Page 97 - DLIS006_INFORMATION SOURCES AND SERVICES

Information Sources and Services

Notes 5.2.2 Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI)

Librarians have been providing this kind of service on manual basis for a long time. During
recent years the trend is towards computer based SDI. It is a highly personalized information
service directed to individuals so as to cater to their requirements. SDI can be regarded as an off-
shoot of CAS, which not only serves current information but is also totally user-oriented. With
the advent of computers and telecommunication facilities, SDI is provided centrally by On-line
vendors at low cost, ensuring easier accessibility to world’s output of current information with
greater speed and efficiency.

The basic concept behind SDI consists of matching information/documents with the profile of
each individual of the clientele. The profile can be of a single user or a group working on the
same project or some specific subject field. Those items which match are brought to the attention
of the concerned user.

The basic components of SDI are:
A database of documents

A set of user profiles
A mechanism to match document profiles with user profiles
User SDI interface and communication.
The functional phases of SDI include:

Selection of database(s)
Preparation of user profiles
Notification of current references to participants

Feedback and
Modifications to tune the system to achieve best results

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:

5. .............................. is concerned with dissemination of information ‘that will keep its users
well-informed and up-to-.date in their fields of basic interest as well as in the related
subjects.’
6. The .............................. Service is perhaps the cheapest and quickest way of providing a
degree of current awareness.

7. In .............................. kind of service the library or documentation centre scans primary
journals and other sources of current information received in the library to identify
potentially useful articles of interest to their users.
8. .............................. alerts users to new research projects and progress made in ongoing
research projects.
9. .............................. can be regarded as an off-shoot of CAS, which not only serves current
information but is also totally user-oriented.

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