Chapter 1

Introduction
1.0 Introduction

Information is considered as an important resource that contributes towards

the development of a nation. It provides a core for the development of
knowledge, the basis for innovations, the resources for informed citizenry,
and as a result, ultimately becomes a key commodity for the progress of any
society. Members of a society require the information and avail those from a
variety of sources. However, several of these sources are very much
expensive, complex or difficult for individuals to acquire and use. Therefore,
the roles of libraries become vital in meeting the information needs of
individuals in the society. And as a result, libraries develop their collections,
facilities and services to meet the information needs of their patrons.
However, in order to accomplish this task effectively, libraries must have a
thorough understanding of tire information need and information seeking
behaviour of their users.

In any library or information system, the user study plays a vital role in
planning, designing and introducing new information services and to assess
the quality of services and their utilities. There are various factors that
generally affect an individual's information needs as well as use. Depending
upon the nature of job, stage of research project, the urgency of access to
information or the availability of sources, information seeking behaviour also
varies from person to person.

Information seeking behaviour is a broad term, which involves a set of

actions that an individual expresses his or her information needs. It further
includes information seeking patem, evaluation and selection of information
and finally use this information to satisfy his/her required information
needs. Again, different factors may determine the information seeking
behaviour of an individual or a group of individual. It is, therefore, desirable
to understand the purpose for which the information is required, the
environment in which the users operate, users' skills in identifying the

2
needed information, channels and sources preferred for acquiring the
information, and barriers to access the information.

Today, any library system or services is mainly designed by user studies,

which is very much essential for rendering services to the information user
community. User studies are continuous activities of the library for
providing effective services to the users group. At the time of system
designed and services of library, the system designer, librarian or
information scientist must have acquired proper knowledge about the role of
human being and their effect on acceptance and utilization of information or
cause of rejection it. The system or the services are made for satisfying the
perceived needs of users should be justified at periodic interval by the users
studies. Through continuous users study some unanticipated data may come
out to evaluate the existing system and services. It can help to design a new
system and services for rendering services by adopting a new course of
action. User studies help to make a bridge in between users and library for
improving library services. User studies, like market research, help to sale
information in the market as a product. By applying questionnaire and direct
interview method for systematic user studies generally help to identify:
characteristics (i.e sociological, demographic, organizational, professional,
etc, behaviour, patterns, information needs, sources, preferences etc.

In any library system the user-community is not homogeneous like of my

study area such as characteristics, patterns, sources, preferences and like this.
So the library system should be developed in such a way by which it can
serve smoothly to this homogeneous group of users. The user-studies is
essential in this context to understand the different components relating to
provide accurate services to users. Since the users are different, their
information requirements are also different and it very difficult to
understand what they actually want. However, information needs of users
have been categorized as need for short information, information on a

3
particular area or subject, past or present, scientific, social or business
information.

User behaviour in an information system or in a library can be observed

particularly in connection with seeking, gathering, utilizing and
communicating information. The information seekers come to a library or to
an information system to seek information for the purposes of meeting their
information needs. In case of gathering information the users generally
follow different sources or formats from where they collect information as
per needs and use it properly for communicating purposes in a meaningful
way to others.

The information seeking behaviour of a user mainly arises as a consequence

of a particular need perceived by an individual. Utilizing formal or informal
information sources or services satisfies this information need. But when the
information seeker is not satisfied or partially satisfied about his or her
perceived need - an individual will start again to search information until
he is satisfied fully. There are some factors that affect the levels of satisfaction
of an individual in searching information by using different sources or
services. So during searing of information an individual should keep in mind
these factors. They include : source boundary (i.e local, regional, national or
international); finance (i.e needed limited or unlimited fund); time (i.e
within reasonable or unreasonable time ) ; needed information (i.e
understandable or negative to information supplier ); social factors ( i.e
information on agriculture, economical, sex education, child labour , food
habit etc.) ; political ( i.e right to information, right to expression etc.);
geographical (i.e the barrier to direct contact with the sources of information
by an individual) and educational (i.e the ways of searching information by
an educated or non-educated person).

4
 However, when an individual want to get anything then the term" need"
arises in his mind then and there he selects the course of action or
strategy to satisfy the required need and the same is also applicable for the
satisfaction of toe information need of the information users. There are some
important definitions on information seeking behaviour coined by library
experts below:

Ching -Cchih Chen has defined, as "Information seeking patterns are toe
paths pursued by toe individual in toe attempt to resolve a need."[CHEN
(CC) and HERNON (P). Information seeking: Assessing and Anticipating User
Need. 1982. Neal Schuman; New York. P.5.]

