Information Sources and Services

By:

JEHN MARIE A. SIMON

BLIS-2

C O M P I L E D T O P I C S :

D e fi n i ti o n a n d H i s t o r y

R e f e r e n c e w o r k

R e f e r e n c e p r o c e s s

R e f e r e n c e i n t e r v i e w

Q u e r y s t a t e m e n t

S e a r c h s t r a t e g y

B o o l e a n s e a r c h i n g

R e f e r e n c e s o u r c e s

R e f e r e n c e b o o k

B a s i c r e f e r e n c e s o u r c e s

C o n t r o l A c c e s s D i r e c ti o n a l T y p e S o u r c e s

O t h e r I n f o r m a ti o n S o u r c e s

T y p e s o f i n f o r m a ti o n S e r v i c e s

I n s t r u c ti o n a l S e r v i c e s

Defi niti on and History

Samuel Green’s Personal Relation between Librarians and Reader’s, 1876

assistance to library readers in searching for information suggesting books searching and gathering information for researchers reaching young people how to use the library and reference sources making users understand the system we use in the library

Alice Bertha Kroeger (1902 and 1908)

from “the assistance given to the readers in the use of the resources of the library” to expanding the responsibility of the reference librarian to include guiding readers to information and reference service as an activitynot limited to librarianship.

William S. Learned (1924)

specialized “intelligence service” with each person having his or her uniqueneeds

James I. Wyer (1930)

introduces the concept of interpretation and mediation aside from the aid and direction reference transaction: inquirer, reference librarian, sources or materials

Gilbert Mudge and Louis Shores (1930s)

“everything necessary to help the reader in his inquiry” (Mudge)

“interpret books to readers” (Shores)

Ranganathan (1945)

“ the process of establishing a contact between a reader and his documentsIn a personal way”

ALA Reference & User Services Association (2000)

“ information services in libraries take a variety of forms including direct personal assistance, directories, signs, exchange of information culled from a reference source, reader’s advisory service, dissemination of information in anticipation of user needs or interests, and access to electronic information.”

REFERENCE WORK

Term emerged in the 1890’s Some overlap between the concepts of “reference work” and “reference service” according to Rothstein reference work is the personal assistance given by the librarian to individual readers in pursuit of information while reference service implies a “definite recognition” of the responsibility for providing reference work

Samuel Rothstein

REFERENCE PROCESS

“The process of satisfying specific, recurrent information needs” (Jahoda)

“The process of answering questions” (Katz)

Message selection query words, descriptors, modifiers

Negotiate query?

Select types of answer-providing tool

Select specific titles to search

Jahoda’s Model of the Reference Process

REFERENCE SOURCESCategories of Information Sources (Mann, 2005)

Primary sources- primary records generated by a particular event, by those participated in it Secondary sources- later analyses and reportswritten by non-participants

Level of Literature (Mann,2005)

Primary literature- deals directly with a particular problem or concern secondary literature- comprised both scholarly andPopularizations Tertiary literature- consists of reference work

REFERENCE BOOK A book designed by the arrangement and treatment of its subject matter to be consulted for the definite itemsof information rather than to be read consecutively (ALA)

EVALUATION OF REFERECE SOURCES

FORMAT SCOPE AUTHORITY

TREATMENT RELATION TO SIMILAR WORKS ARRANGEMENT

Special features Cost

BASIC REFERENCE SOURCES

E n c y c l o pe d i aAttempts to gather all the information either from all

branches of knowledge or from a single subject area, arrange them in alphabetical order for ready reference.

Uses:• fact-finding• general background information• “preresearch” information

Types of ENCYCLOPEDIA

Adult encyclopedia

Popular adult sets

Encyclopedia for children and young adults

Electronic and online

Subject encyclopedia

Publishers: Encyclopedia Britanica Education

Corp. World Book Grolier Inc. Macmillan Educational Corp.

D I C T I O N ARY

USES:o define words or translate themo verify spelling, syllabication or pronunciationo check on usageo determine the etymological history of a wordo standardize the language to some extent

Publishers: Merriam-Webster Oxford University Press Random House Scott-Foresman Doubleday Macmillan Simon & Schuster Houghton Mifflin

