Library and Web Tools for E-learning and Teaching

Library and Web Tools for E-learning and Teaching

A.T. Francis K. Susan Mathew

Worldwide Circulation through Authorspress Global Network First Published 2014 by Authorspress

Editorial Q-2A Hauz Khas Enclave New Delhi-110 016 Marketing E-35/103, Jawahar Park Laxmi Nagar, Delhi-110 092 e-mails: [email protected]; [email protected] Website: www.authorspressbooks.com Copyright © 2014 Editors Library and Web Tools for E-learning and Teaching ISBN 978-81-7273-776-4 Disclaimer This book or any part thereof may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher. All data, views, opinions etc. being published are the sole responsibility of the authors. Neither the publishers nor the editors in anyway are responsible for them. Printed in India at Krishna Offset, Shahdara.

Preface Advancement of digital technologies paved the way for a major shifting of recording of knowledge from paper to digital medium. This resulted in the emergence of the present era of e-resources, e-learning and teaching. The traditional libraries have been transformed into fully digital or hybrid libraries. Modern libraries disseminate knowledge resources available in all formats like printed books and journals, CD, DVD and Blu Ray disc documents, online resources, etc. A flood of information and identifying suitable and quality information out of it is a major problem faced in the modern situation of electronic and internet delivery of information. Information explosion, of course, is a boon to the academic and research community. But challenges raised by it to the libraries and knowledge centres are a lot. Reliability of data became an issue as information could easily be replicated, but not easily verified. Quantity and quality of information became relevant issues of the day. The internet opened new avenues for communication and information sharing. Any type of information available the world over can now be accessed by users within seconds. Individuals and organizations were suddenly given the ability to publish on any topic, to a global audience, at a negligible cost. Large cooperative

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projects such as open-source software projects, digital repositories of information documents, consortia models for journal subscription, cooperative and shared development of information documents, cloud computing, etc., could be endeavoured. All these developments have given additional impetus towards effective delivery of knowledge resources for e-learning and teaching. Nowadays it is very easy for individuals and institutions to set up domain names and websites of their own for sharing of information the world over. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the internet body that oversees domain names, takes every effort to encourage the use of internet for all possible life activities, including e-learning. The articles included in this volume are selected by peer review from the papers presented at the National Seminar on Library and Web Tools for E-Learning and Teaching organized on 25 June 2012 by the College of Horticulture, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, in Association with the Kerala Library Association. The contributors of articles included in this volume are mostly from universities, colleges and research institutions who have sufficient knowledge on e-resources, e-learning and e-teaching. We are very hopeful that this book will be useful for library professionals as well as information users and teachers. In spite of our sincere efforts to select and include articles in the volume, some lapses still remain due to overlapping of topics. We are grateful to all authors of the articles without whose contributions this book would not have been possible. Acknowledgements are also due to the authorities of the major collaborating organisations: The College of Horticulture, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, and The Kerala Library

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Association, for permitting and supporting to hold this seminar. We are also indebted to the other collaborating institutions like Kerala Forest Research Institute, Thrissur, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi, Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory, Kochi, University of Calicut, Malappuram, M.S. University, Tirunelveli, KIIMS, Cuttack, Odisha, Karpagam University, Coimbatore, St. Albert’s College, Ernakulam, St. Aloysius College, Thrissur, DB College, Kollam etc. We are also thankful to Authorspress, New Delhi, for their painstaking work to publish the volume in its final shape. Editors

Contributors Barada Kanta Mohanty, KIIMS, Cuttack, Odisha, India. Francis A.T., Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur-680 656, Kerala. George K.F., Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, Thrissur, Kerala. Jaison Thomas, Research Scholar, M.S. University, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. Joshi George, P., St. Albert’s College, Ernakulum, Kerala. Kunjumuhammed V.S., Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, Kochi, Kerala. Letha M.M., Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory, DRDO, Kochi, Kerala. Manoharan Pillai P.M., Karpagam University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Meera Manjusha A.V., Regional Agricultural Research Station, Kerala Agricultural University, Pilicode, Kasaragod, Kerala. Moharana M.M., KIIMS, Cuttack, Odisha. Prasanth M.P., Chinmaya Institute of Technology, Kannur, Kerala.

