Page 31 - DLIS105_REFERENCE_SOURCES_AND_SERVICES

Reference Sources and Services

Notes • In addition to articles written by their own reporters, newspapers carry articles and photo-
graphs produced by other news agencies, as well as articles written by experts. In order to
determine the reliability and possible bias of information released by newspapers as well as
any other mass media, it is very important to know who generated the information.
• While newspapers provide electronic versions of their articles on their respective websites,
not all the articles appearing in paper form reach such websites. In most cases, only a portion
of the contents of the actual newspapers on any given day is selected to be posted on the web.
Generally, access to past articles is provided as a fee-charging service.
• Meanwhile, libraries subscribe to various newspapers around the world. Past editions of
newspapers are provided through various mediums including contracted databases, compact
editions or microfilms, and CD-ROMs.

2.1.3 Journals/Magazines

Magazines are publications that are issued continually on a periodic basis.
Magazines include many articles and papers by different authors.

Magazines can be used to obtain the newest information by viewing the latest issues
or reading only the articles that are relevant to topic by looking up what articles or
papers have appeared in which issue.

Libraries carry not only the latest issues but also stock previous issues in the form of bound volumes
of magazines.
Some magazines are offered in a format that is viewable on a computer and are referred to as
electronic journals. Electronic journals can be accessed through the university’s network.
Magazines can be roughly divided into popular magazines and academic periodicals.

2.1.4 Books

Books are works written on a certain theme.
Such themes vary widely, and genres range from documentary and technical books to novels and
non-fiction books. Books are written by researchers or experts, and are published only after passing
through the hands of editors or publishers. Therefore, books can be considered a source of information
wherein assignments of responsibilities for the quality of that information are relatively clear.
When writing reports or studying for your class, start with your designated textbooks, or books
introduced to you as reference books. Since textbooks and reference books are edited for the purpose
of providing explanations of basic terms and concepts in a particular field, they enable readers to
acquire systematically the knowledge necessary to proceed with their studies.

2.1.5 Encyclopedias

Dictionaries and encyclopedias provide commentaries regarding the definitions, historical
background, scholastic history and current status of terms or concepts relating to various matters.

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