, but with some modi­ fication it can be useful in understanding most disciplines. Not every discipline re­ quires the same circles, nor is the con­ sumer of information products forced to follow each step in the journey to the in­ formation needed. After students become familiar with the models for their disci­ pline, they can match their information need to the appropriate points on the circle. Focus on the User Users need models of real-world informa­ tion so that they see the utility of the in­ formation resources in their course work and their careers. For instance, assign­ ments given to students by their engineer­ ing and technology professors do not fit the model of doing “library” research http:freetradezone.com http:fatbrain.com http:amazon.com 462 College & Research Libraries September 2001 taught in college composition or speech classes. The questions students need to be able to answer demonstrate the impor­ tance of handbooks, standards and speci­ fications, and manufacture’s literature. Instead, students are being taught a boilerplate method of library research that will not meet needs beyond those of ini­ tial classes. Melvin Voight identified and described three ways that scientists and engineers approach information: the ev­ eryday approach, the current approach, and the exhaustive approach.19 He tied particular types of information resources to each approach. The Everyday Approach The everyday approach is when the indi­ vidual needs a specific piece of informa­ tion essential to his or her product, pro­ cess, or project or to an understanding of that work. These are the fact questions (melting point, boiling point, modulus of elasticity, pinout, product, manufacturer) that library staff deal with in reference transactions in scientific and technical li­ braries when the researcher does not have the information in his or her office or lab. In effect, library staff working with the everyday approach engage in biblio­ graphic instruction one person at a time. By embracing the educational mission of the college or university library, they tie the question with the appropriate fact tool rather than just answer the question. This interaction would improve the opportu­ nity for success the next time that user encounters a similar information need. The Current Approach In the current approach, the individual attempts to keep abreast of developments in her or his field. Here, the researcher browses the research and professional journals in the field, talking to colleagues or attending seminars. Perhaps the re­ searcher arranges for a table of contents service with a secretary, the library, or Current Contents. Databases and publish­ ers’ Web sites can automate the dissemi­ nation of new research through updates to saved searches or automated table of contents services. The current approach, relying heavily on the invisible college and regular conference attendance, be­ comes vital to the research scientist and professional in almost every field. Stu­ dents in the professions are encouraged to join professional societies and receive their publications to remain current, of­ ten through deeply discounted member­ ship rates. The Exhaustive Approach The exhaustive approach is the focus of many of our bibliographic instruction ef­ forts. Although this approach accounts for only a small percentage of the informa­ tion needs of this group, it is where li­ brarians concentrate their efforts.20 This involves finding and checking through all relevant information on a given subject. This approach is used when a researcher starts work on a new investigation or is ready to report the results of that investi­ gation in a paper. However, according to Voight, this approach is more important in the pure sciences than in the applied areas and is least important in engineer­ ing. In an exhaustive search, every possible resource is exploited: periodicals, hand­ books, reviews, treatises, bibliographic databases, and colleagues. Clearly, the user instruction efforts library staff make should keep in mind the discipline being served and the approach that best suits the need. Information Literacy Discussions Over the years, numerous attempts have been made to articulate and standardize the information skills needed by students. Hannelore B. Rader has been reviewing the user instruction literature for twenty- five years: Throughout the 25 year period, aca­ demic librarians developed the con­ cept of user instruction from library orientation to library instruction to course-integrated user instruction to information skills instruction.21 http:instruction.21 http:efforts.20 http:approach.19 Subramanyam Revisited 463 Many colleges and universities have an information literacy curriculum that guides instruction interactions. During the 1990s, one of the most written- and talked-about topics of discussion was in­ formation literacy. A quick search of Li­ brary Literature yielded 199 articles writ­ ten between 1995 and the present. With publication of the ACRL Information Lit­ eracy Competency Standards in 2000, there will no doubt be many more.22 Poping Lin’s article on information competencies for engineers takes its im­ petus from the Secretary [of Labor]’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills Workplace Know-How and re­ search done in information-related behav­ iors of engineers at MIT.23 The Depart­ ment of Labor study includes as a com­ petency “acquires and uses information.” Lin proposed that instruction go beyond library research methods that serve the lifelong learner and move into informa­ tion competency to produce profession­ als who can maintain an edge in today’s highly competitive world. She encour­ aged librarians to move beyond the lit­ erature channel and into the other eight information channels used by this group: vendors, customers, external sources, technical staff, company research, group discussion, experimentation, and