Types of Dictionary

UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY

Not derived or condensed from a larger work and attempt to include all

words in a language that are in use

Example: WEBSTER’S THIRD NEW

INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY

ABRIGED OR DESK DICTIONARY

Selective compilation

Example: WEBSTER’S NINTH COLLEGIATE

DICTIONARY

ETHYMOLOGICAL

Gives the history of individual words, also

called historical or diachronic

Example: THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY

SLANG DICTIONARY

Defines terms used in ordinary

or informal speech

Example: DICTIONARY OF

AMERICAN SLANG

DUAL LANGUAGE OR BILINGUAL DICTIONARY

Contains terms in one language and

definitions in a second language

in the first section

Example: ITALIAN-ENGLISH

DICTIONARY

THESAURUS

Contains synonyms and

antonyms, usually without

definitions

Example: ROGET’S

INTERNATIONAL THESAURUS

USAGE DICITONARY

Prescribes how the word should

be used

ABBREVIATION AND ACRONYM

DICTIONARY

Example: ACRONYM, INITIALISMS

AND ABBREVIATIONS

DICTIONARY

SUBJECT DICTIONARY

Example: ALA Glossary

Harrod’s Glossary of LIS

Terms

A L M A N AC S“A compendium of useful data and statistics relating to countries, Personalities, events, subjects, and the like” (Katz)

Examples: Canadian’s Almanac and Directory Time Almanac Whitaker’s Almanack World Almanac and Book of Facts

YEARBOOKS“An annual compendium of the data and statistics of a given year” (Katz)

Examples:General works

Facts on File World News Digest Yearbook Annual Register: World Events

Subject yearbooks

The Europa World Yearbook The Stateman’s Yearbook’s: the Politics, Cultures and Economies

of the World

H A N D BO O K S A N D M A N U A L S

Ready reference guides to particular fields of knowledge as they compress large amounts of information on that field or subject into one or a few volumes

BOOKS OF DAYS IN

FIRST

CURIOSITIES AD

WONDERS

ETIQUETTE

LITERATURE

QUOTATIONS

DIRECTORIES

“ A list of person’s or organizations systematically arranged,usually in alphabetic or classed order giving address, affiliations,etc. for individuals, and address, officers, functions, and similardata for organizations” (ALA)

USES

For information and referral purposes

to locate a person, organization or

institution

to verify the spelling

look for descriptions/ biographic data

compiling mailing lists

for sampling purposes for social or

commercial surveys

Categories of Directories

Local Directories

Government Directories

Institutional Directories

Trade and Business Directories and

investment services

Professional DirectoriesExamples: Encyclopedia of Associations The Foundation Directory The Europa World of Learning

BIOGRAPHIC

S O U RC E S

TYPES

DIRECT Contains specific facts about an individual such as Birth/death dates, education, career, childhood,accomplishments, works

INDIRECTLists bibliographical citations leading the user to other workswhich contain the biographies themselves; they may containentries to periodicals and books containing biographical information

Categories:• current• retrospective• professional and subject

biographies• international biographies• pseudonym

GEOGRAPHICAL

SOURCES

Primarily answers questions about location

MAPS• graphical representation of certain boundaries of

the earth on flat surface• Types: physical, political, route, thematic, special

purpose

GLOBE• three- dimensional representation of earth’s

surface

GAZETTEERS• geographical dictionaries

GUIDEBOOKS• travel guide

CONTROL-ACCESS-DIRETIONAL TYPE SOURCES

BIBLIOGRAPHIESa list of works whether intended to be complete or selective, compiled

on some organizing principle, such as authorship, subject, place of publication, chronology or printer

LIBRARY CATALOGlist of holdings found in a library or group of libraries

INDEXES AND ABSTACTSindex- a tool used to locate information within a documentabstract- same as index but contains a summary of the material’s content

OTHER INFORMATION SOURCES

SERIALSA publication in any medium issued in successive parts bearing numerical

or chronological designations and intended to be continued indefinitely.

Examples: periodical, magazine, journal

GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONSany publication originating in, or issued with the imprints of, or at

the expense and by the authority of, any office of a legally organized government or international organizations

PRINTED NON-BOOK MATERIALS Company and Trade literature Technical reports Standards Specifications Patents Trademark Dissertations and Thesis

TYPES OF INFORMATION SERVICES• INTERLIBRARY LOAN AND

DOCUMENT DELIVERY• CURRENT AWARENESS SERVICE• SELECTIVE DISSEMINATION OF

INFORMATION• INFORMATION AND REFERRAL

SERVICES• INFORMATION BROKERING• TECHNICAL INQUIRY SERVICE

• RESEARCH ASSISTANCE AND

CONSULTING• TERM-PAPER COUNSELING• BIBLIOTHERAPY• READER’S ADVISORY SERVICE

INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICESLIBRARY ORIENTATION

- designed to welcome and introduce new and potential users to the library’s services.

LIBRARY INSTRUCTION- service provided by the library which trains users how to use

the tools and resources within its environs

BIBLIOGRAPHIC INSTRUCTIONS- teaches learners how to locate and use information beyond

the physical boundaries of the library

INFORMATION LITERACY- the information literate person is one who is able to

recognize when information is needed, have the ability to clocate.