TITLE: INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOUR OF VISUALLY

IMPAIRED PERSONS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO NIEPVD

DEHRADUN AND NAB HALDWANI: A STUDY

INTRODUCTION

Disability is any condition of the body or mind (impairment) that makes it more
difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities (activity limitation) and
interact with the world around them. Among the four major categories of disability described
by the government: Visual Impairments, Hearing Impairments, Motor Impairments, and
Cognitive Impairments. Ones with visual disabilities need more support, particularly students
with low vision or no vision need special accessible features in all courses whether online or
offline because they have some difficulties dealing with the technologies (Crow, 2008;
Fichtean et al., 2009; Summers et al., 2014).

VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

Among the persons with disabilities like moving, hearing, speaking, deafness, etc. a
person with visual impairment is more dependent on another person in their all-day activities.
Life of visually impaired people is most stringent than people with other disabilities. More
attention is required on the education and literacy rate among people with visual disabilities.
Visual Impairment can be 1) complete blindness 2) low vision 3) color blindness. People with
vision impairment require extra assistance in every aspect of their life.

DISABILITY ACT 1995

Though the subject of "Disability" figures in the State List in the Seventh Schedule of
the Constitution, the Government of India has always been proactive in the disability sector.
It is not only running eight National Institutes (NIs) dealing with various types of disabilities
and twenty Composite Regional Centers (CRCs), which provide rehabilitation services to
Persons with Disabilities (PW Ds) and run courses for the rehabilitation professional but also
funds a large number of NGOs for similar services and also a National Handicapped Finance
& Development Corporation (NHFDC) which provides loans at concession rates of interest to
PW Ds for self-employment. Besides, the Union Government is a party to (i) the
Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities in the
Asian and the Pacific Region - adopted in Beijing in December 1992, and (ii) The UN
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which came into effect
in May 2008. The subject received attention in various States Governments in varying
degrees. At the Central level also disability being one of the several responsibilities, and
being looked after by just one bureau, has resulted in inadequate attention, as most of its time
and energy is spent only on implementing Ministry's schemes, meeting their expenditure and
physical targets, and organize annual time-bound activities like the National Awards for the
empowerment of PW Ds. In the above background, it was stated in the 11th Five Year Plan
that "The 'Disability Division' of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment will be
strengthened by converting it into a separate Department so that it can liaise effectively
with all the other concerned Ministries/Departments and fulfill its responsibilities
towards the disabled". 'A society which is good for disabled people is a better society for all
(Beckles, 2004) The above statement of Beckles is rightly framed as a society that has a
provision to serve equal opportunity for all those who are especially abled to perform their
everyday work is an ideal society for all.

RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, 2016

The Act replaces the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of
Rights and Full Participation) Act, of 1995. It fulfills the obligations to the United National
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), to which India is a

signatory. The types of disabilities have been increased from the existing 7 to 21 and the
Central Government will have the power to add more types of disabilities. Out of the 21
disabilities listed, few are Blindness, Low-vision, Hearing Impairment (deaf and hard of
hearing), Speech and Language disability, Multiple Disabilities including deaf-blindness, etc.
Additional benefits such as reservation in higher education (not less than 5%), government
jobs (not less than 4 %), reservation in the allocation of land, poverty alleviation schemes
(5% allotment), etc. have been provided for persons with benchmark disabilities and those
with high support needs. Every child with a benchmark disability between the age group of 6
and 18 years shall have the right to free education. In recent years changes in legislation, as
reflected in the Right to Persons with Disabilities Act and the Right to Education Act, have
provided a much-needed focus on the education of persons with disabilities. Specific
legislation has been put in place to ensure the educational empowerment of persons with
disabilities. The department of empowerment of persons with disabilities (Divyangjan), Govt.
of India, and the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities have
developed many service models. Through the Rehabilitation Council of India, a statutory
body, human resource development programs are standardized. Many Non-Government
Organizations have started special education, integrated education, inclusive education, and
vocational training program. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) seeks to ensure that every child in
the age group of 6-14 years with special needs, irrespective of the kind, category, and degree
of disability, is provided with meaningful and quality education. Every child with a disability
should have access to appropriate preschool, and primary and secondary level education by
2020 as per National Policy.

