Information Needs and Information Seeking Behaviour of Graduate Students at the Faculty of Applied Science

Abstract

Information need and information seeking behavior are intertwined concepts. Information need is the motivation people think and feel to seek information, and information seeking behaviour is the process of information acquiring, using and implementing information. Libraries should ensure the educational and research needs of the students in order to address their needs. The overall objective was to determine information needs and information seeking behaviour of the graduate students and to identify the awareness of the library services available to them. The survey was conducted to collect data through questionnaire in this study. 125 graduates were selected by using stratified random sampling method from the faculty of Applied Science of the Vavuniya Campus. The response rate was 91%. The findings reveal that the majority of the students (85%) find the library adequately stocked in their areas of specialization and satisfied as those are more relevant to their academic programme. The awareness of e-resources availability and usage of graduate depict a considerable size (65%). The graduates mainly seek information for the purposes of exam (84%) and research (59%) from the library. They prefer to access e-resources (75%) than printed materials. The graduates satisfied with the library services (76%) in meeting their needs. It can be concluded that the most of the graduates are well versed in basic skills on how to use the library services and resources, and they are aware of the services the library can offer them. Library staff are expected to have periodical training programmes, computer networks should be developed to enhance e-resources usage and make access of e-resources available at students’ hostels were recommended to implement for a successful library operation