Page 30 - DLIS102_LIBRARY_AND_ITS_USERS

Unit 4: Evaluation of Library Sources and Services

publication; an identical name on all issues; and successive numbering of volumes, issues, and Notes
years of publication. Periodicals usually consist of a collection of articles, which may range from a
single page story in a magazine to a 40 page study in a scholarly journal. Periodicals have an editor,
a combined editor and publisher, or an editorial staff headed by an editor in chief.
Periodicals are not limited to the print format. Some periodicals are published as online, digitized
information residing in a remote database or in CD-ROM or other optical disc format.
Journals and magazines are published weekly, once every two weeks, monthly, once every two
months, or quarterly. Years of publication are numbered successively, and the issues are composed
of sewn sheets. Newspapers are printed at intervals generally ranging from once a day to once a
month. Most are published daily, triweekly, or weekly; UNESCO defines a daily newspaper as one
published at least four times a week.

Newspapers are numbered successively and printed in newspaper format on folded
sheets. Bulletins are published up to once a month and have a format smaller than
that of most journals.

The Advantages of Using Periodicals

• Because they are published frequently, periodicals are the best sources for current information.
• Current events are usually discussed in periodicals long before they become the subject of a
book.
• Periodicals often contain information on the latest trends, products, research and theories.
• Periodicals are the best source for ephemeral or very specialized information.
• Periodicals exist for every field and every interest, providing access to a variety of hard-to
find information.
• Due to the shorter length of periodical articles, more topics may be covered within one volume
of a periodical than in one book.

Self Assessment

State whether the following statements are true or false:
8. Periodicals include newspapers, journals and magazines, and collections and bulletins
published in series.
9. UNESCO defines a daily newspaper as one published at least four times a week.

4.3 Summary

• Evaluation of the performance of library and information systems is one of the major concerns
and an integral part of the library and information systems manager’s job.
• Evaluation is the process of identifying and collecting data about specific services or activities,
establishing criteria by which their success can be assessed.
• The history of the library, it may be argued, began with the first effort to organize a collection
of information and provide access to that information.

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