Page 12 - DLIS006_INFORMATION SOURCES AND SERVICES

Unit 1: Documentary Sources of Information

Printed Cards Notes

Cards are printed to convey greetings, invite people to attend marriage and other ceremonies,
and so on. During Deepavali, New Year, Christmas, etc. we purchase the greeting cards and send
them to near and dear ones. At times, these cards become valuable source of information in as
much as the card gives us information about somebody’s date of marriage, names of the bride
and bridegroom and their parents and so on. If you see the cards in the archive of a celebrity, you
will know with whom he/she had connections during his/her lifetime. Pamphlets As per
UNESCO’s definition a pamphlet is a non-periodic printed publication of 5 to 48 pages excluding
cover pages. It is stapled/stitched and cut. Pamphlets usually provide information on a topic in
simple language and are meant for wide range of users. Many textbooks of kindergarten and
elementary classes as well as for neoliterates are pamphlets. They are printed usually with large
fonts and colourful illustrations.

Books

According to UNESCO, a book is a non-periodic printed publication of at least 49 pages exclusive
of cover pages. A book is usually stapled/stitched along one edge and placed within protective
covers to form a volume. In general libraries, the collection is predominated by books. The sizes
of books vary. The size of the New International Webster’s Comprehensive Dictionary of the English
Language (Encyclopaedic ed.) is 28 x 21cm. Atlases are usually still bigger. Textbook in general
is of medium size. For example, Reference Service by Krishan Kumar measures 21 × 13cm.
Computer Dictionary by Ian Scales and Geof Wheelwright goes to another extreme measuring
about 6 x 5cm. According to the intellectual content, books can be categorised as textbooks,
monographs, treatises, reference books and so on.

Periodicals

You have already read about various categories of periodicals in Unit 5 of this course. The
periodical is a powerful medium for the dissemination of information. Researchers all over the
world publish their papers describing latest findings in primary periodicals. Secondary periodicals
gather information from primary periodicals and present the same in the form of abstracts,
popular articles or reviews. Going through these periodicals a researcher, teacher, student, and
others keep themselves updated generally overriding the language barrier. Compared to
textbooks, treatises or monographs, the information presented in periodicals is almost always
more up-to-date.

Newspapers

For centuries newspapers have been serving human community as a powerful medium of
communication. Newspapers appear from almost all parts of the world in numerous languages.
In India also, newspapers appear not only in English and Hindi but also in numerous regional
languages like Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Assamese, Oriya, and so on.

1.2.2 Non-print Sources

Non-print sources are the media where information is available in non-conventional form.

Example: To find out the current population of India, using a non-print tool would be
best. However, to find out what a giraffe prefers to eat, you might get better information from
a print source, like an encyclopaedia.

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 7