Girja Kumar defined it as "Information seeking behaviour is mainly

concerned with who needs what kind of information for what reasons; how
information is found , evaluated and used". [KUMAR (G ). Defining the
concept of information needs. In Binwal, f.C. etal Social Science Information:
problems and prospects.1990.ViJm Publishing House; New Delhi. P.257.]

T D.Wilson has defined as "those activities a person may engage in when

identifying his or her own needs for information, searching for such
information in any way, and using or transferring that information"!
WILSON (TD ).Models in Information Research. Journal of Documentation. 55,3;
, 1999^.249-270.]

In addition, adequate knowledge about toe information needs of users is

imperative for libraries in re-orienting their collections, services and
activities. Previously, the behaviour patterns of toe scientists and
technologists were studied with more emphasis. The cause behind it was
probably it was thought that were using toe information with much

5
seriousness and the needs were really genuine and pressing. But nowadays
scholars and academicians of other disciplines are given equal importance.

Today, libraries and information centers are considered as the vital sources
of information. In fact, there is a positive correlation between adequacy of
library materials and frequency of library visits by the users. Besides, the
information technology revolution is expected to bring significant changes in
the information seeking behaviour of users. Modern technology has resulted
in new services, targeted at the specialised and unique information needs of
users. The availability of electronic communication facilities such as e-mail,
discussion group, electronic conferencing etc. has opened new vistas for
communication. This study actually attempts to investigate the information
seeking behaviour of the faculty members as well as research scholars in
three most popular universities namely, Kalyani University, Burdwan
University and Jadavpur University in die state of West Bengal. It is
expected that the findings of this study will be useful for defining clearly tire
information seeking behaviour of all the respondents and, as a result, it
would be possible to understand the information need of the respondents.
This knowledge can be used to review library's collection development,
system, services and quick information access policies, and there would be a
consequent shift in the focus of research from an examination of the
information sources and systems used by the information seekers to an
exploration of the role of information in the users everyday life in his/her
work organization or social setting.

The information resources, library and information personnel as well as the

users, are the three fundamental components in modern libraries. "For the
proper and systematic planning and development of information resources
and services, the users studies are very important and form the first step in
the development of need based collections in libraries"1. The majority of the
information seekers in searching required information in the library use

6
library catalogue as a first approach and then the references or bibliographies
given at the end of each article or book. "Our ultimate motto thus aims to (a)
ascertain the information requirements of different categories of research
scholars and academicians; (b) specify the library and information services
essential to meet these requirements; (c) make sample surveys of existing
library and information services for research scholars and academicians; and
(d) to give suggestions for developing an overall library and information
infrastructure based on (a) and (b) above."2

Information needs differ from one information seeker to another depending

on their age, sex, academic qualification, environment in which they work,
taste and so on. "There are mainly three types of information needs :
identifying up-to-date information, obtaining relevant studies and data, and
developing research topic with the help of all available data as well as
information".3 In general, the information seeking behaviour of the teachers
and researchers highlight the necessity of using library as an information
provider. "Here, library is fairly well regarded as a general source of
information"4 and "that users are generally satisfied with library services"5.

For providing better services by the libraries to the information seekers, a

rich library collection, a well-nit organisation and a developed retrieval
system by adopting new information technology are essentially needed.
Users' education programme should be organized at regular interval for
making the users conversant with the introduction of new technologies in the
library and for using the library reading materials more fruitfully. "After
examining the use pattern of different types of material, adequacy of library
collection and service, information strategy and related aspect, there is a
need to expand the library services in areas like procurement of journals in
foreign languages, bridging of gaps in titles, organising users' education
programmes and build up of dissertation or theses and also introduction of
modem service equipments"6. Maximum utilization of library resources for

7
scientific and technological advancement may be be made through these
services,

"The sense-making theory, having its strongest roots in communication

research, is a programmatic research effort suggesting user-centered ideas for
the conceptualization of information seeking and use"7. The assumptions of
this theory are assessed in the context of the recent development of social
sciences and research in the field of social science, and thus the essence of the
theory has been reviewed by analyzing it in the context of information,
information needs, information seeking and use.

The information environment changes very rapidly all over the world as the
alternative and supplementary information sources are emerging. Libraries
and information centres have to compete with such new emerging services
and systems to Justfy their existence. On the other hand, the nature of
different disciplines and the level of programme also influence the
information seeking behaviour of the users. Lack of awareness about
information services, and non-use of current awareness services and the
sources available at the university lead to limited access and use of
information sources. In addition to that, the users generally need and use
information mainly for their career development and, next comes their
professional or occupational need. Despite insufficient information sources
at the university library due to budget cuts, academicians still depend on the
library for satisfying their information needs. Colleagues at the workplace
a

are also important sources of intra-university information. "It is suggested

that the library would benefit the academics if equal attention is paid to
current awareness services as well as publicity & promotion of information
products and services. Similarly, methods should be deviced by the
university to strengthen the academics' overall accessibility to information"8.
It is very much essential for a librarian or information scientist be acquainted
with the needs his or her users in order to serve them effectively. So, "a

8
determination of the needs of users is absolutely essential to the management
of an information centre"9. Various types of user visit the library to acquire
their information from the available sources adopting different ways of
searching. "Periodically, it is necessary to canvas the users population of a
library to determine whether the objectives of the library are being met"10.
Users' suggestions or recommendations enable a library to become aware of
its problems and resolve them in a befitting manner. If these suggestions are
followed and implemented in the library, the information seekers would
express greater appreciation and respect for toe role of toe library and its
staff in providing their support at toe time of their academic and other
requirements. "This will ensure toe full co-operation and support of the
users, who will then regard toe library as their own"11. The need of
information is highly recognized in toe developed countries as because the
research and development projects are carried out on a regular basis in
different subject fields, where information is primarily considered as an
input to research work. This aspect is, to some extent, neglected in
comparatively less developed countries, where the rate of availability of
information is lower than the rate in the developed countries and as a result,
the libraries neglect the information seekers. "The complexity of the
information arena, toe rapid change in toe information technology field and
the dearth of information resource materials often create confusion between
the information seekers and toe librarian or information specialist that
provide toe information"12. Irrespective of countries, the determination of
the information needs and the information seeking patterns are obvious
cursor for an effective identification and formulation of a national policy on
information, "The determinant factor of service types in libraries and
information centres aim at satisfying users' need"13. Planning of user-
orientation programmes, which may ultimately lead to a more responsive,
accountable service is the crying need of the hour. This calls for thorough
knowledge and understanding about the user groups. The librarians should

9
design new programmes for justifying existing programmes and to meet
expected demand of the users, they ought to know what is the size of the
target groups, which require information from the library. How the library
can help them, and what obstacles prevent them from successful exploitation
of library resources. There are so many "variables which are of great concern
for better library services are ; (a) information needs depend on discipline of
study and level; (b) lack of awareness of library resources and services
available could be a barrier to information access; and (c) use of resources
and services depends on ability to use information access tools."14 There are
different types of information available in different formats. It is very
difficult for the information on seekers to know all these sources as well as
the fresh arrival in the library. The information directly related and'
information on allied subjects may be included in different formats and as a
result, it is found that user education programme for library use is essential.
"User education includes various programmes of instruction, education and
exploration provided by libraries for users to enable them to make more
effective and efficient, and independent use of information sources and
services to which these libraries provide access"15. Again, training in the use
of information should be part of all users education. "At the post-graduate
level as well as research level, detailed instruction in methods of searching
and formulation of clear request is necessary"16. Librarians have a problem
to attend to "university scholars and students enter die library feeling
uncomfortable and lacking confidence in their skills. To complicate matters,
they perceive that they all know how to use the library and thus they do not
give a high priority to knowing how to use the library"17. Difficulty in using
library services and unawareness of what is available in the library by the
students or research scholar is "a challenge to librarians who should aim to
make all users aware of the information resources available, both directly in
the library and from external sources and enables users to enjoy the search
for information"18. The structuring of the courses on information literacy

10
skills should be taken into serious consideration for streamlining the
information use patterns. The efforts to develop services and to provide
access to relevant information sources are essential today. It is also needless
to mention that "the need for library profession is to learn not only how to
identify the information needs, but also to create new services and delivery
pattern"19.

An equally interesting task in the information use environment is to identify

the characteristics of die environment. That is to know how it can influence
the information use. The characteristics may be categorized into four groups:
(a) characteristic of a particular set of people (actual or potential users); (b)
characteristic of the organization or setting; (c) characteristic of the problem
typical of what class of people; and (d) characteristic the solution or
information anticipated by users.

