| In the past several years, researchers in library and information science, computer science and management information systems have claimed that knowledge workers will work in new ways due to increased access to internetworked digital libraries. Digital libraries include technologies such as the World Wide Web, shared databases, and bibliographic systems. This study of academic researchers at eight research universities found that the principle of mastery shapes the ways the knowledge workers use both paper and electronic materials. The principle of mastery is the social process by which knowledge workers judge differing "mastery ability" levels according to a "mastery ideal" code of conduct for competency in working with a body of knowledge in specialized work worlds. This study presents data on the principle of mastery in three material use practices; comprehensive searching, browsing and retrieving, and in four research disciplines; molecular biology, sociology, computer science, and literary theory. Mastery ideals differ in each discipline depending on the social processes of work production. Some attributes of mastery ideals were found: molecular biologists have knowledge of previous and concurrent research projects to make a unique contribution, sociology attain and sustain mastery of bodies of knowledge in multiple subspecialties, computer scientists have a working knowledge of both conference and journal literature in their subspecialties and literary theorists master a particular subgenre of literature and the intellectual discourse about it. The principle of mastery shapes material use practices in the following ways: mastery ability replaces comprehensive searching, mastery ability enables browsing and mastery ability is necessary for retrieving. The principle of mastery helps digital library developers and providers anticipate new ways of working by showing how underlying social processes shape use of both paper and electronic materials. |
