Information needs of prisoners in Southeast Nigerian prisons

Abstract

Information has been seen as a fundamental human right. Everybody in the world of today is supposed to have access to information to carry on with daily life activities. Prisoners as well have the right to information to be utilized while in prison as well as after imprisonment. This paper delved into the information needs and information seeking behavior of prisoners in the prisons of five states in Southeast Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to find out the various areas the prisoners need information, any available library and information services in place and the extent to which the information needs of these prisoners are being met. Three research questions and two null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. A multiple-choice questionnaire was used to collect data from prison workers while Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was used to get information from the prisoners. Data was analyzed quantitatively using frequencies and mean scores while the data from the FGD was analyzed descriptively and qualitatively in line with the research questions. The two null hypotheses were tested using chi-square test at 0.5 level of significance. Results showed that there was no significant difference between the mean responses of prison workers from different states on the areas the prisoners need information and on the level of satisfaction of the information needs of the prisoners. Major findings showed that the prisoners have a good number of information needs ranging from educational, legal, vocational, spiritual, to recreational and financial information needs which are not provided for adequately through library and other information providers.