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Radhakrishnan S., Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory, DRDO, Kochi, Kerala. Ramya A.V., College of Agriculture, Kerala Agricultural University, Padannakkad, Kasaragod, Kerala. Ratheesh K., Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi, Kerala. Sathian K.P., Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, Kerala. Sebastian Dominic, College of Agriculture, Kerala Agricultural University, Padannakkad, Kasaragode, Kerala. Shaji B., Department of Library and Information Science, University of Calicut, Kerala. Sheeja N.K., Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin, Kerala. Siju V.G., Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi, Kerala. Sreekumaran S., College of Agriculture, Vellayani,Trivandrum, Kerala. Subha S., M.S.University, Thirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. Sumi T.S., College of Horticulture, Thrissur, Kerala. Sunny Joseph, Govt. Institute of Advanced Study in Education, Thrissur, Kerala. Susan Mathew K., Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi, Kerala. Swapna V.S., Karpagam University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Vijayakumar A., D.B. College, Sasthankotta, Kollam, Kerala. Vineetha Davies V., St. Aloysious College, Thrissur, Kerala.

Contents

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Preface List of Contributors An Overview of Personnel Management in Libraries to facilitate E-Learning and Teaching A.T. Francis Application of Online Tutorials for Information Literacy Programmes on Library Website S. Radhakrishnan and M.M. Letha Application of Web Tools in Libraries N.K. Sheeja Changing Role of Academic Libraries in the E-learning Environment: Issues and Challenges K. Susan Mathew D 3 Service at Cochin University Library: A Study K. Ratheesh and V.G. Siju Digitisation of KFRI Research Reports and Scientific Papers K.F. George Digitising Data for Rapid Agricultural Modernisation in Odisha: A Case Study Barada Kanta Mohanty and M.M. Moharana

5 9 15 41 47 58 66 76 81

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8. E-learning and Teaching through Libraries T.S.Sumi 9. E-learning for Effective Agricultural Education A.V. Ramya and A.V. Meera Manjusha 10. E-learning through E-journals M.P. Prasanth 11. E-resources and E-learning: An Emerging Reality S. Subha and A.Vijayakumar 12. Information Needs of the Society as a Natural Resource A. Vijayakumar and P.M. Manoharan Pillai 13. Information Technology and Its Application in the Libraries of Higher Educational Institutions in Kollam District: A Case Study Jaison Thomas 14. Library Orientation and User Education Programmes in College Libraries: A Manual P. Joshi George 15. Reading – The Unique Process for Holistic Development Sunny Joseph 16. Teaching Role of Librarians in the Internet Era V. Vineetha Davies 17. Technological Environment in Modern Libraries to Enable E-learning A.T. Francis, K.P. Sathian and V.S. Kunjumuhammed

90 103 118 128 137

144 166 188 194 204

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18. The Redefined Role of Academic Librarians in E-Resources Consortia Environment: An Overview 217 Sebastian Dominic 19. Use and User Perceptions of Electronic Information Resources among the Academic Community: A Case Study 237 B. Shaji 20. Web Tools to Dig Deep Web 256 S. Sreekumaran 21. Web 2.0 Applications in Libraries 271 V.S. Swapna and A.T. Francis Index

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Libraries of Higher Educational Institutions in Kollam District

