Information Seeking Behaviour of Library Users a Study on Special Libraries in Delhi

Abstract

Information is vital for any individual s personal advancement and professional newlineprogression. Recent decades have witnessed an explosion of information through the newlineexpansion of internet services and digitalization of books, reference material and other newlineforms of publications. Libraries play a seminal role in providing access to information newlinethrough printed material, electronically stored material and online services. But some newlinemajor concerns seem to plague the libraries today. One of those primary issues is newlineresource crunch that has resulted in budget cuts, pruning of e-resources and print newlinematerial in most of the libraries especially e-journals and imported books. And newlineinformation seeking pattern is further impacted by the paucity of technical skills among newlinethe library staff, which hinders the users in accessing e-resources efficiently. Although, newlineprint resources remain far more popular with the library users, slowly but surely, newlineelectronic resources are gaining momentum at a much faster pace. Also, the setback newlinecaused by the devastating COVID-19 on the human race, perforce led to the surge in newlinethe usage of electronically-stored information and the information readily available newlinethrough the worldwide web. newlineLibraries are the set-ups where rich and voluminous information can be accessed by newlinetheir users. Libraries are the repositories of books and other reading material in both newlineprint and non-print forms that are catalogued and facilitated in such a systematic manner newlinethat the users or readers can retrieve information easily for academic research and other newlinepursuits. newlinexix newlineInformation seeking behaviour denotes a set of actions that users undertake to obtain newlineaccess to desired information through the library services. Arguably, information newlineseeking is a sweeping term, since it involves expression of information needs, seeking newlineof information, evaluation and selection of information to gratify the personal and newlinecareer goals as also the institutional goals.