The Information Culture
Framework as a Component
of the Digital Curator’s Toolkit
Fiorella Foscarini
Gillian Oliver
Faculty of Information
University of Toronto
Canada
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)
ASSUMPTIONS
ESPOUSED VALUES
ARTEFACTS & BEHAVIOURS
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
Level
Definition
Supranational
• Regional
• Ethnic
• Religious
• Linguistic
Any cultural differences that cross national boundaries
National
Collective properties ascribed to citizens of countries
Professional
Sets of values and practices acquired through training
and formal education
Organizational Social and normative glue that holds organizations
together
Group
Cultural 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!
fiorella.foscarini@utoronto.ca
gillian.oliver@vuw.ac.nz