Six Degrees of Information Seeking: Stanley Milgram and the Small World of the Library

Stanley Milgram's 1967 “small world” social connectivity study is used to analyze information connectivity, or patron information-seeking behavior. The “small world” study, upon examination, offers a clear example of the failure of social connectivity. This failure is used to highlight the importance of the subjectivities of patron experience of the “small world” or information network of the library.