Page 159 - DLIS001_FOUNDATION_OF_LIBRARY_AND_INFORMATION_SCIENCE

Foundation of Library and Information Science

Notes
physical interactions of users with libraries provide lot of insight for planning physical
layouts of libraries, understanding relevance and utility of various services and information-
behaviour of users. It is also possible that the existing layout, facilities and services
considerably influence user-interactions with a given library. Generally less used and less
visited units within a library are more compactly and remotely located causing further
reduction in user-visit to those units and hence reduction in use of such services. The
profession is far behind in thinking of evolving norms and standards for assessing
quantitatively the user-visits, movement and length of stay in libraries.
Questions
1. Write down the case facts.
2. What do you infer from it?

Source: http://eprints.rclis.org/10889/1/J_28_user_visit_movement_etc.pdf
8.5 Summary

Special library collects updated and comprehensive information on the subject concerned
with the parent organization and disseminate this information promptly to the people
associated with the organization on demand and in anticipation.
Special libraries are information collections where the entire collection is a single, or
several special collections.

Special libraries are also sometimes known as information centres.
In their current status as a type of library independent from public, academic, and archival
libraries, special libraries are a recent phenomenon, although it is difficult to determine
when they began to be recognized as a distinct subset of libraries due to the highly
individualistic and independent nature of most special libraries.

Special libraries are formed in research and development establishments, government
departments, directorates, industrial and business undertakings, learned societies and
professional associations, trade and business associations, hospitals and health services,
social and welfare organisations, museums, national gallery of arts, etc.

Special libraries are “special” in their collection, clientle/users and service.
Special library collections are working collections to support their information services,
with an emphasis on current information and retrospective material, determined on the
basis of the projects and programmes taken up by the organisations.
Special libraries employ a wide variety of methods in organising their collections.
A special library is a power house for the generation, storage and use of information.

Special libraries have become integrated into the information and knowledge value chain
of their parent organisations, achieving in that respect a huge advantage in comparison to
public libraries.

8.6 Keywords

Catalogues: A complete list of items, typically in alphabetical or other systematic order, in
particular.
Clientele: The clients of a professional person or practice considered as a group.

154 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY