Page 226 - DLIS006_INFORMATION SOURCES AND SERVICES

Unit 11: Geographical Sources

produced for specific purposes, that is, about temples, health resorts, holy places, hotels Notes
and restaurants, etc., some examples of such guides are given below:

Murray’s Handbook for Travellers in India, Burma and Ceylon, 21st ed. London: Murray,
1968.
This handbook includes maps and town plans. The introductory section provides
information about history and administration. In the text, India occupies the major portion.
The arrangement of material is based on the route principle. A good, descriptive index is
provided.

Hill Resorts of India/India, Ministry of information and broadcasting. New Delhi: Publication
Division, 1961.

Caselet Romantic Representations in Guidebook Writing

omance or reality: what do travellers really want to read in guidebooks? Cyprus
is dotted with delightful villages of winding lanes and atmospheric stone houses
Rsprawling down hillsides in woody valleys. Sturdy old ladies can be seen carting
bundles of wood down the street on their backs and old men ride donkeys through town,
the guidebooks tell us. And it’s true. But unfortunately many of the villages are now ghost
towns, their ramshackle old stone houses boarded up, their gardens unkempt, junk
crowding their yards, and trash dumped down hillsides on the outskirts of town. The
young people have moved to the cities or overseas to work and the few residents that are
left are over 60, enjoying their last years in the village they have loved and known all their
lives, and struggling alone to maintain their traditional way of life. Well, they’re not so
alone. It’s not uncommon to see a wrinkled old lady in headscarf and apron sitting in her
doorway, taking in some sun and watching the passing traffic – and next to her see a bored
young Filipina or Indian woman, perhaps employed by the guilty son or daughter as a
companion-cum-maid to watch over their abandoned parent. You don’t read any of this in
the guidebooks.
Source: http://cooltravelguide.com/romantic-representations-in-guidebook/2008/03/17/

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:

16. The main purpose of any .................................. is to inform the traveller as what to see,
where to stay, and how to reach a particular place.
17. ................................. are the guides prepared for tourists to assist them plan their travel
program.

Case Study Gazetteer in Karnataka

azetteers are mostly mistaken for or confused with the Gazettes. They are indeed
poles apart; however, the words Gazettes and Gazetteer are cognate terms.
GIt appears that in Greek, ‘Gaza’ meant a treasury of news. Gazetteers are distinctly
reference volumes of lasting value while the Gazettes are official newspapers or bulletins.
Contd....

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