EDUCATION LAW FOR THE DISABLED

The right to education is available to all citizens including the disabled. Article 29(2)
of the Constitution provides that no citizen shall be denied admission into any educational
institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on the ground of
religion, race, caste, or language. Article 45 of the Constitution directs the State to provide
free and compulsory education for all children (including the disabled) until they attain the
age of 14 years.
UGC SCHEME FOR DIFFERENTLY ABLED STUDENTS

Higher Education for Persons with Special Needs (HEPSN)

Financial Assistance to Visually Challenged Teachers

National Fellowship for Persons with Disabilities

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT SCHEMES

Disability Certificate and Identity Card

Inclusive Education for Disabled under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase of Aids and Appliances

STATE GOVERNMENT SCHEMES

Scholarship

Social security pension

Economic Assistance for Self-Employment

MEANING AND DEFINITION OF THE CONCEPT

Information is a necessary resource for daily life. As humans, we rely on various

types of information to perform a wide range of tasks, from simple household chores to
academic pursuits to professional existence. We need information to complete these tasks,
whether we use it knowingly or unknowingly. As a result, Martin has referred to it as the
"lifeblood of society" (1995, p. 18). According to Bates (2005), information is all around us
all the time; the only thing in the universe that lacks information is total entropy.
INFORMATION

According to Merriam-Webster, "information" is the communication or reception of

knowledge or intelligence, or knowledge obtained through investigation, study, or instruction,
or intelligence, news, facts, or data.

INFORMATION NEED

Today's society is awash in information. Information is a primary resource that

influences access to and use of other resources in society. The value of information is found
in its application for understanding a situation, making decisions and planning, and
predicting, monitoring, and reviewing activities. It is critical that information be accurate and
relevant in order to be useful. The value of information is not a fixed or inherent quality. It is
determined by the recipient's needs and the use to which it is put.

INFORMATION SEEKING

Information behavior encompasses all human behavior related to information sources

and channels, including both active and passive information seeking and use. Information
seeking is a term that describes how people seek, evaluate, select, and use information.
Individuals seeking information may interact with a variety of people, tools, and computer-
based systems. It is a critical cognitive function associated with learning and problem
solving. One of the most important research areas in library user studies is behavior, which is
influenced by a variety of factors.

INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOUR

This Concept represents the process of how people seek information and utilize it for
their specific needs. Further, it explains the factors such as the purpose of seeking
information, the mental and physical tasks involved in it, and different aspects of discipline
such as behavior, psychology, technology, etc. It can be explained as the process of acquiring
knowledge by a human that has the potential to affect their current state of decision-making.
According to Sultana and Ayesha (2016) the term Information seeking behavior involves a
set of actions like information needs, seek information, evaluate and select information, and
finally use this information. According to Wilson Information Seeking Behavior is a
purposive seeking of information as a consequence of a need to satisfy some goal. According
to Girija Kumar, Information Seeking Behavior is mainly concerned with the need, what kind
of information, and for what reason, and how information is found, evaluated, and used and
the needs can be identified and satisfied.

NIEPVD (National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities)

The National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities
(Divyangjan) (NIEPVD) Dehradun is one of the seven National Institutes working under the
administrative control of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities,
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India. It was established way
back in 1943 as St Dunstan’s Hostel for the War Blinded for providing rehabilitation services
to the soldiers and sailors blinded in the World War II.  In 1967, the Government established
the National Centre for the Blind. This Centre was further upgraded as National Institute for
the Visually Handicapped in the year 1979 and finally in October 1982, it was registered
under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and acquired the status of an autonomous body.
The name of the Institute was also changed from NIVH to NIEPVD in the year 2016.

NAB (National Association for the Blind)

Year 1952, saw the flowering of the seed sown way back in 1947, by Mr. Mangulal
Jethalal Shah. Mr. B. G. Kher, the then Premier of Bombay Province moved a resolution at
the First All India Conference for the Blind held in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), which led to
the founding of the National Association for the Blind (India). Since inception of the
organization, education of visually impaired has been the core objective.
 LITERATURE REVIEW

Singh, Binod Kumar (2012) This study focus on the geographical study of persons
with disability in India. This thesis focuses on the geographical study of persons with
disabilities in India. The socioeconomic, demographic, and geographic characteristics of
persons with disabilities along with the magnitude, prevalence, and regional distribution of
disability are evaluated. The regional Burden of Disability is also estimated at a variety of
regional scales and administrative units. The various causes of disability and the risk factors
of various types of disabilities in India are reviewed, analyzed, and tested with three models
i.e. social model; the economic model, and the health and hygiene model of disability.

