Abstract:
Information seeking behavior is the application of attitudes through a set of actions in order to
achieve the desired information need. Studying the information-seeking behavior of users is very
important for librarians and information services providers while planning and designing
information services for their clientele. The objective of this study was to identify the
information seeking behavior of nurses in Jimma University Specialized hospital. The
methodology employed to conduct this study was quantitative survey research and the
respondents were nurses of Jimma University Specialized hospital, Ethiopia. The total
population of the study was 500 nurses. Simple random sampling was used for selecting
questionnaire respondents from the total populations. Questionnaire was used as data colleting
method to gather data. The questionnaire was distributed to 152 nurses, from which 126 (82.9%)
were returned and used for data analysis.
The result of the analysis indicates that the main reasons that motivated nurses to search for
information were updating their knowledge, for their development and for better patient care.
The main types of information sources accessed by nurses were internet resources, books, ask
(Drs, pharmacists), personal collection and their colleagues. The most preferred information
formats for nurses were both electronic and printed information format. Education level, year of
experience, poor computer and search skill and lack of adequate time were the identified factors
that affect/facilitate information seeking behavior of nurses, those listed factors had significant
relationship with information seeking behavior. This study recommended that library and
information center should conduct continues need assessment and provide information literacy
training and develop better information system to convey the relevant information needed of
nurse staffs.