It is said, "Library resources and facilities can be used as one of the

parameter for measuring the capabilities and sophistication of research at
science and technology institution more particularly,"20. A good library
collections, a well-knit organization, and efficient and effective services may
act as pathfinders for researchers and provide them the inspiration to
venture into new area of research. "An ineffective library, on the other hand,
may lead to low quality or duplication of research thus resulting in waste of
financial, material and human resources"21. The way in which scientists seek
information to support teaching, research and creative activities is changing
as new technologies and information delivery systems are emerging.
"Consequently the traditional model of scientific communication wherein
information is primarily disseminated through and subsequently becomes
most highly valued when printed in, referred journal, is being challenged"22.

The researchers, particularly the research scholars in the field of science try to
access their required information without loosing time and energy. "Speedy
access to current, accurate and relevant technical information can provide

11
invaluable support to scientific researchers"23. Adequate knowledge about
the information needs and seeking behaviour of scientists is imperative to
library staff in re-ordering their collection, services and activities and finally
to synchronize them with the information seeking behaviour of the scientists.
"Librarians will have to adopt new theories and practices for connecting
scholars to information. There is a relationship between task complexity and
information seeking behaviour and emphasis is give on both formal and
informal channel of communication24*26. If the library is to provide any
meaningful information service, the information seeking habits should be
taken into consideration and primary focus should be given on "to assist in
building information resources and systems to effectively meet their
information needs."27 At this end the "electronic information sources and
internet are to be considered extremely important tools for effective teaching
and research."28 In addition to that, freedom to have information and access
to acurate and unbiased information are important in exercising the rights of
the information seekers as citizens. The fear that "certain groups in the
population may be in the threat of exclusion from participation in democratic
process hinders the smooth functioning of the library and information
science, and technology."29. However, the identification of information need
and the information seeking behaviour of the users is a long process and as a
result , " One might discover what the users' status is within the user
community (i.e., teaching-staff member, under-graduate students,
technicians or research scholars) along with his/her age, habitual natural
language, gender and so forth."30

Teachers normally use both formal as well as informal methods for gaining
information for different purposes which include research, publications and
teaching activities. Formal methods highlight on searching traditional print
sources along with the current electronic resources. On the other hand,
informal methods focus on the personal contact and personal
communications for carrying out research activities. Thus, faculty members

12
frequently use personal communication as an informal method to get desired
information. The advancement of technology continues to facilitate the
formal information gathering methods through which the electronic
resources can be made available. "The relationship between the faculties'
levels of competency in using electronic sources of information and their use
of personal communication for gaining information for their teaching
activities is obviously due to the increasing availability of electronic
resources coupled with sound advancement in research and technology."31

In order to design information retrieval systems to support various

information seeking strategies across a variety of task environments,
situation and context, it is important to explore that leads to the selection of
different types of information seeking strategies. "If researcher's information
seeking behaviour are broken down into their basic behavioural
characteristics - and the retrieval system is provided with facilities that
reflect those characteristics - then users should be able to recreate their own
information seeking pattern while interacting with the system"32.
Information use studies explain the information use phenomena, understand
information use behaviour, predict the behaviour and improve information
use by manipulating essential conditions. "The information producing and
information seeking behaviours are closely linked and are the reasons why
most information systems are not better accepted as they fail to provide
linkage between the two activities"33. Social scientists prefer using journal
articles, finding new information by attending conferences and through pre­
print. "They prefer to use journals instead of other sources, to follow citations
instead of using indexes or abstracts to find articles and they do not view
librarians as important sources of information"34. Again, the periodical article
is exclusively devoted to original research and thus is "the main means of
communication for the exchange of scientific communiction"35. Information
seeking is a broad term encompassing the ways individuals articulate their
information needs, seek, evaluate, select and use the needed information.

13
"Many factors contribute to the selection and use of different information
sources such as : cost, past success, accuracy, reliability, comprehensiveness,
usefulness, currency, response time, accessibility, technical quality and the
format"3637.

Today, the application of internet for information seeking of the users has got
the prime source because of reducing time, cost as well as energy. In all
cases, particularly, "internet is helpful for narrowing the knowledge gap
between develop and developing countries of the world"38. Besides its
richness and high speed, accuracy and authority are the most important
factors when users judge the quality of the Internet; but more specialized
information filtering and navigation services are required. To meet the
readers' demand and by providing his or her service the librarian should
take the initiative to build a new environment to his or her library. The
librarian should acquire the skills to handle "Information technology, and IT
skills and operations are required to the specific need of die specific job area
only"39.

There are several difficulties in accessing the required information by the

information seekers to use it properly. "The probable factors are lack of time,
lack of access to all the information, lack of reading materials, lack of
knowledge of information sources, lack of knowledge to use the library
services and unfriendly library staff"40. Thus the teaching-staff members and
research scholars often face difficulties in accessing the use of information
not because of one factor alone but because of multiple factors. Constraints
in the face of searching information should be removed as far as possible so
as to provide the effective and efficient services. Above all, "The chief
intension for the use of library is the academic interest of the users"41. Lastly,
it can be said that information use like other commodities which must leads
an individual to the use of information/information on a particular area of
subject in order to satisfy his/her information needs. So, "information use is

14
an indicator of information needs, but they are not identical, and individuals
do not use all the information they need"4243 (partly because they are not
always be able to obtain what they need or the materials may not be relevant
when they obtain them or partly because individuals sometimes do not know
what they need, and also they do not need all the information they intend to
use).

Many studies have been conducted for investigating the information-

seeking behaviour of library users. Those mainly encompass their subject
interest, occupation, information environment and geographical location of
their workplace. Today, studies of information needs and information
seeking behaviour of academicians have also become a popular topic of
research. Many earlier studies reported that scholars and academicians used
primarily books and journals. Faculty members also rely upon inter­
personal contacts, particularly off-campus contacts, as an important source
for getting the needed information. Colleagues prefer other channels, as they
are considered familiar, reliable, immediately accessible, inexpensive and
often provide a precise answer synthesizing the available information. In
order to develop this informal contacts, libraries should facilitate informal
meetings among scholars and compile up-to-date directories of local and
international scholars in specialized disciplines because the scholars in
developing countries prefer informal channels more for acquiring the needed
information due to inadequate and irrelevant library holdings, lack of
modern information infrastructures, poor library services, lack of fund to use
fee-based information services, inadequately trained and less co-operative
library staff.

However, some investigations on the information seeking behaviour of the

scholars and academicians of the above mentioned three universities of West
Bengal have been done in my study wherein the role of the university
libraries in relation to information providers have also been examined.

15
The following steps I have followed for conducting my survey:

1. Selection and formulation of research problem and working

hypothesis;
2. Literature survey;
3. Overall planning the strategy of the study;
4. Sampling strategy;
5. Pilot study;
6. Measurement and scaling techniques;
7. Data collection;
8. Analysis of data;
9. Interpretation and realization of objectives;
10. Presentation of my research results with some recommendations.

1.1 Objective of the Study

Today, the major collections as a vital sources of information in libraries and

information centres, so the success of any library in meeting the information
needs of the users plays an important role in the number of their future
library visits. In fact, there is a positive correlation between adequacy of
library materials and frequency of library visits. Besides the information
technology revolution is expected to bring significant changes in the
information seeking behaviour of users. Modern technology has resulted in
new services, targeted at the specialized and unique information needs of
users. The availability of electronic communication facilities such as e-mail,
discussion group, electronic conferencing etc. has opened new channel for
communication. Although a few isolated studies on the information seeking
behaviour of academicians have been undertaken in developing countries,
little headway has been made in understanding the complexity of
information needs and the manner which academics in developing countries
seek and use information. My study actually attempts to investigate tire
information seeking behaviour of the faculty members as well as research
scholars in three most popular universities namely, Kalyani University,
Burdwan University and Jadavpur University of the state of West Bengal. It
is expected that the findings of this study will be useful for defining clearly

16
the information seeking behaviour of all the respondents and, as a result of
that, it becomes possible to understand the information needs of the
respondents. This knowledge can be used to review library's collection
development, system, services and quick information access policies, and
would need to be a consequent shift in the focus of research from an
examination of the information sources and systems used by the information
seekers to an exploration of the role of information in the users everyday life
in his/her work organization or social setting.

The specific objectives of my study are;

1. To identify the purpose of seeking information, nature and type of

information required by university faculty members as well as research
scholars.

2. To study the ways followed by them for locating information.

3. To identify the library-use skills and pattern of acquiring information by

the seekers for getting systematic information on different issues.

