A Methodology for Studying the Information Seeking Behaviors of Catholic Clergy

https://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/acir/2011/Papers/22/thumbnail.jpgThis paper describes the construction of a set of interview questions to be used for discovering the information seeking behavior of Catholic clergy. It acknowledges previous findings, which indicate that clergy very infrequently consult library resources to fulfill their information needs. Instead of asking clergy about their information needs, the study team asks about decisions clergy make and about the resources they consult when making these decisions. The study looks at seven different responsibilities of clergy: Preaching, Teaching, Care Giving, Administering, Conducting Service/Liturgy, Counseling, and Reflecting/Engaging in Personal Development. The study differentiates between time spent executing a responsibility and time spent gathering the necessary information to do so. Initial findings indicate that clergy rely primarily on their personal resources and personal contacts to satisfy their information needs. None has mentioned the use of a library in the process of information gathering.