Introduction

Information seekers can now find the answers to their questions in many more ways than before. One of the most prevalent ways is through the use of mobile devices. According to the Pew Research Internet Project (2014), 90% of Americans have a cellphone and 58% of Americans have a smartphone. Though these figures represent only the USA, we see a similar rate of adoption amongst other nations. For many nations, the accessibility of mobile devices has caused their adoption to outpace that of traditional computers.

With more and more people using their mobile devices for different activities, librarians and information professionals must begin to look at how people are using their devices for information-seeking. With a new communication medium come different ways with which information needs can be fulfilled. In this chapter, we look at the various ways in which people use their devices to answer their questions. We will begin with a description of the ‘geography of information’, a framework that looks at the relationship between space and information. Within this framework, we will review the history of location services as well as location-aware applications. We end the chapter with a call to libraries to take a more active part in this conversation.

The geography of information

Many people do not consider the way that their physical environment affects their information-seeking behaviour. At the most basic level, our physical location tends to dictate the types of searches we are conducting. For example, when we are in a classroom, we search for information related to the subject we are learning about or the activity that we are involved in. However, when we are at a bar, we might look for information related to trivia, news events, gossip, etc. From a more general perspective, therefore, our information needs are context dependent.

In the context of this chapter, the ‘geography of information’ refers to the conversation between geography and knowledge. Our geography affects our information needs and our knowledge of the surrounding landscape, while our information needs and knowledge of the surrounding landscape affects our view of the geography. Through this conversation, we can develop a better understanding of our information needs.