The Information Needs and Behavior of Mature Community College Students: A Review of Literature

Abstract

This paper is a review of literature devoted to the unique information needs and information-seeking behavior of the growing nontraditional or mature community college student population. This underserved user group faces distinctive challenges that librarians, researchers, and administrators must recognize and address. Much of the existing research focuses on nontraditional students at four-year colleges or traditional students at community colleges. While these studies are useful, they omit many of the factors that interfere with mature community college students’ access to information. The gaps in the current field of literature dedicated to this group highlight the importance of continued research and the call for more specific user studies.

KEYWORDS:

• Nontraditional students
• mature students
• community colleges
• two-year colleges
• information seeking