4. To locate the sources of information and the type of publication used i.e.,
indexing, abstracting and bibliographical sources.

5. To assess the need for information services and to suggest optimum

allocation of library funds in collecting necessary documents.

6. To identify the primary and secondary sources of information used by

them.

7. To get information about how working time is spent on various

activities relating to teaching, research and administrative purpose. To
have an idea the spending of working hours and leisure by the
information seekers.

8. To determine the relative importance of information sources, information

services required and the level of satisfaction.
.-r ,.' -V

• >; ,•

P" _,y 17
,5T
9. To discover the most appropriate ways to be applied in searching

literature.

10. To quantify the use of library and librarian for information need to be

satisfied.

11. To indicate information channels used by the information-seekers for

getting the needed information.

12. To evaluate the quality of information seeking behaviour and to assess its

impact on library services so as to make some suggestions for developing

the library collection as well as services.

1.2 Hypothesis
Hypotheses are primarily certain assumptions that are tested by an empirical study.
There are some speculations about what ought to be found while investigating the
research field. To list the scope of research are the field investigators, it is important
to formulate hypotheses. My hypotheses of this Ph.D research are under:

1. All the information seekers use the library properly;

2. AH the information centers (libraries) collect different types pf information

sources according to the needs or demands of the users;

3. The library staff provides appropriate information services to the information

seekers;

4. The level of satisfaction of the users by using the library materials are
optimum;

5. The infrastructure of the library is up to the mark for rendering all types of
library services;

6. There is no significant difference among the information seekers on the basis

of their seeking behaviour.

18
1.3 Methodology
The study organized a questionnaire-based survey design, as many more or
less similar studies conducted by different researchers in the related fields,
have also used this method for data collection. This method is also preferred
as it is less time consuming and most economical for a scattered population
particularly for those target group who are always very much busy with
their individual research like our study population. The other reason for
using a questionnaire for surveying large number of population is the
convenience of contacting through mail or by any other indirect method.
The questionnaire method, though not very inexpensive is preferable method
as many people can be contacted within a comparatively short period of
time. Therefore, in a way it is less time consuming. Still there are of chances
of missing the questionnaires duly filled in and also a considerable amount
of non-response. To avoid such instances follow up interviews was
conducted in many cases. The filled up questionnaires were then thoroughly
scanned, analyzed and the relevant data had been collected. Follow-up
interviews are conducted with some respondents to seek clarification of the
questionnaire for filling-up and also for data analysis. Several research
results of the different researchers' on the related topics are consulted and
their application of techniques are also critically examined. In addition, the
personal knowledge of experts related to this field is used to develop a
questionnaire for the study. The population of this study consists of all full­
time academic staff (teachers) working in the Kalyani University, the
Burdwan University and the Jadavpur University of West Bengal. To reduce
the large number of study population part-time or guest teachers are
excluded from this study. As far as possible include the research scholars of
different universities of different academic departments, have also been
included.

19
 The survey instrument consists of two sections. Section-1 contains
collected data on personal information, such as age, language-skill, academic
qualifications, sex, designation, workplace, subject specialization etc.
Section-2 of the questionnaire, comprising of 23 questions including
questions in supplementary questionnaire, collected data on the information
seeking behaviour of the respondents. Questions in this section mainly
focused on the following areas: information sources used by the respondents
die extent of use of central library by the respondent, time spent daily for the
purpose of seeking information, need of documents for getting information,
computing skills of respondents, level of satisfaction in using library, and the
extent of the use of IT-based library sources and services. Another survey
instrument has been prepared/designed or surveying the central libraries of
the above three universities regarding the number of library staff, library
collections, library functions and services, library hours in-a-day etc. to
compare the adequacy of library collections and services with the need of the
users of individual library.

In order to ensure reliability and effectiveness of the instruments, a

questionnaire is pilot tested on ten faculty members and fifteen research
scholars of the faculty of arts and commerce & science, Kalyani University
(not included in the randomly drawn sample). The pre-testing exercise was
undertaken to identify the problems if any faced by the potential
respondents in understanding die questions. Results of the pilot study had
shown that respondents were able to understand the questions and felt free
in giving answers and their responses are interpretable also.

