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Unit 2: Human and Institutional Sources of Information

contain a wide range of materials, including manuscripts and pamphlets, posters, photographs, motion Notes
pictures, and videotapes, sound recordings, and computer databases in various forms.

2.1 Sources of Information

Sources of information can be broadly categorised into documentary and non-documentary sources.
Among the non-documentary sources of information we have institutional and human sources of
information. Among institutional sources of information we may consider various institutions, for
example: in India we may cite National Social Science Documentation Centre (NASSDOC) of Indian
Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi; Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi;
Planning Commission Library, New Delhi; National Council of Applied Economic Research, New
Delhi; National Archives of India, New Delhi; Rajasthan State Archives, Bikaner, etc. The human
sources of information play an important role in information dissemination.
Traditionally lists of experts in various disciplines have been created specially at local level in the
institutions. In the recent past in India there have been a few attempts to create database of experts
in different disciplines, for example: National Roaster of Social Scientists in India (at ICSSR), Database
of Experts being developed by INFLIBNET Centre of University Grants Commission at Ahmedabad
and a similar attempt to develop a database of experts by National Assessment and Accreditation
Council (NAAC) at Bangalore.
Documentary sources have all categories of documents, including printed sources, for example:
books, serials; audio-visual sources, for example: cassettes, slides, videotape, etc.; micro documents
for example: microfiche microfilm, etc., magnetic media for example: floppy, tape, disk, etc., optical
media for example: CD-ROM, VCD, DVD; and so on.
So far, we have studied how the various types of information surrounding us are produced. Next,
let us look at the features of information according to distribution type.
• The Internet
• Newspapers
• Journals/magazines
• Books
• Encyclopedias
• Government publications

2.1.1 The Internet
• The Internet is a computer network. By inter-connecting computers around the world, the
Internet has made it possible to share information with others. With the advent of commercial
service providers in the 1990s, Internet use spread to general households, which in turn resulted
in the explosive growth in the volume of available information.

2.1.2 Newspapers

• Newspapers provide coverage of the events of the day.
• Newspapers include local newspapers that are published locally in each prefecture or area
(The Tokyo Shimbun, The Kanagawa Shimbun etc.), national newspapers that are sold
nationwide (The Asahi Shimbun, TheYomiuri Shimbun etc.), as well as specialized newspapers
that are field-specific (The Nihon Keizai Shimbun etc.).

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