Page 19 - DLIS006_INFORMATION SOURCES AND SERVICES

Information Sources and Services

Notes Examples of Secondary Sources

Examples of secondary sources are:
Reference books such as encyclopaedias, dictionaries, etc.
Textbooks

Guide to literature
Abstracting journals
Indexes
Review of literature

Monographs
Bibliographies
Some of the non-print material such as CD-ROMs

1.4.3 Tertiary Sources

Tertiary sources compile, analyse and digest secondary and sometimes primary sources of
information. In simple words, we may say that tertiary sources contain information distilled
and collected from primary and secondary sources.
An access to all the primary sources is difficult for an individual researcher or a single library.
To locate the information from primary sources, a number of secondary sources are published.
This, secondary sources act as a key to primary sources. But the number of primary and secondary
sources is so large that it is difficult to locate them. There is tertiary source to cite both primary
and secondary sources.
The main function of tertiary sources of information is to help the researcher in the use of
primary and secondary sources of information. Tertiary sources are keys to primary and
secondary sources. Due to growth of literature in various languages, countries, forms, areas,
etc., the identification, selection and acquisition of primary, secondary and tertiary sources are
becoming increasingly important. The following are some of the reasons of the popularity of
tertiary sources:
(a) Due to increase in literature at a very quick pace, identification and location of the required
document is difficult. Tertiary sources are designed as a bibliographic control device to
assist in selecting the primary and secondary sources.
(b) Tertiary sources help promote the use of primary and secondary sources. They describe
and comment upon the various types of publications.
(c) Tertiary sources record the bibliographic information which is important for better
utilisation of primary and secondary sources.

Example: Tertiary sources are given below:
(a) Directories: Directories are tertiary reference sources which help the researcher in
using primary and secondary sources.
(b) Almanacs: According to ALA Glossary, an almanac is an annual publication containing
a calendar, frequently accompanied by astronomical data and other information or
an annual yearbook of statistics and other information sometimes in a particular
field.

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