Page 233 - DLIS006_INFORMATION SOURCES AND SERVICES

Information Sources and Services

Notes A bibliography acts as a key to the large mass of information that exists today. The libraries can
bring to the attention of their users the relevant information and knowledge with the help of
bibliographies. Bibliographies are thus a useful tool for study and research. The present day
information organizations cannot function without effective bibliographical tools. Before we
actually discuss formally the concept and types of bibliographies, let us understand what we are
focusing at in this part. We would be focusing on various aspects of bibliographies, such as its
types, need, control, etc.

12.1 Definition of Bibliography

Let us understand the meaning of bibliography. The word “bibliography” has originated from
the Greek terms – “biblion” meaning a book and “graphien” meaning to write. Bibliography,
thus, means “writing of books” which later on changed to “writing about books.”
The bibliography is the chief class or form of reference and information access tools. It is a
systematically produced descriptive list of records. Thus, a bibliography is systematic list of
documents prepared for a particular purpose on the basis of some criteria. These criteria may be
documents on a subject, of a country or of the whole of available knowledge.

There are number of definitions available for the term bibliography. Some of the popular ones
are given below:
Bibliography is the art or science of correctly describing books (their literary contents, physical
make up).
Bibliography is the art of recording books and the science of making of books and their record.

The earlier meaning of bibliography, which is the study of books as physical entities, has shifted
to the identification of the thought content in books. At present, to a library and information
professional, a bibliography means the art of preparing a systematic list of books and the name
of the list itself. A bibliography is different from catalogues and indexes.

The reference source that comprises bibliography of any type is called a bibliographical source.

12.2 Functions of Bibliography

The chief function of a bibliography is to help the users in locating the required information
source in the fastest possible manner. Some of the functions of a bibliography are listed below:
It is a systematic guide to the literature of the subject.

It locates a title on a given subject and identifies the bibliographical details on it (author,
publisher, date and place of publications, etc.).

It serves as a selection tool in acquiring materials for the library.
It saves the time and effort of researches as it helps in selecting the relevant and specific
documents from the large universe of documents and provides direction to the researcher
by indicating the area where total research in a subject areas stand and its progress.
It is useful for carrying out retrospective search for the purposes of research.

It facilitates users in locating documents of their interest;
Identifying and verifying bibliographic information of documents;
Locating information (material) through the publishers or other libraries;

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