Information Needs

Information Needs

Information need is an individual or group's desire to locate and obtain information to satisfy a conscious or unconscious need. The ‘information’ and ‘need’ in ‘information need’ are an inseparable interconnection. Needs and interests call forth information. The objectives of studying information needs are:

1. The explanation of observed phenomena of information use or expressed need;
2. The prediction of instances of information uses;
3. The control and thereby improvement of the utilization of information manipulation of essentials conditions.

Information needs are related to, but distinct from information requirements. An example is that a need is hunger; the requirement is food.