In order to save the time and to ensure better response rate, the
questionnaires were distributed personally to the faculty members and
research scholars directly and in few cases through the office staff of the
respective department. Respondents were requested to return the filled-in
questionnaire to their departmental head of the non-teaching staff. In

20
Kalyani University, a total number of 330 questionnaires were distributed
among the target group (sample), 214 (64.84%) filled-in questionnaires were
returned within two months of distribution. Follow-up interviews visit were
performed for and further 20 questionnaires were collected in that phase and
a total number of 234 filled-in questionnaires were received from the
respondents of the Kalyani University, showing an overall response rate of
70.9 percent. Similarly, in Burdwan University a total number of 410
questionnaires were distributed and 257 (62.6%) completed questionnaires
were returned within two and a half-month of distribution. Follow-up
interviews were also completed for inclusion of non-respondents and a
further 35 questionnaire were collected. A total number of 292 filled-in
questionnaires were received from the respondents of the Burdwan
University, showing an overall response rate of 71.2%. Again, in Jadavpur
University, a total of 680 questionnaires were distributed and within three
months, 403 (59.2%) completed questionnaires were returned but later on, by
follow-up visit and interview to non-respondents, 42 additional filled-in
questionnaires were collected. A total number of 445 filled-in questionnaires
were collected from Jadavpur University, showing an overall response rate
of 65.5 percent. In addition, a number of incomplete questionnaires were
received from toe respondents of three universities, which had not been
considered for data analysis purposes.

I have followed IS: 2381-1978 (First revision) for citing bibliographical

references and to accommodate electronic sources I modified it in relevant
places accordingly.

21
References

1. KARISIDDAPPA (CR), SANGAM (SL) and MAHESWARAPPA (RS).

Information Use Pattern of Indian Historians. IASLIC Bulletin. 34,2; 1989;
P.47.

2. AGRAWAL (SP) and LAL (U). Information needs of sodal scientists.

International Library Review. 19,3; 1987; P 287-288.

3. PREMSMTT (P). Information needs of academic medical scientists at

Chulakmgkorn University. Bulletin of Medical Library Association. 78, 4;
1990; P. 383-386.

4. THE ADVISORY COUNCIL ON SCIENTIFIC POLICY. Survey of

information needs of physicists and chemists. Journal of Documentation. 21,
2; 1965; P.83-111.

5. STA9SER (TC). The information needs of practicing physicians in

Northeastern New York State. Bulletin of Medical Library Association. 66,2;
1978; P. 200-209.

6. KORAH (AQ and DEVARAJAN (G). Information Needs and Use

Pattern of Rubber Scientists. IASLIC Bulletin. 36,3; 1991; p. 89-94.

7. DERVIN (B). Strategies for dealing with human information needs :

information of communication. Journal of Broadcasting. 20, 3; 1976; P. 324-
333.

8. NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE. The future of information

systems for the medical sciences. 1987. The Academy; New York.

9. NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE. Op. cit, P. 1-7,64-75.

10. BARE (CE). Conducting user requirement studies in special libraries.

Special Libraries. 57,2; 1966; P. 103 -116.

11. JONES (A). Criteria for the evaluation erf library services. Journal of
Librarkmskip. 2,4; 1970;P.228-241.

22
12. ADIMORAH (ENO). Information need of Scientists and Technologists in
Nigeria. Leading Libraries and Information Centres. 1, 2; 1993; P. 19-23.

13. ADEDIBU (LO) and ADIO (G). Information needs and information
seeking patterns of medical students at Lantech, Ogbomoso. Aslih
proceedings. 49,9; 1997; P. 238 - 242.

14. FIDZANI (BT). Information need and information-seeking behaviour of

graduate students at the University of Botswana. Library Review. 47, 7;
1998; P. 329 - 340.

15. FLEMING (H). Ed. User Education in Academic Libraries. 1990. Library
Association; London. P. 32-41.

16. MEWS (H). Reader Instruction in Colleges and Universities : an

Introductory Handbook. 1992. Clieve Bingley; London. P. 75-80.

17. LUBANS 0). Nonuse of an academic library. College Researdt Libraries. 32;
1971; P. 362-70.

18. FJALLBRANT (N). Why user education and how can information
technology help ? IFLA Journal. 16,4; 1990; P. 405-21.

19. LUMANDE (E) and MUTSHEWA (A). Information-seeking Behaviour

among University of Botswana Science Faculty. Information Development.
15, 2; 1999; P. 107-110.

