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Unit 2: Human and Institutional Sources of Information

Notes

Encyclopedic entries are written by experts in their respective fields, and can
be considered highly reliable pieces of information.

Encyclopedias can be roughly divided into two types: encyclopedias and subject-specific
encyclopedias.

2.1.6 Government Publications
Official information generated by public organizations include congressional records of the Japanese
Diet or those from overseas, laws, court records, administrative reports (white papers, surveys,
annual reports etc.) and statistics. This information is released publicly in the form of documents
(booklets).
Such official documents are increasingly being disclosed over the Internet, so it may be beneficial to
begin your search for official documents with the Internet. However, not all official information is
currently on the Internet.
Some information is only partially available, while the availability of others is limited to the newest
versions.
Caution is required when using the Internet however, since in certain fields and circumstances,
such as in the citation of Case Law, precedence is placed on information published in documents
such as books and periodicals over information on the Web.

2.1.7 Libraries

Libraries provide access to every single type of information we’ve covered.
At libraries, you can use materials such as books and magazines or search for information through
specialized databases or on the Internet. University libraries are centers of information gathering.
The most important feature of information handled by libraries is that it is specially selected
information. Among the abundance of information available around the world, libraries select and
collect only those that are appropriate for its users.
The information provided by the library of your university was chosen by faculty members and
librarians, and purchased as information that will assist you in your studies and research. Therefore,
it is safe to say that the books, periodicals and specialized databases that you use at your library
have all been evaluated twice: initially when they were published, and then again when they are
purchased by the library. This means that everything in libraries is a source of high quality
information selected by librarians.

Write short note on Encyclopedias.

2.2 The Modern Library

Modern libraries, in addition to providing patrons with access to books and other materials, often
publish lists of accessions and may maintain a readers’ advisory service. Interlibrary loan services,
lecture series, public book reviews, and the maintenance of special juvenile collections are other
important recent developments. Three systems of book classification are widely used to facilitate
access to library collections: the Dewey decimal system of Melvil Dewey, the system of Charles Ammi

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