The impact of information technologies on the information seeking behavior of academic engineers: Bilkent University model

The changes of information technologies change the scientific information environment, and diversify the information channels, sources and services in an electronic environment. These technologies, also change the roles of the academic libraries in scientific communication and direct these libraries' services to the electronic environment. Due to these technologies, the information system which is affected, change information needs and information seeking behavior of library users. While academic libraries are serving to their engineering users, who needs technical and scientific information, they intend to make their services more closer to their users. in spite of that, the importance of following the changes on the information technologies and the changes of the information seeking behavior of engineers are getting important for academic libraries. in this study's coverage, the importance of information technologies on the information seeking and using behaviors of academic engineers is investigated. Because of this, it is evaluated that the types of using of information channels, information sources, formal and informal communication types, also using of the academic libraries of academic engineers at Bilkent University while gathering their information needs by using the whole advantages of information technologies. The problem of our study is being determined like that: ""Due to the changes of the information technologies, the environment, in which the information exists, tends to the electronic format, so it changes the roles of the university libraries in the scientific communication. These changes need to be investigated as user centered and the library services need to be evaluated according to the results."" IV The hypothesis of our study which is determined according to the problem is that: ""Due to the infonnation technologies, academic engineers' - Information retrieval habits, - Types of the communications among their colleagues, - Preferences of the infonnation sources, - Ways of the infonnation retrieval, - Habits of the use of the university library, - Expectations of the library services which the university library serves is changing."" The survey method is used in the study. in this context, the questionnaire was sent to 267 academic engineers who work at the Bilkent University, and 249 (93,2 %) of them replied it. The results which we göt according to the data of the survey and the information in the literatüre is that: a Due to the information technologies, the information needs and the perceptions of information sources of engineers are changing. n The way of information seeking and searching of engineers turn to the electronic environment, the internet is used much in their daily lives. Also, search engines are used as a main information gathering tool. n The communication ways of engineers are changing. n Engineers prefer to use the university via the library web site, also the information sources they choose are on the library web site. n Engineers have some expectations from the university library on the library's electronic services. Above mentioned hypothesis is approved according to the result of the research