Sukchand Hazra1 Librarian, Ramakrishna Mission Residential College (Autonomous), Narendrapur, West Bengal,, India
Sukumar Mondal Librarian, Sundarban Hazi Desarat College, Pathankhali, West Bengal,, India
Address for correspondence: Sukumar Mondal, Librarian, Sundarban Hazi Desarat College, Pathankhali, West Bengal,, India E-mail: sukumarmondal67@gmail.com
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Sukchand Hazra, Sukumar Mondal. Information Needs of Persons with Visual Impairments: A Socioeconomic Analysis. Ind J Lib Inf Sci 2026; 20 (2): 185–194.
Timeline
Received : June 13, 2026
Accepted : July 15, 2026
Published : August 30, 2026
Abstract
This study investigates the information needs of persons with visual impairments and examines the influence of socioeconomic factors such as age, gender, income, habitation, occupation, and educational status. A survey method was employed, and data were collected from 100 visually impaired respondents through structured questionnaires and interviews. The findings reveal significant variations in information needs across different socioeconomic groups. Educational information was the primary need among younger respondents, financial information among working-age adults, health information among females and illiterate respondents, and religious information among older respondents. The study contributes to a better understanding of information behaviour among visually impaired persons and provides implications for libraries, policymakers, and information service providers in developing inclusive information services.
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Data Sharing Statement
There are no additional data available. All raw data and code are available upon request.
Funding
This research received no funding.
Author Contributions
All authors contributed significantly to the work and approve its publication.
Ethics Declaration
This article does not involve any human or animal subjects, and therefore does not require ethics approval.
Acknowledgements
We would like to express our gratitude to the patients, their families, and all those who have contributed to this study.
Conflicts of Interest
No conflicts of interest in this work.
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Cite this article
Sukchand Hazra, Sukumar Mondal. Information Needs of Persons with Visual Impairments: A Socioeconomic Analysis. Ind J Lib Inf Sci 2026; 20 (2): 185–194.
This license enables
reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium
or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is
given to the creator.
This license enables
reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium
or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is
given to the creator.