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Karisiddappa, C.R. 1999. Application of Modern Technology to Public Libraries. Granthana, 6(1), 113. Navalani. 1995. “New Technology and New Myths.” CLIS Observer, 21(12),27-33. Nyamboga, Constantine M. and Kemparaju, T.D. 2002. “Information Technology in University Libraries in Karnataka.” Information Development, 18(4). 257-265. Pallaur Amrit and Nandan, Naresh. 2000. “Impact of Information Technology on University Libraries: A Case Study of Bhaigurdas Library. Library Herald, 38(1), 43-51. Rasul, Gulam and Sahu, Ashok Kumar. 2011. “Use of IT and Its Impact on Service Quality in an Academic Library.” Library Philosophy and Practice (E-journal ). Paper 622. Available: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/ libphilprac/622. Reitz, Joan M.2005. “Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science.” Available: http://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/searchODLIS.aspx Somanathan Nair, K.P. 1999. “The Attitude of Professional Librarians Towards Information Technology.” In G. Devarajan (Ed.), 50 Years of Indian Librarianship. New Delhi: Ess Ess, 264-276. Tran, Lan and Gorman, G.E. 1999. “Implementation of Information Technology in Vietnamese Libraries.” Asian Library, 8(10), 380-395. Upadhya, Padma V. 1997. “Information Technology and Academic Libraries.” In A.L Moorthy and P.B. Mangala (Ed.), Information Technology Application in Academic Libraries in India: Papers of CALIBER-97. Ahamedabad: INFLIBNET, 43-35.

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Library Orientation and User Education Programmes in College Libraries: A Manual P. Joshi George

Introduction Coexistence of print documents along with digital documents is a general characteristic of all academic, research and public libraries even in the present age of digital technologies and growing demand for e-learning. Conventional learning practices prevail along with e-learning in all the libraries. Hence, library orientation and user education programmes became an important necessity to familiarise not only the knowledge resources but also the modern technologies. The investigator had conducted a study to analyse the need for library orientation in the arts and science colleges in Kerala. For the analysis the primary data had been collected through questionnaire method. Two thousand questionnaires were distributed among students and 1,477 responded. Out of this 803 were degree students and 674 were postgraduate students. The study reveals that even in the internet and e-learning environment, user orientation and education is essential for the proper utilisation information resources available and accessible in the library. Hence, a manual for library orientation programmes in college libraries had been prepared.

User Education Programmes in College Libraries

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This manual is useful for the Library personnel to conduct library orientation programmes for college students.

Library Library is a collection or group of collections of books and/or other materials organised and maintained for use (reading, consultation, study, research etc.) Different Sections of the Library The various sections of the library are: 1. Acquisition section

Book sélection, ordering, receipt and accessioning (entering books into library stock register and assigning stock/accession number to the books) are the major functions of this section. 2. Technical Section

After the accessioning process, the book goes to technical section. Classification, cataloguing and book labelling are done in this section. In smaller libraries acquisition section and technical section are merged into one unit. 3. Maintenance section

The main duty of this section is the proper arrangement of books in the racks or shelves in the classified order. The reshelving of the returned books coming from the circulation section, periodical shelf rectification, proper labelling of the shelves etc. are the duties of this section. 4. Circulation section

Issue and return of the books, reservation of the books, registering of new memberships and maintenance of membership details, collection of overdue charges etc. are the functions of this section.

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5. Reference section

This section maintains various reference materials like encyclopaedia, dictionaries, yearbooks, etc. which are meant for reference only and not for issue. 6. Periodical Section

This section is for the acquisition and maintenance of various periodicals in the library. 7. Administration Section

The administrative head of the library is the chief librarian. In large libraries there will be assistant librarians to help him/her in administration. The library committees also will be there to help librarian in taking policy decisions.

Major Technical Tools Used in Libraries Lot of information sources are acquired in the libraries. There will be large number of books, periodicals and other documents dealing with different subjects. For the proper arrangement and for the retrieval of these documents some tools are used in the libraries. Most important among them are classification and cataloguing. For the proper utilisation of the library resources the users must have an awareness of these tools. Classification “Library Classification is the systematic arrangement of books and other material on shelves or of catalogue and index entries in the manner which is most useful to those who read or who seek a definite piece of information.”. It is the tool for achieving subject arrangement of documents. It helps to arrange documents in a systematic order which is most convenient to the reader and the library staff.