NCLIS Hearing (1999) National Commission on Libraries and Information Science

is a permanent independent agency of the Federal Government, established in 1970 with the
enactment of Public Law 91-345. Here the commission advised the Federal, state, and local
governments, and other public and private organizations, regarding library and information
sciences including consultations on relevant treaties, international agreements, and
implementing legislation, and it promotes research and development activities that will
extend and improve the nation's library an information handling capacity as essential links in
the national and international networks.

Farooq, Tania, and Manzoor, Shazia (2021) in their article Library Services for
Students with Disabilities: Barriers and Way Forward has stated that libraries form a central
part of any society. All academic institutions have libraries and cannot function effectively
without them. Similarly, public libraries are also of the same importance there is a consensus
on the fact that libraries should provide services to all without discrimination on any ground.
However students with disabilities form a vulnerable group who are not able to access the
library because of some barriers, this paper focuses on some of those barriers which state that
students with disabilities have an equal right to access library services without having to face
any discrimination.

Dobree & Boulter, (1982) Visual impairment can occur at any stage. Louis Braille,
the inventor of the Braille tactile print, was three years old when he was blinded due to an
accident. He obtained his education at the School for the Blind in Paris, which was the
world's first school for the blind. Later, he became a full Professor at the school at the age of
19. He strongly believed that the blind had to have full access to books to achieve higher
educational attainments.

Dev Nandan Kumar (2017) This study is conducted on the population of blind
students of devnar school, Hyderabad. The greatest challenge for the Central Government and
the State Governments is the achievement of quality education in an inclusive and accessible
setup for persons with visual disabilities. The Government alone cannot accomplish this task
of making the "Right Real". Interestingly, there was a paradigm shift in approach towards
Persons with Disabilities since the Ninth Five Year Plan, from the earlier welfare-based
approach to a rights-based approach. National Policy for Persons with Disabilities also
advocated a multi-sectoral and multi-collaborative approach to ensure education to persons
with visual disabilities.

Priya R Pillai (2011) Blind and low-vision students experience widespread social
exclusion in India. This is due to a combination of economic, technological, and legal
barriers. Students who are visually challenged should freely be able to use public libraries,
and academic libraries as their sighted peers do. However, it is almost impossible for the
visually impaired to use libraries in India as they have physical and psychological barriers
and inaccessible library materials with difficulties in dealing with untrained library staff
which makes the situation even worse. The government and the libraries should understand
that the visually impaired also have equal rights to information, and then there will be a great
improvement in the field of library services for the disabled. By designing a barrier-free
environment, setting up new facilities, and reorienting library professionals, libraries can
ensure information for all.
STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM

Identifying a research problem is the initial stage in any research project. The
statement that constitutes the research problem must be studied in order to determine its
nature and extent. The researcher defined the current research problem after surveying NAB
(National Association for the Blind) Haldwani and reviewing the literature, which revealed
that no prior study on these organizations from the standpoint of their users had been done.
As a result, the current study’s problem is as follows:

"INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOR OF THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED

PERSONS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO NIEPVD AND NAB: A STUDY"

It will highlight the current status of selected institutions designated as institutions of

national importance for the empowerment of people with visual disabilities. Furthermore, the
current facilities and services available will reveal the institution's efficiency.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The primary goal of the study is to look into the information needs and seeking behaviour
of visually impaired students at NIEPVD and NAB. The following are the study's specific
objectives:

1. To investigate issues concerning information access for visually impaired students.

2. To examine the mode of seeking information adopted by the users in the institution
under study for seeking their information.

3. To investigate which types of publications and information sources are used by

information seekers.

4. To examine the information infrastructure and the awareness of the ICT aspect among
users.

5. To compare the services of institutions.

6. To assess the ICT skills of the staff.

7. To identify the economic background of the visually impaired under study.

8. To find out the role and involvement of government agencies in the development of
information services for the visually impaired.

