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‘Inspiration’ and how it is found: Exploring psychological and information behaviour theories

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2020

Cait Peterson
Cait Peterson*
Affiliation:
Assistant Academic Support Librarian, Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London, 16 John Islip Street, LondonSW1P 4JU, UK Email: c.peterson@arts.ac.uk
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Abstract

‘Inspiration’ is a concept that comes up frequently in the Library and Information Science literature on artists and designers. But what do we mean by ‘inspiration’? This article discusses a selection of the psychological research on creativity and inspiration, as well as four information behaviour theories that help in finding inspiration - browsing, information encountering, satisficing, and serendipity.

Type
Research Article
Information
Art Libraries Journal , Volume 45 , Issue 3 , July 2020 , pp. 85 - 89
Copyright
Copyright © ARLIS, 2020

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References

1. Cait Peterson, “The artist, the muse, and the library: exploring ‘inspiration’ and the library's potential role in the creative process,” (MA diss., City University London, 2013).

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