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The books in the library can be arranged based on various parameters like author, title, subject, etc. The best possible arrangement that is most useful to the users is found to be subject arrangement. Nowadays all modern libraries are arranging the books according to their subject content. But if we are arranging books in the alphabetic order of the name of the subjects, then the unrelated subjects will come together and related subjects will get separated. For example, botany and zoology are related subjects but if we arrange botany among the letter B and zoology among Z then these subjects will get separated and in between these subjects many unrelated subjects like economics, history, literature, law etc. will come. So what we are doing in libraries is that we will first arrange the various subjects and its subdivisions in proper order according to their relationship and each subjects will be represented by a symbol like letters of the alphabet IndoArabic numerals etc. During the classification of books these numbers which represent the subjects are assigned to the books. When these books are arranged in the ascending order of these alphabets/digits then the books will come in the proper subject wise order. These numbers which represent the subjects are known as class numbers and the process of assigning these numbers to the books in the library is known as book classification. For the book classification different types of schemes are available. Each differs in their approach. Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), Universal Decimal Classification (UDC), Colon Classification (CC) are some of the classification schemes used in Indian libraries. Among these DDC is the most popular classification system and most of the college libraries worldwide are using this classification system. Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC)

Dewey Decimal Classification is the most popular of all the general classification systems used all over the world. DDC is a

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universal scheme and is able to classify books in all branches of knowledge. It treats the whole of knowledge as unity and divided it in ten mutually exclusive classes denoted by decimal numbers 0 to 9. The first order divisions of DDC are as follows: 000 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900

Generalities Philosophy and related disciplines Religion Social Sciences Languages Pure Science Technology (Applied Science) The Arts Literature General Geography and History

These ten divisions are also called the main classes. The main classes are assigned a three digit minimum. Each main class is further subdivided into 10 divisions. For example 300 Social Science is subdivided in the following manner: 310320330340350360370380390-

Statistics Political Science Economics Law Public Administration Social Problems and Services Education Commerce (Trade) Customs, Etiquette, Folklore.

Each division can be further subdivided into ten sections. For example 330 Economics has further subdivided as follows:


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330- Economics 331- Labor Economics 332- Financial Economics 333- Land Economics 334- Cooperatives 335- Socialism and related systems. 336- Public Finance 337- International Economics 338- Production 339- Macro Economics and related topics.

These sections are further subdivided to any degree desired in the same manner of successive division into ten classes in line with the decimal notation. A decimal point is placed between the third and fourth digits. For example 332 Financial Economics has divided as follows: 332- Financial Economics 332.1- Banking 332.2- Specialised banking institutions 332.3- Credit and loan institutions 332.4- Money upto 332.9- Counterfeiting, forgery, alteration

The subject 332.4 money is further subdivided as follows: 332.41- Value of Money 332.414- Factorsaffecting fluctuationsin value 332.415- Stabilisation measures 332.42- Monetary standards 332.422- Monometallic 332.422 2- Gold 332.422 3- Silver Up to as next line 322.49- Historical and geographical treatment of money and monetary policy.

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Each main class is divided and subdivided as above to represent all the subdivisions of the subjects. Book Number

Different books having same subject will have same class number. When several books have same class number, in order to further individualise them another number which represent some aspects other than the subject of the book is given. This number is known as book number. There are different methods to assign book numbers. One common practice is to give first three letters of the name of the author. For example, a book by Srivastava will have the book number SRI. Collection Number

Sometimes for convenience there may be different collections maintained in a library. There may be collections like reference collection, lending collection, departmental collection etc. in a library. In order to identify these books belonging to a specific collection some numbers are assigned to each collection, e.g. reference collection RC, closed reference CR, lending collection LC etc. These numbers are known as collection number. Call Number

The class number, book number and collection number together constitute the call number of a book, using which we can correctly locate a particular book from the stack or recall them from the common stock. For example a book titled textbook of invertebrate zoology, by Ekambaranath, belonging to the department of zoology collection may have the call number 592 EKA (ZD) where 592 is the class number, EKA is the book number and ZD is the collection number.


