Contemporary spiritual seeking: understanding information interactions in contemplation and spirituality
| Date | 29 November 2022 |
| Pages | 922-936 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-07-2022-0145 |
| Published date | 29 November 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Records management & preservation,Document management,Classification & cataloguing,Information behaviour & retrieval,Collection building & management,Scholarly communications/publishing,Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
| Author | Pranay Nangia,Ian Ruthven |
Contemporary spiritual seeking:
understanding information
interactions in contemplation
and spirituality
Pranay Nangia and Ian Ruthven
Department of Computer and Information Sciences, University of Strathclyde,
Glasgow, UK
Abstract
Purpose –Discussions in contemporary spirituality frequently highlight a phenomenon of spiritual seeking;
moreover, people often describe their spiritual journeys in terms of a search. This paper takes a closer look at
this metaphor by presenting a study that analysed spiritual seeking and its informational features in
contemporary non-institutionalised settings.
Design/methodology/approach –In this study, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews with
thirteen spiritual teachers and speakers who were asked questions about spiritual seeking in contemporary
non-institutionalised spirituality.
Findings –The authors’participants explained that contemporary spiritual seekers sought spiritual
information as a result of affective, developmental and metaphysical concerns. Moreover, their analysis
indicated that spiritual information-seeking behaviour incorporated practices such as prayer, yoga and
meditation, and contemporary spiritual information interactions were facilitated through spiritual retreats,
meditation classes, yoga classes and online social platforms.
Research limitations/implications –Since the authors focused on spiritual seeking in contemporary non-
institutionalised settings, their findings cannot exhaustively represent all spiritual pursuits in contemporary
society. Their study (1) identifies the informational features of contemporary spiritual seeking, (2) explains
spiritual seeking as an activity that may theoretically reside within a broader framework of profound
information interactions and (3) helps theorise the concept of qualitative profundity in information science
research.
Originality/value –This study provides an intuitive contextual approach for undertaking information
research in under-explored domains such as contemplation and spirituality.
Keywords Spirituality, Information science, Information research, Information behaviour, Personal needs,
Contemplation
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
At 18 years old, I found myself in New York City submerged in the world of student protests. But at
the same time, I had an even stronger pull towards another movement that was just beginning to
happen as the gurus fromthe East began washing up on the shores of America. I’d had a yearning for
some kind of spiritual life ever since I can remember, even as a young child.My parents were atheists;
I had no religious training. In fact, in my family, religion was synonymous with a lack of intelligence.
But I was strongly compelled to check it out. So I had two very strong aspects of myself—a political/
social justice self and a spiritual self. That was what brought me to the spiritual search (Elizabeth
Lesser, interviewed in Fox (2015)).
Discussions in contemporary spirituality frequently highlight a phenomenon of spiritual
seeking. Moreover, people often describe their spiritual journeys in terms of a search. Seeking
and searching are central to library and information research; however, their characteristic
features in the context of contemplation and spirituality remain underexplored.
To this end, we aim to contribute to the growing information research in the domain of
contemplation and spirituality by presenting a study that analysed the phenomenon of
JD
79,4
922
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0022-0418.htm
Received 5 July 2022
Revised 31 October 2022
Accepted 6 November 2022
Journal of Documentation
Vol. 79 No. 4, 2023
pp. 922-936
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0022-0418
DOI 10.1108/JD-07-2022-0145
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