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Unit 1: Information Analysis, Repackaging and Consolidation

9. The first scientific journal, was published in ...... . Notes
(a) 1665 (b) 1756 (c) 1965
10. ...... is a driving force in contemporary society.
(a) Message (b) Information (c) Packaging.

1.7 Theoretical Framework

Stilwell et al. note that the meaning of repackaging information or information repackaging (IR) is
unclear. Saracevic and Woods (1981) and Bunch (1984) were the first to use the term in their publications
in describing how an information service selects appropriate materials, reprocessing and packaging
the information, and arranging materials in a way that is appropriate to the user.
These studies focused on scientific and technical information and on community information. Those
two types of information and the communities that use them are still the basis for information
repackaging today, which is part of both rural development and highly industrialized settings.
Packaging is the bundling of products and services to address specific needs. It can be done by:
• Reformatting and synthesizing raw information;
• Combining expertise or consulting on a subject with access to relevant information sources;
• Providing training or assistance to a user in accessing an information product.
Quantum Dialog (2004) note that to add value to a product, the information provider must understand
the types of information access problems most frequently encountered. Based on this knowledge,
packaging can add value or services that are not readily available elsewhere. Person-to-person
communication is one important form of repackaging. Sturges and Neill (1998) argue that people
prefer personal contact as means of acquiring practical information.
In the information age, information overload can occur. Information repackaging can save time,
labour, and costs to the user. It is a systematic process of adding value to information services
(Greer, Agada and Grover, 1994). This is in line with the shift from documents to their contents and
from collections to their users.
Repackaging can take many forms. Popular theatre is one familiar form that is connected with
popular culture and indigenous knowledge systems. Drama, storytelling, and the use of songs are
examples suggested by Rosenberg (1987). The present technology of integrated text, graphics, and
media facilitates this kind of repackaging. Rosenberg discusses this kind of repackaging in providing
information to illiterate or semi-literate people in the southern Sudan. She states that librarians
have long been involved in repackaging information for their clients and that the measurement of a
library’s effectiveness is the extent to which its collection has been put to use. Boadi (1987) notes
abstracting and indexing, SDI, translation services, bibliographies, special bulletins, and other current
awareness services, are all attempts to provide information in a usable format.
Aboyade (1984) advocates oral transfer of information supported by a variety of media. Namponya
(1986) and Aina (1991) suggest that illiteracy hampers the delivery of information to farmers, and
so information providers should be willing to interpret, repackage, and apply information to the
user’s situation and help communities act on the information they have received. This means that
library service could effectively shift from the exploitation of print towards the repackaging of
information for transmission in oral and other forms. Information technology aids this process.
Monageng (1987) notes that information must be interpreted and converted into a form that the
user can understand and assimilate. A number of information repackaging efforts have focused on
rural development. Otsyina and Rosenberg (1997) emphasize the role played by the traditions, values,
and aspirations of rural people.
The process of repackaging depends on the availability of materials, from research institutes,
government sources, online services and networks, and indigenous knowledge. Gray literature is
important in repackaging, although it may be unattractive and hard to access (Sturges and Chimsen,

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