Digital information needs and information-seeking behaviour among legal practitioners at the Lahore High Court, Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to investigate the digital information needs and seeking behaviour of legal practitioners practising at the Lahore High Court in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a quantitative approach based on an e-questionnaire survey to collect data from legal practitioners following a comprehensive census. Among the 9,933 registered legal practitioners, a random sample size of 370 respondents was determined, of whom 302 responded to the survey, resulting in a response rate of 81.6%. Findings Legal practitioners prefer the Pakistan Law Site and law journals as primary sources of information acquisition, with a distinct inclination towards digital formats over traditional print. These resources are primarily used for court case preparation, significantly enhancing the research capabilities of legal practitioners and ensuring they remain current in their field. However, several challenges were identified, including time constraints, limited access to digital resources and inadequate availability of legal resources in digital format. These challenges emphasize the critical need for enhancing the digital infrastructure of law libraries. Research limitations/implications The study calls for law libraries to adopt technological advancements and underscores the necessity of improving digital infrastructure to better serve the evolving information needs of legal practitioners. Originality/value This study underscores the preferred information sources and formats of legal practitioners for seeking information, their purpose for using law resources and the impact of digital media on their information-seeking behaviour. In addition, this study reveals the challenges they face in seeking them.