Information literacy and the serious leisure participant: variation in the experience of using information to learn

Introduction. This study reports an investigation into the ways in which people engaged in a serious leisure activity can experience using information to learn (also known as information literacy). Method.Data were collected through twenty-two semistructured, one-on-one, phenomenographic interviews conducted with identified serious leisure participants operating within the area of heritage (as defined by the study). Analysis. Empirical material was gathered through audio recordings and transcripts of the collated interviews. Data were analysed using structural and focused coding methods. Results. The study revealed that serious leisure participants experience using information to learn in four ways: acquiring new information, helping the learning community, selfawareness and entertainment. Conclusions. This study contributes to our understanding of information literacy as it applies to a person’s everyday-life leisure world.