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Library Catalogue

Library catalogue is a comprehensive list of the books, periodicals, maps and other materials available in a library, where entries are arranged in a systematic order to facilitate retrieval (usually aphetically by author, title and or subject). It is useful to both the readers using the library and library staff members who help the readers to use the library. Library catalogue guides the users to identify, locate and access reading and reference materials in the library. The purpose of a catalogue is to trace the holdings of a library. Readers should be able to locate without loss of time, the desired reading material they are looking for. For this purpose few persons and organisation have developed cataloguing rules or codes. The most versatile code is Anglo-American cataloguing rules, edition 2, popularly called AACR-2. In a catalogue all the necessary aspects of a book or a document, like title, name of the author, publisher, year of publication, key words, call number etc. are given. The catalogues can be of different physical formats. Most common formats are card catalogue and computerised catalogue. In a card catalogue the details of a book is given on a single card and these cards are arranged in a card cabinet in some order. For satisfying the different approaches like title, author, subject etc. multiple copies of these cards are prepared and arranged in the alphabetical order of the title, author key words etc. In case of a computerised catalogue a database of the catalogue, which provides necessary details of all the books/ documents are maintained and these database can be searched under any parameter as per the need of the user.

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Call No

ACC No.

Skeleton Card Name of the Author Title: Subtitle/Name of the author(s); collaborator(s). – edition if any. – Place of publication: Name of the publisher, year of publication. No. of pages; size of the book in cm.-(Series/editor of series, ISSN of series; No. of the series).ISBNHeadings of added entries. Sample Entry

954MIL

13311

Mill, James The history of British India/James Mill, abridged with an introduction by William Thomas.-Chicago: University of Chicago, 1975 Xlvii, 599p.; 23 cm. ISBN 0-226-52555-41. India – History. I. Thomas, William. II. Title

Information Services Different types of information services are practiced in a library to help the users to get the right information at the right time. Awareness about these services will help the users to utilize these services as per their information requirements. 1. Current Awareness Services (CAS) Due to the exponential growth of information it is very difficult for the users to access information and keep themselves abreast of new developments in their subject field. Current awareness services are the various services which help the users to be up-todate in their subject fields. Researchers and professionals are the main beneficiaries of these services. Instead of giving the information sources as such, in these services the users are informed of the availability of the new information in their subject


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field. So if they are interested then they can acquire them. The main sources of new information are subject journals, seminar volumes, online databases etc. The library staff scans through these sources and the user groups are informed of the new articles published in their subject field. Different types of current awareness services commonly practiced in libraries are: i) Contents by-journals: In this service the library distribute copies of contents pages of the journals or the publications like currents contents to the users. ii) Current awarenesslist or documentation bulletin: In this kind of service the library scans journals and other sources of current information received in the library to identify potentially useful articles of interest to their users. The bibliographical details of such articles are collected, and classified or grouped into subject groups. At periodic intervals (fortnightly, monthly, etc.) the collected bibliographic entries are listed under the different subject headings, class numbers or groups. The list is then duplicated and circulated to users. iii) Research-in progress bulletin: In this service, as the name suggests, it alerts users of new research projects and the progress made in the research projects in hand. A researchin-progress bulletin usually contains information about the laboratory/department at which the project is being done, names of principal and associate researchers, funds and sources of funds, duration of the project, and special equipment in use, if any. In addition, it includes a narrative description of the research project and/or progress achieved till date.

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iv) News paper clipping service: In this service, the newspapers are scanned and any item of interest to the user group are clipped (ie. cut) and pasted on a thicker paper or card. The clipping is then assigned one or more subject headings or group/class codes. The clippings are arranged by subject headings or group code and displayed or kept in folders for the reference of the users. 2. Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) Service The SDI is a type of current awareness services, the objective of which is to keep users of the system informed of new developments in their respective areas of interest without overburdening them with irrelevant and unwanted documents. SDI is a computerised service, in which a file containing document description and terms representing the subject content of the document is prepared and regularly updated. This file is known as document database. Another file describing users and their subject interests is also maintained and it is known as user profile. At periodical intervals these two files are matched each other, if a matching of a user profile with some articles in the document profiles are found it means that particular user needs those articles, details of these needed articles are listed and sent to the concerned user. 3. Reference Service Reference service is the personal assistance to readers in the use of the library and its collections. It involves: • Answer the questions that readers ask or give the right sources that provide answer to such questions. • Build up a good reference stock knowing user’s needs, buildup reference tools, maintain and administer them properly.