other corporate divisions. With its focus on nonformal commu­ nication, technical reports, and vendor literature, the information literacy model proposed here can give engineering edu­ cators a structure and a process for infor­ mation competency instruction that will maximize the student’s chance of success when she or he goes into industry. The Model in the Twenty-first Century Some might think that the recent devel­ opments in information technology would make this model obsolete. Subramanyam was resilient enough; he was able to foresee full-text resources and the interactive nature of information in the twenty-first century. In the final chap­ ter, he looked to the future and remarked on the impact the computer had already had on information delivery. He cited Martha Williams’ four phases in the his­ tory and development of computerized databases: In phase 4 … electronic online access will be provided to databases containing texts of primary journals and abstracting and indexing services.24 The information packages described in Subramanyam’s model have not changed; only the mode and pace of delivery has changed. Just as the pace of change has accelerated, the pace of the dissemination has accelerated. Preprints of conference papers and journal articles become avail­ able earlier in the process than ever be­ fore. Online preprint archives illustrate the tension present in scholarly commu­ nication today. In some disciplines, these online archives are recognized and ac­ cepted channels for scholarly publication; in others, they are not. Consequently, this will need to be taken into account by the librarian who wants to adapt the model for use in another subject. Conclusion As in other bibliographies, the resources listed in Scientific and Technical Information Sources became dated quickly. However, the circular model Subramanyam pre­ sented in the first chapter is still vibrant and useful. It should remain a model studied by students of the scientific and technical literature because of the way it brings order and meaning to a very com­ plex literature. Anyone with an interest in this literature recognizes the signifi­ cance of the circular model almost imme­ diately. It embeds the scientific and tech­ nical literature firmly in the community that produces it and describes the natu­ ral cycle of creating and consuming in­ formation. Notes 1. Krishna Subramanyam, Scientific and Technical Information Resources (New York: Marcel Dekker, 1981). http:services.24 464 College & Research Libraries September 2001 2. R. T, Bottle, “Scientists, Information Transfer and Literature Characteristics,” Journal of Documentation 29, no. 3 (Sept. 1973): 281–94. 3. Brian Vickery, “A Century of Scientific and Technical Information,” Journal of Documenta­ tion 55, no. 5 (Dec. 1999): 476–527. 4. William D. Garvey and Belver C. Griffith, “Communication and Information Processing within Scientific Disciplines: Empirical Findings for Psychology,” Information Storage and Re­ trieval 8, no. 3 (June 1972): 123–36. 5. Jean Michel, “The Strategic Management of Information: An Essential Element in the Train­ ing of Engineers,” IATUL Quarterly 5 (Mar. 1991): 25. 6. Gloria J. Leckie and Anne Fullerton, “Information Literacy in Science and Engineering Undergraduate Education: Faculty Attitudes and Pedagogical Practices,” College & Research Li­ braries 60 (Jan. 1999): 9–29. 7. T. E. Pinelli, R. O. Barclay, and J. M. Kennedy, “Workplace Communications Skills and the Value of Communications and Information Use Skills Instruction: Engineering Student’s Per­ spective,” in IEEE International Professional Communication Conference, Savannah, September 27–29, 1995 (New York: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 1995), 161. 8. Subramanyam, Scientific and Technical Information Resources, 4. 9. Walford’s Guide to Reference Material (London: Library Association Pub., 1996). 10. Eugene P. Sheehy, Guide to Reference Books (Chicago: ALA, 1976). 11. Susan Ardis, A Guide to the Literature of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (Littleton, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1987). 12. Charles R. Lord, Guide to Information Sources in Engineering (Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 2000). 13. Eric Marshall, “Review of Scientific and Technical Information Resources by K. Subramanyam, Canadian Library Journal 39, no. 1 (Feb. 1982): 48. 14. H. H. Wellisch, Review of Scientific and Technical Information Resources by K. Subramanyam, Library Quarterly 52, no. 2 (Apr. 1982): 190–92. 15. Subramanyam, Scientific and Technical Information Resources, 17. 16. Thomas E. Pinelli et al., “The Information-seeking Behavior of Engineers,” in Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, Vol. 52 (New York: Marcel Dekker, 1993), 180. 17. U. S. Patient and Trademark Office, “The Patient Files as a Technological Resource,” in the 8th Report of the Office of Technology Assessment Forecast, Dec. 1977 (PB2763753): 23–43. 18. Hevdah Shuchman, Information Transfer in Engineering (Glastonbury, Conn.: Futures Group, 1981), 31. 19. Melvin Voight, “Scientists’ Approaches to Information,” ACRL Monograph Number 24 (Chi­ cago: ALA, 1961). 20. Ibid., 29 21. Hannelore B. Rader, “A Silver Anniversary: 25 Years of Reviewing the Literature Related to User Instruction,” RSR 28, no. 3 (2000): 290–96. 22. Association of College and Research Libraries, “Information Literacy Competency Stan­ dards for Higher Education.” Available online from http://www.ala.org/acrl/ilcomstan.html. 23. Poping Lin, “Core Information Competencies Redefined: A Study of the Information Edu­ cation of Engineers,” Leading Ideas 11 (Dec. 1999). Available online from http://www.arl.org/ diversity/leading/issue11/popinglin.html. 24. Subramanyam, Scientific and Technical Information Resources, 343. http:http://www.arl.org http://www.ala.org/acrl/ilcomstan.html