Abstract
A proverb related to foraging states ‘all mushrooms are edible but some only once.’ This proverb raises questions about the importance of information literacy in leisure where risks are involved. Mycology, or the study of mushrooms and fungi has grown in popularity with increased interest from non-experts relating to both scientific inquiry and cultural value (Marren, 2019; Sheldrake, 2021). Mushroom foraging requires knowledge, experience and sensory information for evaluating, managing uncertainty and make decisions. This conceptual paper makes a case for turning attention to information literacy practices in risky leisure, drawing upon the literature and personal experience of being a beginner hobbyist mycologist. The paper considers ways information literacy is a socially enacted practice (Lloyd, 2012). Risk-informed information practice (Hicks, 2025) is drawn upon to support a conceptual exploration of the importance of information literacy in hobbies requiring risk management.
Information behaviour has been researched in a wide range of hobbies including coin collecting (Case, 2010), rubber duck collecting (Lee & Trace, 2009), car-restoration (Lloyd and Olsson, 2019), and genealogy (Fulton, 2016). Quality of information is important in other potentially risky hobbies such as wild swimming (Christie & Elliott, 2024), long-distance hiking (Munro, 2024) and ultramarathon running (Williams et al., 2024). However, despite Demasson et al’s., (2016) claim that everyday life is a rich site for information literacy, this is not often a research focus. In the UK there are over 2,500 species of mushroom making it a challenge for beginners to acquire knowledge (Marren, 2019). The unpredictability of mushrooms means "even experienced field mycologists have to re-learn a great deal each autumn" (Buczacki et al, 2012). Often species can only be told apart using sensory cues, and accidental poisonings occur due to misidentification (Fortey, 2025; Kaaronen, 2020;). Appraisals of edibility and toxicity have shifted over time or differ between cultural contexts (Bender & Oterhals, 2025). There are numerous Facebook groups dedicated to mushroom identification and foraging, however social media is implicated in the dissemination of poor quality or inaccurate information (Multas, 2024). The core activities of hobbyist mycology can be mapped across the three categories of Mansourian’s (2020) model of predominant information sources in serious leisure. However this model does not consider the ways information is evaluated or applied in practice. This makes hobbyist mycology a rich site for information literacy research.
Drawing upon theories of information literacy as a socially enacted practice (Lloyd, 2012) and risk-informed information practice (Hicks, 2025), can provide a useful lens for information literacy in this context. Hobbyist mycology involves social, material and embodied information literacy, for risky decision making and negotiating uncertainty. However little is currently known about the ways information literacy is enacted within these different information activities, and other risky leisure activities. Through the provocation of ‘all mushrooms are edible but some only once’ this paper calls for the information literacy community to look towards a rich, overlooked site for understanding everyday and leisure information literacy.
The paper will be accompanied by a zine about information in hobbyist mycology.
References
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