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• Provide all these services with speed and efficiency without any bias, meeting the exact needs of users. 4. Literature Search Service Sometimes the users may not be fully aware of the various information sources and bibliographical tools, in such a situation they cannot conduct an exhaustive information search for collecting all the available articles and other sources of information in their particular subject field. In such cases the library staffs who are experts in using various searching tools will conduct search for their users and the list of articles and documents will be provided to the user. This service is known as literature search service. 5. Document Delivery Service It is actually concerned with the supply of documents to the users on demand, either in original or its copy in print or non-print form, irrespective of the location and form of the original. If the original documents are not available in the library, the librarian either borrows them from another library or obtains their photocopies. 6. Abstracting Service Abstracting is the process of writing a summary of an article, report, journal or similar publications so that users of an organisation may quickly read a digest of the original material. In abstracting service the abstracts prepared in the library or those taken from the published abstracting services are provided to the users. 7. Indexing Service An index is a systematic guide to the text of any reading matter or to the contents of other collected documentary material,

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comprising a series of entries with headings arranged in alphabetical or other chosen order, and with reference to show where each item indexed is located. In indexing service the indexes prepared in the library or those taken from the published indexing services are provided to the users. 8. Reprography Service In this service photocopy of materials available with the library is provided to users on request. Usually supply of photocopies is made for journal articles, conference papers, seminar reports, relevant pages of the monographs etc.

Information Sources For the proper utilisation of the different information sources in a library the users should have awareness about the characteristics of these sources. Important information sources in a college library are 1. Textbook A textbook is book of instruction; its primary aim is not to impart information about a specific subject but to enable one to develop proper understanding of the subject. A good text-book takes into consideration the method of teaching and level of readership. It is revised keeping in view new developments and changing methodology of teaching. Example: Textbook of Crop Production, by P.C. Raheja. 2. Reference Book A reference book is intended to be consulted for information on individual matters rather than read continuously. These include encyclopaedias, dictionaries, hand books, tables, gazetteers etc. The commonly used reference books/materials are listed below.


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i) Dictionaries: A dictionary is a book explaining the words of a language, or the terms of a subject, arranged in some definite order, usually arranged in alphabetical order, with explanation of their meanings and use. Dictionaries are also useful for getting information like definition, spelling, pronunciation, usage, synonyms, antonyms and homonyms, abbreviations, signs and symbols, slangs, new words, new meanings of old words, dialect, foreign terms in a language, grammatical information and etymology. ii) Encyclopaedias: An encyclopaedia is a systematic summary of the knowledge that is most significant to mankind. While general encyclopaedia provides information on all branches of knowledge, the subject encyclopaedias are limited to a special field or subject. Encyclopaedias are looked for concise, digested and in some cases simplified account on a topic. They also help us in such cases where the topic of enquiry is very restricted in scope and no other books readily available on that topic in the library. Generally encyclopaedias present information in an impartial manner, giving all the viewpoints on all subjects. They usually provide essential historical background to the topic of enquiry. References provided at the end of the articles are helpful for further study of the topic. Examples: 1. Encyclopaedia Britanica. 2. McGraw-Hill Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology iii) Bibliographies: A bibliography is defined as a list of written, printed or otherwise produced record of civilisation, e.g., of books, articles in periodicals, etc. There are mainly two

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types of bibliographies such as author bibliographies and subject bibliographies. An author bibliography provides the list of all the books/articles written by and about a particular author. A subject bibliography enlists all the books/articles etc. published in a particular subject field. A bibliography is a systematic guide to the literature of a subject and it locates a title on a given subject and identifies the bibliographical details of it (author, publisher, date and place of publication, etc.). It saves the time and efforts of users as it helps in selecting relevant and specific documents from the large universe of documents. iv) Guides to Literature: A guide to literature assists a user to use literature of a specific subject. It helps to evaluate and introduce literature. It lays emphasis on literature rather than the content of a specific subject. Example: Guide to Historical Literature, by American Historical Association, New York; Macmillan, 1961. v) Biographical Sources: These sources contain information about people. They take care of diverse inquiries about a person, living or dead, with regard to his date and place of birth, nationality, educational background, professional achievements, significant contributions in life, writings and works, important landmarks in life and brief sketch of personal life. There are individual biographies and collective biographies. Collective biographies are commonly known as Biographical Dictionary or Who’s Who. They are published under the names directory (e.g. Artist’s Directory), handbook (e.g. Handbook of Information Scientists and Librarians in India) or encyclopaedia (e.g. McGraw Hill Encyclopaedia of World Biography).


