Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a psychological model that organizes human motives into a multi-level pyramid. This model illustrates the relationship among various motives, which span from fundamental physiological needs at the base to the highest level of self-actualization at the peak.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Anomalous State of Knowledge (ASK) is a theory that an information need is the result of a gap (anomaly) in a user’s knowledge. The implication of this theory is that the user will struggle to accurately query an information retrieval system because they are lacking the information to do so. 

Anomalous State of Knowledge

Sense-making is a methodology for assessing user needs in libraries pioneered by Brenda Dervin. This methodology focuses on how people interact with information and knowledge personally, among others, or over communication technology. This methodology has been used to guide user research and interviews with the goal of creating research informed practices in both. A common application of this methodology is the Sense-Making Triangle.

Sense-Making (within Library Science)

- Taylor's Levels
- Belkin's Information Problems
- Dervin's Information Seeking as Sense-Making
- Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

San Jose State University

Georgetown University

Defined as what an individual needs to know to fill in a knowledge/information gap. For example, when a patient seeks a doctor's appointment, they are looking to fill an information gap concerning their physical condition. 

Information Need

Thomas, N. P., Crow, S. R., & Franklin, L. L. (2011).  Information literacy and information skills instruction: applying research to practice in the 21st-century school library. Libraries Unlimited. 

Information Literacy and Information Skills Instruction

Models of Information Needs

Cognitive development ... information need

Connect to Developmental Psychology

Users usually identify on their own that they have an information need, however, they may need support in specifying the parameters of their need to focus their efforts and search efficiently. Grover's Diagnostic Model can help librarians diagnose users' information needs. 

Learn Before

Related

Learn After