Information activity in serious leisure

Background. In the past decade, scholars of information science have started to conduct research on information behaviour in serious leisure. Presently, these studies lack common concepts and terms and empirical discoveries are not easy to assemble into theory.

Aim. This conceptual and methodological paper surveys the aforementioned research area and introduces Anders Hektor’s model of information behaviour in conjunction with the serious leisure perspective as a means to systematically study information behaviour in serious leisure.

Method. Three methods are employed. The first is a selective literature review and intellectual history of research into information behaviour in serious leisure. The second is a conceptual analysis of Hektor’s model that relates its key features to the serious leisure perspective. The third consists of a deductive audit of three forms of serious leisure (the liberal arts hobby, amateur musicianship, and the hobby of running), utilizing the frameworks, concepts, and terms outlined in the paper.

Results. Studies of information behaviour in serious leisure have increased and deepened in the past decade, largely through ideographic case studies. Hektor’s model of information behaviour, with its locus in everyday life and precise delineation of eight information activities, can complement such research designs. A deductive audit guided by Hektor’s model illuminated information activities within the three forms of serious leisure and enabled comparative observations.

Conclusions. When combined with the serious leisure perspective, Hektor’s model enables research that is comparative and more precise. However, the extent to which this model captures physical or embodied information should be further examined.