20. GOOCH (P). Information flows in agricultural research in Vietnam :

status and prospects. IAALD Quarterly Bulletin. 39,4; 1994; P. 312-18.

21. LECKIE (GL), PETTIGREW (KE) and SYLVAIN (C). Modeling the
information seeking of professionals ; a general model derived from
research on engineers, health care professionals, and lawyers. Library
Quarterly. 66, 2; 1996; P. 161-180.

22. GARVEY (WD) and GRIFFITH (BC). Communication and information

processing within scientific disciplines : empirical findings for
psychology. Information Retrieval and Storage. 8; 1972; P. 123-136.

23
23. MAJID (S), ANWAR (MA) and EISENSCHITZ (IS). Information Needs
and Information Seeking Behaviour of Agricultural Scientists in Malaysia.
Library & Information Science Research. 22,2; 2000; P. 145-163.

24. OSLEN 0K). Strategic issues in information : with special reference to

developing countries. IAALD Quarterly Bulletin. 34,3; 1989; P. 119-125.

25. BYSTROM (K) and JARVELIN (K). Task complexity affects information
seeking and use. Information Processing & Management. 31; 1995; P. 191-
205.

26. SHACKEL (B). Information exchange with in the research community.

In : FEENEY (M) and MERRY (K). Information technology and the
research process. 1990. Bowker-Saur; London. P. 147 -162.

27. RENEKER (M). Information seeking among members of an academic

community. Columbia University. Ph. D. 1992. (Published).

28. MAJID (S) and KASSIM (GM). Information-seeking Behaviour of

International Islamic University Malaysia Law Faculty Members.
Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science. 5,2; 2000; P. 1 -15.

29. MARCELLA (R) and BAXTER (G). Information need, information seeking
behaviour and participation, with special reference to needs related to
citizenship : results of a national survey. Journal of Documentation. 56, 2;
2000; P. 136-150.

30. WILSON (TD). Models in Information Behaviour Research. Journal of

Documentation. 55; 1999; P. 249-270.

31. JIROJWONG (S) and WALLIN (M). Use of Formal and Informal Methods
to Gain Information among Faculty at an Australian Regional University.
The Journal of Academic Librarianship. 28,1; 2001; P. 68-72.

32. XIE (HI). Patterns between interactive intentions and information seeking
strategies. Information Processing and Management. 38; 2002; P. 55-77.

24
33. MICK (CK). Towards usable user studies. Journal of the American Society of
Information Science. 31,4; 1980; P. 347-356.

34. WHITMIRE (E). Disciplinary Differences and Undergraduates'

Information Seeking Behaviour. Journal of the American Society for
Information Science and Technology. 53,8; 2002; P. 631-638.

35. PADMAMMA (S), WALMIKI (RH, VIJAYAKUMAR (M) and ISHWAR1

0S). Utilisation of News Papers and Magazines by the U.G. College
Teachers in Shimoga city : a case study. Annals of Library and Information
Studies. 49,3; 2002; P. 89 - 98.

36. SHANMUGAN (A). Information seeking behaviour of trainee teachers in

selected teacher training colleges in Malaysia. Malaysian Journal of Library
and Information Science. 4,1; 1999; P. 1-25.

37. YANG (HW). Information-seeking behaviour of the scientists. Bulletins of

Library and Information Science. 25; 19%; P. 24-43.

38. BIRADAR (BS) and KUMAR (S). Periodical Use Pattern by Teachers and
Research Scholars of Kuvempu University : A Case Study. SRELS Journal
of Information Management. 37,4; 2000; P. 301 - 304.

39. NANDI (SG). The University Library and Its Users Reading Interest: A
New Dimension. Conference on Digital Libraries, NACLIN 2003, Jadavpur
University; Kolkata, 2003.

40. WILSON (TD). Information needs and users ; Fifty years of progress.
London: Aslib, P. 15.

41. LOHAR (MB) and KUMBER (M). Teachers Attitudes Towards Library
Resources and Services in Aided and Unaided First Grade Colleges in
Shimoga District: a survey. SRELS Journal of Information Management. 42,
4; 2005; P. 493-514.

25
42. MEMO (LI) and HASS (SW). Information seeking behaviour and use of
social science faculty studying stateless nations : a case study. Library and
Information Science Research. 23; 2001; P. 5-25.

43. LINE (MB). Information needs of the social sciences. INSPEL, 8,2; 1973; P.
29-39.

26