Page 253 - DLIS003_LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT

Library Administration and Management

Notes and thought and in its creation direct human intervention is necessary. They provide some
information to its readers or users. A library as a gateway of knowledge provides access to a
variety of such documentary sources of information.
The sources of documentary information can also be termed as an information product. It is
generated out of a service to be provided to the user. It is a kind of consolidation and presentation
process giving tangibility to information.
Classification of Documentary Sources of Information: Different authors classified the
documentary sources of information into different categories. Some popular classifications are
listed below:
Primary: The primary documents exist of their own and usually contain original information
on the first formulation of any new observation, experiment, ideas, etc. Thus, according to C. W.
Hanson, a monograph, an article in periodical, text book, and encyclopaedia are all primary
documents. An article in encyclopaedia or text book may not contain any new information on
the subject but it presents the information in the particular form for the first time. The articles
concerned are not a condensation or rewriting in any way of any existing document but has been
written specifically for the text book or the encyclopaedia.

Secondary: All secondary publications present the contents of primary document in a condensed
form or list them in a helpful way so that the existence of a primary document can be known and
access to it can be made.
Primary / Secondary Sources of Information: Conference proceedings, theses and dissertations,
monographs, etc. have the characteristics of both primary and secondary sources of information.
Those of documents representing new facts can be regarded as primary publication and those
having the character of reviews can be grouped as secondary publication. As a result of such
mixing of primary and secondary sources of information some expert doesn’t consider this
division to be much practical utility.

Eventually there is no rigid line of demarcation between primary, secondary and tertiary sources
of information.
S. R. Ranganathan Classification: Based on the physical characteristics of documents S. R.
Ranganathan classified documentary sources of information into four categories. These also
reflect the chronological order of their development. They are:

Conventional: Books, periodicals, Map, etc.;
Neo Conventional: Standards, specification, patent, etc.;
Non-conventional: Audio visual, micro copy, etc.;

Meta Document: Direct records unmediated by human mind.
Types of Documentary Sources of Information: The documentary sources of information can be
of the following types:
1. Newspaper: Newspapers are usually published as dailies or weeklies. The type of paper
they are printed on, called newsprint is not meant to last. They are usually preserved on
microfilm for this reason. Libraries usually keep paper copies of newspapers until the
microfilm copies arrive. Nowadays many newspapers are available on the Internet, some
for free, and others by subscription.

2. Periodical: Periodicals are issued at intervals and numbered consecutively. They are given
volume designations, several issues making up a volume. Periodicals include journals
and magazines.

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