01822nas a2200241   4500000000100000000000100001000000100002008004100003653002400044653001600068653002600084653002200110653001000132653003000142653002100172653002600193653001600219100001600235245005600251300001400307490000700321520125200328       2019                            d10ainformation seeking10aScaffolding10ainformation behaviour10ainformation needs10aGenre10aSituational appropriation10ainformation work10ainformation practices10aNot-seeking1 aIsto Huvila00aGenres and situational appropriation of information  a1503-15270 v753 aPurpose Information science research has begun to broaden its traditional focus on information seeking to cover other modes of acquiring information. The purpose of this paper is to move forward on this trajectory and to present a framework for explicating how in addition to being sought, existing information are made useful and taken into use. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual enquiry draws on an empirical vignette based on an observation study of an archaeological teaching excavation. The conceptual perspective builds on Andersens genre approach and Huvilas notion of situational appropriation. Findings This paper suggests that information becomes appropriable, and appropriated (i.e. taken into use), when informational and social genres intertwine with each other. This happens in a continuous process of (re)appropriation of information where existing information scaffolds new information and the on-going process of appropriation. Originality/value The approach is proposed as a potentially powerful conceptualisation for explicating information interactions when existing information is taken into use rather than sought that have received little attention in traditional models and theories of human information behaviour.