Abstract
This article investigated personal influence in the information-seeking
behaviour of art students. A qualitative approach was followed, and the data
were collected by means of interviews with 11 art students of The Open Window
School of Visual Communication, located in Pretoria, South Africa. The Open
Window offers degrees and postgraduate honours degrees in Visual
Communication. The key findings revealed that the personal dimension in
information-seeking behaviour has a significant influence on art students’
information needs and is prevalent in their personal interests and preferences
and their motivation to seek information. The findings provided insight into how
the art students’ information-seeking behaviour might influence the library as
an information service.