Page 12 - DLIS105_REFERENCE_SOURCES_AND_SERVICES

Unit 1: Reference and Information Sources

There are also periodicals called magazines. A magazine is meant for light reading and includes Notes
among others short stories, serialised fiction, poems, articles on films, theatres, sports, and so on.
Sometimes these magazines are meant for children (e.g., Chandamama, Suktar), women (e.g., Femina,
Sananda, neo-literates, and so on.

Newspapers

For centuries newspapers have been serving human community as a powerful medium of
communication. Newspapers appear from almost all parts of the world in numerous languages. In
India also, newspapers appear not only in English and Hindi but also in numerous regional languages
like Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Assamese, Oriya, and so on. Circulation of newspapers
varies from a few hundred to a few million. The usual frequency of a newspaper is daily. However,
there are also newspapers, which are tri-weekly, bi-weekly or weekly. Newspapers can also be
categorised as general newspaper and specialist newspaper.
General newspapers include current information pertaining to any important event occurring in
any part of the world, and, any part of the universe. Besides news, we find in it editorials and
articles based on current events. In general, these newspapers publish news, editorials, articles, etc.,
on politics and government, crime, business and trade, accidents, sports, cultural events and so on.
Very important events relating to science, medicine, technology, literature, religion, etc., are also
covered. Newspapers are usually biased nationally or locally. For example, The Times of India is
biased towards Indian news, whereas Ananda Bazar Patrika appearing from Kolkata is biased
towards news from West Bengal. Unlike e-newspapers, updating of news several times a day is not
possible in the printed newspaper. The newspaper as a form of document enjoys the largest
leadership. For example, the circulation of Hindustan Times appearing from a number of cities in
India is more than one million. A newspaper in a house, club, library, office and in other places is
read by many people. If we consider that a copy of Hindustan Times is read on average by four
persons per day, then the daily readership of Hindustan Times comes to more than four million.
You cannot think of any other type of document whose readership will be so large per day. A
specialist newspaper is usually devoted to a particular subject. The Financial Express, The Economic
Times, etc., are the examples of specialist newspapers. In these newspapers you will find a
predominance of the news on the subject to which the newspaper is devoted. Other important news
also appears in these newspapers.

Maps

We all have learnt about maps during our school days and many a time have drawn them on sheets
of papers. A map is a depiction of the earth’s surface or any component of it (say, a country, state,
city, roads, etc.,) printed on a durable sheet of paper. The sizes of the sheets vary. Many maps are
hung on the wall for easy reference. Reproduction of a map in printed form without the permission
of the proper authority is illegal.
There are various types of maps such as political, demographic, and agricultural. Political maps
indicate the political boundaries of each state; its capital, important towns, rivers, railroads, and so
on. Demographic maps indicate the population from various angles of the world or a part of it such
as a country or a state. Agricultural maps show soil types, crops grown, agricultural productivity
and so on of a particular area.
We have maps of the sky as well where we can see various constellations, the signs of zodiac,
planets of the earth, etc. The surface of the earth or any area of it is more or less constant. This is not
the case with the sky. The winter sky is different from summer sky. Hence, we have different sky
maps for different times of the year.

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