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Unit 8: Special Libraries

they began to be recognized as a distinct subset of libraries due to the highly individualistic and Notes
independent nature of most special libraries. Perhaps the closest date to assign to the beginnings
of special libraries in the modern sense is 1909, the year that the Special Libraries Association,
one of the oldest and largest library advocacy groups specifically concerned with special libraries,
was founded. Describing the history of special libraries in the modern sense of the word is
therefore difficult, as the only criteria for defining a special library is that it is a library – itself
an often nebulous term – that is not a national, research, reference, public, academic, children’s,
or archival library.
However, tracing the history of these types of groups before the modern definition of special
libraries reveals that the concept of special libraries as libraries existing to support specific
private interests or institutions in their goal is likely the oldest in existence. The first known
libraries, dating back to the beginning of known history, recorded commercial transactions and
inventories. Today, these fall under the heading of corporate libraries, discussed below. Likewise,
a substantial number of the cuneiform tablets recovered from the Library of Ashurbanipal
detail Babylonian religious beliefs and myths. Again, in a modern context, religious libraries
are often considered special libraries.
Of course, early libraries are generally not considered to be special libraries in most contexts,
but it is nevertheless clear that libraries today grouped under the label of special libraries long
predate that label.

8.1.3 Information Centre

Harrod’s Librarians’ Glossary defines Information Centre as being “usually an office, or a section of
a bibliographical centre, research bureau or documentation centre, which gives information about books or
on a subject with which the organisation providing the facilities of the centre is concerned. The functions of
this centre include technical writing, indexing, abstracting, SDI etc., each one of intensive nature”.
These centres which grew in different dimensions were not necessarily tied down to any single
parent organisation but were catering to a wider circle of users who were working in the fields
in which these centres were operating. Thus, new types of information centres began to evolve
and shape. Today we have a variety of such centres operating in diverse fields at regional,
national or international levels.
At a higher level, an information centre offers highly; specialised consolidation and repackaging
services which involve analysis, synthesis and evaluation of information and present them in a
form required by users. The final output may be a critical bibliography, evaluative and
comprehensive state of art reports or a repackaged report for a specific user category, etc. In fact,
this range of services has necessitated the formation of different types of information centres,
such as data centres, information analysis centres and information dissemination centres. The
higher level of information service requires staff with subject specialisation and communication
abilities. However, these services can be offered by a special library, depending on their staff
strength and material acquired and organised.

Self Assessment

State whether the following statements are true or false:
1. Special libraries are usually open to the general public.
2. Special libraries first began to appear in the China in the early decades of the 20th century.
3. The first known libraries, dating back to the beginning of known history, recorded
commercial transactions and inventories.

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