An assessment of the information needs and information-seeking behaviour of Members of Parliament (MPs) in Bangladesh

Pages48-66
Date09 January 2017
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-10-2016-0075
Published date09 January 2017
AuthorMd Uzzal Hossain,Md Arman Hossain,Md Shariful Islam
Subject MatterLibrary & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library & information services
An assessment of the information
needs and information-seeking
behaviour of Members of
Parliament (MPs) in Bangladesh
Md Uzzal Hossain, Md Arman Hossain and Md Shariful Islam
Department of Information Science and Library Management,
University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the information needs and information-seeking behaviour
of Members of Parliament (MPs) in Bangladesh. It aimed at determining the information sources, preferred
information format, frequency of seeking information and access to information and communication
technology and online information services by the MPs. The study also intended to assess the role of
parliament library for satisfying the information needs of the MPs.
Design/methodology/approach A survey method was adopted for data collection; the respondents
were interviewed by the researchers with the guidance of a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was
read out for the respondents and lled up by the interviewers based on the answers they received. Fifty MPs
were selected for the study using simple random sampling. The data were analysed with the help of weighted
mean.
Findings The study found that the MPs mainly seek information to make a parliamentary
request/inquiry, to make a speech and to make a decision. The most important sources of information were
minutes of sessions, mass media, personal letters and information networks; and they preferred printed
formats rather than online documents. The result also showed that only a few MPs were aware of the
information services provided by the parliament library and were satised with the services they received.
Originality/value Therehas been no study carried out on the information needs and information-seeking
behaviour of MPs in Bangladesh prior to this research. The study will help the policymakers to improve the
library services for MPs in Bangladesh.
Keywords Bangladesh, Information need, Information-seeking behaviour,
Access to ICT and online information, Member of parliament, Parliament library services
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Information plays a vital role in the activities of a democratically elected government, as
representatives need it for active participation in the events taking place around government
(Mostert, 2004). Every politician requires information to participate in the governance of
society. Without proper, adequate and timely information politicians cannot effectively
exercise their duties and responsibilities to their societies as politician. In case of legislators,
it is even more important because elected ofcials risk making costly or even dangerous
decisions for a whole nation or municipality if they are not provided with adequate
information (Alemna and Skouby, 2000). In their study, Orton et al. (2000) stated that MPs
(public representatives) are expected to be knowledgeable about a wide variety of issues,
while their information need is frequently unpredictable and reactive. Shailendra and
Prakash (2008) mentioned that it is obvious, if we want to speed up the pace of development
of our nation, we have to provide current, speedy, relevant and exhaustive information to our
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2398-5348.htm
ILS
118,1/2
48
Received 31 October 2016
Revised 28 November 2016
21 December 2016
Accepted 6 January 2017
Informationand Learning Science
Vol.118 No. 1/2, 2017
pp.48-66
©Emerald Publishing Limited
2398-5348
DOI 10.1108/ILS-10-2016-0075
elected public representatives. Public representatives (Members of Parliament [MP]) are the
policymakers, and the development of a nation depends upon sound policies made by them.
Therefore, it is essential to provide accurate and relevant information (both current and
retrospective) adequately, timely and effectively to MPs (public representatives).
The information need of a person is a situation where he/she needs some information to
quench his/her thirst for information. A person needs information to perform every function
(Shailendra and Prakash, 2008). Actually, information need is a cognitive process which is
nothing but a gap between search begins with a problem and exigency to solve it.
Information-seeking arises for fullling the required information needs. Like other
professionals, MPs need various information and they use different sources of information.
In this context, parliament library is a good source of information. Serema (1999) stated that
parliament library is indeed a very important source of information for MPs. Legislative
libraries (Parliament libraries) are special libraries designed to serve MPs. These libraries
are, therefore, concerned with managing the ow of information on various subjects, in a
manner designed to help MPs get relevant information as and when required.
The Parliament of Bangladesh (Jatiya Sangsad) and its library
Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament), often referred to simply as the Sangsad, is the supreme
legislative body of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh contains 350 seats,
including 50 seats reserved for women, which are apportioned on elected party position in the
parliament. Elected occupants are called MPs. The leader of the party (or alliance of parties)
holding the majority of seats becomes the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, and the head of the
government. The parliament is housed in the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban (National Parliament
Building) designed by the American architect, Louis Kahn (www.parliament.gov.bd/).
Since independence, Bangladesh has experimented with different types of government –
multiparty parliamentary system patterned after the Westminster model (1971-1974),
one-party presidential system (1975) and multi-party presidential system (1978-1982;
1986-1990). For eight years between 1975 and 1990, the country remained under absolute
military rule. In September 1991, the multi-party parliamentary system was restored. Since
then, Bangladesh has ofcially remained a parliamentary democratic country (Ahmed,
2014).The Bangladesh Parliament performs a number of functions of which three are very
important: enactment of legislation, consent to taxation and control of public expenditure
and ensuring accountability of the government. The President of Bangladesh, the ceremonial
head of the state, is chosen by the parliament. A bill passed in Jatiya Sangsad becomes an
act/a statute only after the President has assented, or is deemed to have assented, to it. The
10th national parliamentary election was held on 5 January 2014 and elections are called
every ve years.
Jatiya Sangsad Library as known as Parliament Library is one of the richest libraries in
Bangladesh. The library was started in 1972 at Old Sangsad Bhaban, Tejgaon, Dhaka,
immediately after the formation of Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh. It has a collection of
85 thousand volumes of books and other materials that includes debates of different
Parliaments, reports, magazines, periodicals, gazettes, etc. Most of the collections in the
library are of parliamentary interest, but also include books on law and jurisprudence,
political science, economics, ethics and religion, history, public administration and
international relations, debates of different parliaments, parliamentary committee reports,
gazettes, volumes of local newspapers, etc. The library hours are as follows: Session days:
9.00 a.m. till the end of sitting; 9.00 a.m. to 12.00 a.m. (Friday and Saturday); and non-Session
days: 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. (Sunday to Thursday). The services provided by the parliament
library of Bangladesh include the following: e-news clippings, reading room facilities, book
49
Members of
Parliament

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