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An overview of international research into the library and information needs of visually impaired people.

Article Excerpt
ABSTRACT

The background to general user needs assessment, including its value in service design and development, and the range of applicable methodologies is discussed. The diverse nature of users is recognized and the inappropriateness of a "one size fits all" approach is emphasized, with particular reference to visually impaired people. The place of research in supporting an evidence-based approach to service design and development is noted. A contextual section identifies some of the drivers that underpin appropriate and adequate provision to visually impaired people. They include legislation, international conventions, and codes of practice. Key features of the research agenda are identified. Much of the recent research relating to user needs coalesces around the theme of information technology, particularly the Internet, and assistive technology; another component of the research agenda comprises investigation of the general needs of visually impaired people in achieving a fulfilling lifestyle that includes access to information and libraries. Selected examples of completed research work from different countries are described in terms of scope, methods, and outcomes. An assessment of the need for future research concludes the article.

INTRODUCTION

The modern library and information service features access to information in all its forms coupled with a range of services designed to support users, as well as space in which users may engage individually or collectively with information. Those users may draw on the library's resources for a variety of purposes in their daily routine, including leisure, learning, work, and living. An aspiration for the library and information service is that it is equally hospitable to users of all kinds and it knows no artificial boundaries in terms of information. The reality, of course, is that resource constraints impinge greatly on what a service can provide, and there is a constant assessment of priorities based on the affordable and perceptions of user need. However, those users are by no means uniform in their need for information, or in the way that they can or do access it. One test of a service's commitment to fulfilling its brief is the way it deals with visually impaired people, including discovering who they are, what they need, and how they can be best served.

It is fair to say that libraries in the modern world generally display a sensitivity to user needs that compares favorably with a range of comparable services in both the public and private sectors. The literature on users and user needs is abundant, and we have come a long way from the days when simply maintaining a building and stock were regarded as sufficient ends in themselves. Some of this situation has been brought about by the professionalism and commitment of librarians to bring together the community and information in imaginative ways. Another factor has been the increased emphasis by governments on demonstrating not only the efficiency of libraries but their impact on users as well. A third strand of the issue relates to the way in which legislation in many countries has placed social inclusion and equality of opportunity at the forefront of community action.

Determining what users need is, of course, a challenge not least because of the diverse nature of those users. Mechanisms exist to canvass opinion and identify activity regarding libraries. Examples include collating usage data from in-house library systems, reader exit surveys, and Web-based questionnaires, some of which may be quite extensive and sophisticated in their scope. In terms of population characteristics, however, the granularity of the evidence gathering rarely goes beyond differentiating between adults and children, or between students and teachers. Moreover, what of nonusers, or as Christie Koontz (2005)--a leading authority on library users and marketing at Florida State University--prefers, "potential users" within a community? Community profiling using geosocial data can assist planning and decision making at the general level, but it does not penetrate into establishing the expressed needs, wants, and attitudes of people.

These issues take on an even sharper focus when we consider visually impaired people and the strategies to include them in service development and delivery. The significant number of people in the community that have a visual impairment of one kind or...

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