Abstract

Information Seeking Behavior (ISB) studies is one area in Library and Information Science that has over the years attracted the attention of information professionals, resulting in several studies being carried out with a view to understanding the information needs of individuals, why they seek information, how they seek it and the problems encountered. While an enormous amount of literature has shown that several professional groups’ information seeking behavior has been studied, an important and influential group of professionals, the Muslim clerics (Ulama) have been totally neglected. The study deployed the survey research method using questionnaire to collect data from 284 respondents which was subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistical procedures. The study found out that the Ulama like any other professional group needs information and take various steps to satisfy them. While preaching, the Ulama consult their personal collections and other libraries to use resources such as Qur’an, Hadith, and commentaries by other scholars, and consult informal channels of information such as council of Ulama, colleagues or friends and relatives. The study also found out that the Ulama deployed different search strategies to identify and locate information when using either the library, ICT, or informal channels. The study has also established significant relationships between demographic factors and search strategies adopted. Finally, it can be revealed that the information seeking pattern of the Ulama can best be described as linear along the features identified by the Leckie et al. (1996)’s Professional Information Search Strategy Model.

Key words: Information needs, information seeking, preaching, Ulama.