9. To examine the accessibility of websites commonly used by visually impaired people.

10. To identify which other libraries and information-providing centers are used by
visually impaired users.

11. To provide some recommendations to solve the problems while seeking and
accessing information in the library.

HYPOTHESES
The following are the hypothesis formulated for the present study:

1. It is assumed that not all of the visually impaired users under investigation are
informed with ICT products.

2. It is presumed that participants under study are from the economically weaker
families.

3. It is expected that the institutions are adequately funded.

4. The institutes are assumed to have a strong ICT infrastructure.

5. It is expected that the teaching staff is well-trained.

SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

All the respondents included, were disabled due to some visual impairment. All
vision-related impairments as described and defined by authorities were covered. The study,
therefore, included people with partial vision, low vision, and blind. Respondents who had
impairment since birth and who were impaired later in life will be part of the study.
Respondents in different age groups pursuing some formal education or vocational or
professional course or both will be included. With special reference to NAB Haldwani, and
NIEPVD, Dehradun. This study will be about the behavior of seeking information of persons
who are visually impaired and are receiving education from NAB and NIEPVD. For the
study, data will be collected from the selected groups of users specifically of these
institutions within the prescribed period. The scope of the study is limited to NIEPVD,
Dehradun, and NAB Haldwani.
METHODOLOGY FOR (DATA COLLECTION)

Since this study has been designed to find out the process and sources by which
visually deprived people seek information for their information needs. The Study will have a
descriptive research design and the instruments for data collection in this study will be
structured questionnaires (Questionnaire Method) and interviews (Interview Method. To
conduct this study sample population under observation is selected from NIEPVD Dehradun
and NAB Haldwani. Institutes of National Importance for the visually impaired. Sampling is
a statistical analysis technique in which a predetermined number of observations are drawn
from a larger population. There are two sampling designs available for research namely-
Probability sampling and non-Probability sampling. The present study will adopt Judgmental
or Purposive sampling to collect responses from the user group of NIEPVD, Dehradun, and
NAB Haldwani. The source for collecting this information will be users of the institution.

ANALYSIS OF DATA

After the data have been collected, the researcher turns to the task of analyzing them.
The analysis of data requires several closely related operations such as tabulation, and
statistical analysis further the work of analysis will be based on various statistical tools that
vary according to the requirement of data, including MS Excel, and software like SPSS
(Statistical Package for Social Sciences) and other similar software.
TENTATIVE CHAPTER PLAN

The study shall be organized into the following chapters:

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Discussion

Chapter 5: Findings, Conclusions, and Suggestions

Annexure
References:
 Pradeep V. Hegde, (2012) Information Seeking Behavior of Users in the
Pharmaceutical Science College Libraries of South Kanara and Udupi Districts: A
Study
 U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. Library and
information services for individuals with disabilities; an NCLIS hearing in
Washington, DC, July 8, 1999. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office,
2000. (NCLIS Hearing 1999-1)
 Farooq, Tania, and Manzoor, Shazia, "Library Services for the Students with
Disabilities: Barriers and Way Forward." (2021). Library Philosophy and Practice (e-
journal).6720. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/6720
 Dev Nandan Kumar, Pawan Kumar and Rawat, J. S. 2017. “Education of persons
with visual disabilities in India”, International Journal of Development Research, 7,
(08), 14757-14761.
 Kumar, Dev & Kumar, Pawan & J.S, Rawat. (2017). EDUCATION OF PERSONS
WITH VISUAL DISABILITIES IN INDIA. International Journal of Development
Research. 07. 5 pages.
 Haque, Md & Nazmulhasan, Md & Eamin, A & Akanda, Ali & Any, Farzana. (2020).
Physically Challenged Students at Rajshahi University in Bangladesh: a study on
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10.9790/0837-2506121424.
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 Kaminer RK, McMahon E. Blindness and visual impairment. Pediatrics in Review
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 Pillai, Priya R(2011) Provision of library and information services for the visually
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  Varma, Priyank (2016) Concept Understanding in Visually Impaired ESL Learners
http://hdl.handle.net/10603/31028Tubachi, Padmavati. (2018). INFORMATION
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 Government of India, Annual Report of Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment,
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 Government of India, Planning Commission, Tenth Five Year Plan 2002-2007,
Document, Volume I, p.220
 National Policy for Persons with Disabilities, Government of India, 2006 Census of
India 2011, Government of India, New Delhi.
 Right to Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

Websites:
 https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/
 https://www.merriam-webster.com/
 https://www.britannica.com/
 https://vikaspedia.in/InDG
https://www.google.com/