Have you heard of a bookazine?  As the name implies, it is a book/magazine hybrid.  Bookazines are formatted like magazines, though with a longer shelf-life and more niche appeal.  Sturdivant (2012) uses Mark White’s example of an empty-nester couple choosing a special Cooking for Two edition of Cooking Light over a full subscription (para. 3).

What does a niche item have to do with information literacy?  The ACRL Framework includes the concept that information creation is a process (Association of College & Research Libraries, 2015).  One of that frame’s associated Knowledge Practices speaks to the value attached to different information products in different contexts.  To use the above example, the focused bookazine has more value to the couple than does the magazine itself, where not all of the recipes are for two.

Hybrid sources make us pay attention to not only what a source is, but also what it does.  When we or our students encounter hybrid sources, they can apply this same strategy.

References

Association of College & Research Libraries. (2015).  Framework for information literacy for higher education.  Retrieved from ACRL website: http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework

Sturdivant, J. (2012, May 1).   Are magazines getting bookish?  Publishing Executive.  Retreived from http://www.pubexec.com/article/are-magazines-getting-bookish-bookazines-innovative-way-sell-content/all/