Introduction For purposes of this study, artisans are those who perform skilled work with their hands. They are equipped mainly with vocational education. This may be acquired formally or informally. In most cases, they serve as apprentices before they be- come adept in their vocation. They are involved in all kinds of occupations, especially those in con- struction and the motor industry; hence we have carpenters, plumbers, bricklayers, welders, paint- ers, panel beaters, electricians, mechanics, etc. Other activities in which they are involved in- clude hairdressing, tailoring and dressmaking. They have limited education. Most of them would have undergone primary education, and a few have attained secondary education. Every individual, whether literate or illiterate, needs information for a variety of issues essential for his or her survival. It is, therefore, not surpris- ing that information is needed for awareness, in- creased productivity, health, etc. In studying the information needs of an individual, the informa- tion needs have to be studied in the context of the information environment, which includes not only the information needs, but also the informa- tion seeking behaviours, access to information and sources of information used for meeting the information needs. The users of information are complex, while some are relatively homogenous such as profes- sionals, students, policymakers, researchers, etc., some could be heterogeneous like rural inhabit- ants, artisans, etc. They have different back- grounds, education levels, and jobs; they oper- ate from differing environments. Given the large disparity among users of information it is obvious that information providers must provide a variety of information sources in order to meet the needs of the various users. Because of the importance of providing information sources to users, the infor- mation needs of specific users need to be studied. Correspondence to: Prof. L. O. Aina. E-mail address: ainalo@mopipi.ub.bw Neo Mooko is a lecturer in the Department of Library and Information Studies, University of Botswana. E-mail: mookonp@ mopipi.ub.bw. L.O. Aina is Professor of Library and Information Studies at the University of Botswana. Department of Library and Information Studies, University of Botswana, P/Bag 0022, Gaborone, Botswana. E-mail: mailto:ainalo@mopipi.ub.bw. Libri, 2007, vol. 57, pp. 27–33 Printed in Germany All rights reserved Copyright Saur 2007 Libri ISSN 0024-2667 27 A survey of 439 artisans in Botswana was carried out with a view to determining their information needs, information seeking behaviour and sources of information used for meet- ing their daily needs. The study reveals that about 70% of the respondents were 21–40 years old. The artisans were in- volved in a variety of vocations, dressmaking, welding and hair dressing being the most prominent. A significant number of the artisans (11.7%) had no formal education. The greatest job-related information needs were in finding sources for raw materials (55.6%), locating government tenders (46.2%) and improving their knowledge (44%). Health (59.9%) and sports (32.1%) were the major general areas of information needs. The artisans sought information mainly through in- formal conversations (65.8%) and listening to radio (62.6%). The most used information sources were radio (50.3%), col- leagues (49%) and newspapers (47.4%). Only 28% of the re- spondents were computer literate. The paper recommends that the government of Botswana should provide continuing education programmes for the artisans, as this would improve their skills in their vocations, as well as their computer lit- eracy competence. Also, information providers, such as li- braries should be involved pro-actively in the provision of information to artisans. They should also equip the artisans with information literacy competence. Information Environment of Artisans in Botswana Neo Mooko and L.O. Aina Department of Library and Information Studies, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana