Diss. Linköping: Linköpings universitet, 2006.

The aim of this paper is to examine the actualities of Information Practicefor single women whose parentage has been made possible through assistedreproduction, which places these parents in a norm-breaking position.Study issues related to parents’ perceptions of information needs areinvestigated, as is the process of information retrieval and library usageas well as the obstacles and opportunities facing parents in search ofinformation related to their own family constellation. To this end, theoriesby Tom Wilson, Reijo Savolainen and Elfreda A. Chatman have been usedas a model of selection. Empirical data have been gathered from interviewswith eight single women, whose parentage has been made possible throughartificial insemination or IVF with sperm from an open or anonymousdonor. The analysis of empirical data has been performed through a processof sentence concentration from a phenomenological perspective, combinedwith sentence categorisation. The outcome demonstrates that parentalInformation Practice is not exclusively determined by experiences withinthe family, but is also related to social context and issues arising in relationto current legislation and societal norms regarding parenting and familyformation. Finally, it is evident that these parents’ special and norm-breaking position contributes towards their identifying with and activelyseeking out the support of people of similar family types, resulting in asocial network where the collective knowledge pool functions as a resourcein the process of information retrieval. / Program: Bibliotekarie