Mental Health in Library and Information Science Research: Preliminary Results of a Literature Review Focusing on Information Behavior

摘要

Worldwide, mental illnesses are extremely prevalent and costly. Help-seeking and recovery may be facilitated by information and online resources. The aim of this literature review is to examine interest in mental health within Library and Information Science empirical research, published from 2000 onward, with a focus on information behavior. In this preliminary phase, we performed a qualitative content analysis on 51 relevant articles. Results show that mental health is not only examined as a topic, but also as a personal state (illness or state to maintain) and as a professionally-related activity. Studies investigating information behavior mainly focus on the use of the Internet or online resources, with very few exploring the purposes for which these resources are used. Research opportunities for this field of inquiry are further discussed.