English abstract
People with special needs are considered as an important part of society that can not be neglected, it has become imperative for the State to provide all services, especially information services, as they desperately need these services more than the need for other services. The aim of the study is to identify the kind of knowledge given at such institutions, understand the suitability of the information to the recipients' minds, and point out the future endeavors to improve the quality of such
services.
This study is important since it will enrich the already poor kind of research on this field and will familiarize the concerned official bodies with the significance of information services to the institutions serving individuals with special needs, who will, in their turn, be informed about the most important kind of information provided to them.
The researcher used the cadastral descriptive approach to determine the reality of information-oriented services for people with special needs through extensive field visits, direct interviews and telephone calls, in order to achieve the objectives of the study and answer the questions, relying on the use of checklists as a primary tool for collecting data on pre-defined elements, as well as the design databases for learning resources centers groups assigned to research, in order to analyze and assess the extent of novelty and relevance to the needs of users.
The study included all the twelve institutions teaching individuals with special needs in Muscat governorate. The total number of interviews conducted in these institutions reached around (7% - 10%). The study concluded the following:
1. (100%) of teachers in (70%) of the institutions are totally
convinced of the importance of information services, while (67%) of administrators are convinced of this importance.
2. (62%) of learning resource centers do not have enough space to accommodate users, and the same matter is applicable to the provision of furnitury and supplies, which is due to the lack of the necessary budget at riiost institutions.
3. (83%) of the learning resource centers do not posses subdued equipments for people with special needs.
4. Although the process of developing the learning resources was mainly depended on purchasing and receiving gifts, it still so meager.
5. (82%) of staff employed by the learning resource centers are not specialized in library sciences, and they are not fully allocated to working there.
6. Only (42%) of the institutions provided circulation service for students and staff, and (25%) of the institutions provided this servicer for the community, while (25%) never provide circulation service.
7. Six volunteers work as learning resource centers in the institutions of the study.
8. (100%) of the institutions in the sample have proposed ambitious plans to clevelop themselves in the future. The researcher made some recommendations that included:
1. The necessity to increase the executive or administrative attention in the learning resource centers that serve individuals with special needs in Sultanate of Oman, build separate halls by following international standards, and provide the necessary furniture and equipment for this group.
2. Allocate a fixed yearly budget for the learning resource centers and increase the funds based on the needs of the recipients.
3. Proper training courses should be given to the staff working at these learning centers, such as in cataloging and classifying, courses ir: how to mariage learning resource centers, or a course on how to deal with people with special needs and provide them with appropriaće information, and other courses
4. The necessity to set detailed and clear future plans to improve the learning resource centers.
