THE INFORMATION NEEDS OF TOWN COUNCILLORS IN THE CITY OF FLORIANOPOLIS: a study of the user

Abstract

This study analyses the information needs and uses of a group of twenty-one town councillors from the city of Florianopolis, in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. The data was collected using a questionnaire followed by interviews. The results show that the councillors constitute a heterogeneous group of professionals from diverse sectors. 92,5% are male and 66,7% have university degrees with proven political experience. 51,1% have their own libraries and 90,5% consider that the library can influence the process of national development. In general, they are accustomed to consulting the most varied sources but prefer the traditional types of printed documents. 76,2% access databases and despite the use of Internet outstrip the use of the library it was not employed with the frequency that was expected. 80,6% of the councillors affirmed that they had carried out some kind of research, although only 28,7% had published the results, thus being considered consumers rather than producers of information.