INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOUR ON DIGITAL RESOURCES BY VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI LIBRARY, KENYA.

Abstract

Information is power, a very important and valuable commodity in everydayhumanactivity as evidenced with the current digital divide that equal access to informationisessential to the development of information society which also applies to peoplewithdisability. The aim of the study was establish the information seeking behaviour ofvisually impaired students in accessing digital information resources withspecial reference to University of Nairobi library services. The study was guidedbythefollowing objectives; to: establish information seeking behaviour by students withvisual impairment in accessing digital resources; determine how existing adaptiveandassistive technology impact students with visual impairment in accessingdigital information resources; identify the challenges that mitigate the visually impairedstudents when accessing the digital resources and to propose possible strategiestomitigate the challenges that VI students face while accessing the digital resources. The total population of the study comprised of two units of analysis which were32visually impaired students and 6 librarians in charge of the visually impaired students. The study carried out a survey by means of questionnaires and observation protocol. The researcher observed keenly the behaviour of the VI students on howtheyinteract with the adaptive/assistive technology; how they seek the information and challengesto its accessibility. This was achieved through the use of observation protocol instrument. The observation results were to complement questionnaires fromboththedigital librarians and the VI students. The study employed Wilson’s (1999) TheoryofInformation Behaviour Model which provided a framework in mapping the student’sinformation patterns. SPSS version 25 was used to analyse the data. The responseratewas 78.95% from all the units of analysis. The results indicated that majority72%were female. Similarly, the results revealed that most VI students were gettingassistance from a sighted person or by use of computers, speech synthesizers, screenreaders, brail prints, and audio books. The study revealed that a smaller number usedmobile app called Tap Tap. The findings also indicated that UONlibrary haddigital resources for VI which were inadequate. Although most of the VI students hadattended training or workshops, they faced several challenges which include; limitednumber of learning materials, slowness of VI students in grasping/typing information, inadequate electronic knowledge and skills from the librarians, negative attitudefromtheir peers, financial challenges, inadequate digital skills by VI students, small learning space, failure to see facial expressions, mobility problems, and poor network. The study recommends that; the number of braille machines/learning materials/digital resources for students be increased, that the university have a continuous trainingonthe existing librarians so as to equip them with enough and current technological skills, and ensure that the study environment is adaptive for VI students. The studyfurther recommends that this being a grey area, more research needs to be carriedinother public universities handling visually impaired students.