Multitasking information behaviour in public libraries. A survey study

over 290 journal articles, refereed conference papers and book chapters. Her recent Springer books include New Directions in Cognitive Information Retrieval, New Directions in Human Information Behavior and Web Search: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (forthcoming). Frances Alvarado-Albertorio is a doctoral student in the Faculty of Information Technology at the Queensland University of Technology. Her dissertation research explores the relationship between information behaviour and gratification. Bhuva Narayan is a doctoral student in the Faculty of Information Technology at the Queensland University of Technology. Her dissertation research is developing an integrated model of information behaviour. Multitasking information behaviour is the human ability to handle the demands of multiple information tasks concurrently. When we multitask, we work on two or more tasks and switch between those tasks. Multitasking is the way most of us deal with the complex environment we all live in, and recent studies show that people often engage in multitasking information behaviours. Multitasking information behaviours are little understood, however, and an important area of research for information behaviour research. Our study investigated the multitasking information behaviours of public library users at the Brentwood and Wilkinsburg Public Libraries in Pittsburgh through diary questionnaires. Findings include that some 63.5 percent of library users engaged in multitasking information behaviours, with a mean of 2.5 topic changes and 2.8 topics per library visit. A major finding of our study is that many people in libraries are seeking information on multiple topics and are engaged in multitasking behaviours. The implications of our findings and further research are also discussed.