Users are the focal point of all library and information activities. Libraries and information systems are designed to meet the information needs of the people they serve. The sources identify several ways to categorize these information users and outline their specific information needs.
Categories of Information Users
Users can be categorized based on various criteria, including the type of library they use, their profession or role, and their approach to information.
Categorization by Type of Library
Different types of libraries are established to serve distinct user communities with specific needs.
- Academic Libraries: The user community in academic libraries is well-defined and includes various groups involved in teaching, learning, and research.
- University Library Users: These libraries serve a diverse community, including: students at different levels, teachers, research students (M.Phil and Ph.D.), post-doctoral research scholars, professors and experts guiding research, members of academic and executive bodies, and other scholars with special privileges.
- College Library Users: The primary user community comprises students and teachers who rely on the library to supplement classroom teaching and support self-learning.
- Public Libraries: These libraries serve the entire community, providing access to all regardless of age, sex, religion, nationality, language, or social status. The sources identify a priority order for serving different user groups, including illiterates and neo-literates, children, young people, housewives, people pursuing self-education or self-employment, and those in higher education and research.
- Special Libraries: These are established to meet the specific needs of special groups of users, such as those in commercial and industrial organizations, government departments, and hospitals. Their users are typically specialists requiring information for their work.
- Digital Libraries: These are constructed for and by a community of users and are designed to support their particular information needs and uses.
Categorization by Profession or Role
Users can also be grouped according to their professional activities and the kind of information they require.
- Scientific and Technical Users: J.D. Bernal's classification of scientific and technical information users includes:
- Workers in fundamental and applied research.
- Technologists (engineers, doctors, architects).
- Writers of reports and books.
- Scientific and technical journalists.
- The interested public and historians of science. A broader grouping identifies three main categories: researchers; practitioners and technicians; and managers, planners, and decision-makers.
- Users in an Information Society: This includes a wide range of people such as students, teachers, scientists, business executives, and government officials. It also encompasses a workforce engaged in creating, gathering, processing, or distributing information, including those in creative industries like media, design, and the arts.
- "Problem-Solving" Users: This is an amorphous and ill-defined group that includes elected officials, the judiciary, technologists, media professionals, and the general public who require information to solve societal problems.
Categorization by Approach to Information
Users can be grouped based on their relationship with and approach to an information service.
- Potential User: Someone who needs information that a specific service could provide.
- Expected User: Someone known to intend to use a particular information service.
- Actual User: A person who has used an information service, regardless of whether they benefited from it.
- Beneficiary User: Someone who derives a measurable advantage from using an information service.
- Ranganathan's Categories: Users can also be grouped as the freshman, ordinary inquirer, specialist inquirer, and general reader.
Information Needs of Users
User studies are conducted to understand information needs, which vary from person to person and can change depending on the nature of their work. The sources identify several types of information needs.
General Information Needs Linked to User Category
- Students need information to supplement their studies and for project work.
- Teachers need information for teaching and research.
- Professionals (doctors, engineers, lawyers) require information to pursue their careers effectively.
- Researchers (scientists, technologists, social scientists) need information to stay up-to-date, find new research areas, and avoid duplicating efforts.
- Ordinary citizens need various kinds of information for their daily duties.
- Library users in a knowledge-based economy demand just-in-time information to answer specific questions, address problems, and strategize.
Four Main Types of Information Needs
User studies have broadly identified four distinct types of information needs.
- Current Information Need: This is the need to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in a field of interest on a regular basis. This need is not for a specific piece of information but for a continuous flow to remain aware of progress and changes.
- Exhaustive Information Need: This is the need for as much information as possible on a specific subject. It is a common requirement for researchers at the beginning of a project to survey all existing literature or when reporting their findings to compare them with earlier studies.
- Everyday Information Need: This refers to the need for a specific piece of factual information required for day-to-day work-related activities. Examples include finding the boiling point of a compound or a telephone number.
- Catching-up Information Need: This need arises when a user is not familiar with a subject and requires a brief, comprehensible overview of its development. This is particularly common for researchers working on multidisciplinary projects who need to quickly understand fields outside their core expertise.
Understanding these categories of users and their corresponding information needs is considered a prerequisite for designing and evaluating effective information systems, products, and services.