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Information Needs of Persons with Visual Impairments: A Socioeconomic Analysis

Sukchand Hazra1, Sukumar Mondal

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Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

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.


Indian Journal of Library and Information Sciences 20(2):p 185-194, May - August 2026. | DOI: https://doi.org/10.21088/ijlis.0973.9548.20226.7

How 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.

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.


References

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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.


Licence:

Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

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.


Received Accepted Published
June 13, 2026 July 15, 2026 August 30, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21088/ijlis.0973.9548.20226.7

Keywords

Inclusive Information SystemsInformation NeedsPersons with DisabilitiesSocioeconomic FactorsVisual Impairment

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Timeline


Received June 13, 2026
Accepted July 15, 2026
Published August 30, 2026

licence


Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

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.


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