Elfreda A. Chatman

Chatman’s study, “The Information World of Retired Women,” is a classic of LIS scholarship based on her experience with women in the Garden Towers [not its real name] community in North Carolina. At the time, the projection for the U.S. population over 75 was to reach 12% of the total by 2035, with women comprising the majority of this elderly population due to demographic trends in which women tend to live longer than men. Further, many of these elderly women face neglect and isolation due to societal ageism and sexism while trends in lifetime income, marriage patterns, and barriers to work often leave them susceptible to poverty (p. 23, 49-78). Chatman identifies older adults’ information needs as involving six main topics: “1) dealing with loss; 2) death and dying; 3) the aging process; 4) uncertainty about the future; 5) fear of crime; and 6) loneliness” (p. 25). These combine to cause low self-esteem, depression, and a trend toward reclusiveness. At the time of her study, Chatman found that residents of the assisted living facility she examined heavily consumed media and used the facility library for leisure reading, but did not necessarily use library resources to address “a specific need or concern” (p. 96). Even with that caveat, most of the residents Chatman surveyed either used the in-house library or their local library’s outreach services (p. 100). Chatman also addresses social network theory, stating that it contributes to successful aging in helping older adults to enter “the aging process with a positive outlook” (p. 33). While extended family play a significant role in many elderly adults’ social lives, they often choose peers of a similar age and background, particularly when seeking advice for “health-related concerns” (p. 36). Further, those in rural settings often have a higher rate of informal interactions with neighbors and acquaintances than their urban counterparts. Chatman concludes, “The identification of non-family members as sources of assistance is particularly important when one considers the absence of family members in this process” (p. 39). Chatman’s work remains a seminal study in LIS and hopefully a publisher brings out a new edition for scholars.… (más)