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vi) Geographical sources: The geographical sources are a category of reference books which contains information related to places. They provide information like description and location related to countries, states, regions, districts, cities, mountains, rivers, lakes and all places throughout the world. The geographical sources can be divided into four categories as follows: a) Gazetteers: A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary of places arranged alphabetically. It provides historical, political, cultural, social, industrial, demographic and administrative details about a place. It also provides geographical data and location by providing longitude and a latitude. b) Guidebooks: It is a handy book for travelers that give information about a city, region, country, a religious place or about a building or a historical monument. These are usually meant for tourists and people who want to visit various places. The guidebooks usually provide all the information about routes, travel facilities, hotels to live in, exchange rate, climate, cultural, social, religious centre, etc. c) Maps and atlases: A map is a graphic presentation of a place normally drawn to scale and it provides location and direction which otherwise is difficult to define by written documents. An atlas is a collection of maps bound up in the form of a book. d) Globe: A globe is a spherical representation of the earth’s surface. It is a hollow ball of metal or plastic having the world map drawn on its surface.

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vii) Other reference sources: Apart from the major reference sources described above, some other ready reference sources help in locating the right factual answers to questions. They usually contain brief, pinpointed answers and are serial publications. These sources include yearbooks, annuals, almanacs, directories, handbooks, manuals, guides to statistical sources etc. The yearbooks and annuals are sources issued each year to review developments during the year and to record current information of a descriptive or statistical type. An almanac is a publication usually an annual, containing a variety of useful facts of a miscellaneous nature and statistical information. It is projection of the coming year by days, months and holidays covering miscellaneous matters such as astronomical events, planetary tables, astrological predictions and anecdotes. A directory is a document containing lists of names of residents, organisations or business houses in a place in alphabetical order; or of professional people, manufactures, of business houses in particular trade or profession. The handbooks and manuals serve as ready reference sources for a given field of knowledge. They provide information on a special subject, a simple but all-embracing treatment, containing concise information and being small enough to be held in hand, and are written primarily for the use of practitioners and serving for a constant revision or a reference. Statistical sources provide statistical information, i.e., information which is the outcome of the collection, classification, analysis and interpretation of numerical data.


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Yearbooks, almanacs, encyclopaedia, gazetteers, etc. provide statistical information but special statistical sources are more reliable and uptodate. Such statistical sources are Demographic Yearbook and Yearbook of International Trade Statistics. 3. Periodicals Periodicals include journals, bulletins, transactions, proceedings or similar works, which appear regularly and continuously in numbered sequence. The bulk of primary source literature appears in the form of periodicals. Periodicals usually report the result of recent researches more quickly than books. Information on new processes and discoveries can appear in a periodical within weeks of their formulation. However the same might take two to three years or more to appear in book form. Indexing periodicals

An indexing periodical is a regularly issued compilation of titles of articles that appear in current primary journals. Generally, titles of new books pamphlets etc., are also included. The title and author of the article and the location of the article such as name of the journal in which the article appeared, volume number, issue number and page numbers etc. will be given so that the user can easily locate the article if he/she is interested in it. Example: Applied Science and Technology Index. Abstracting periodicals

An abstracting periodical is a regularly issued compilation of concise summaries of (i) significant articles that appear in current primary source journals and (ii) important new research monographs reports, patents, and other primary source publications in that field. An abstracting periodical serve as an

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index, a tool for retrieval of information on a specific subject and provides survey of current state of the art about the specific subject. However, indexing periodicals are earlier to appear than abstracting periodicals. Example: Chemical Abstract.

Digital Libraries and Online Information Systems Now a days most of the libraries have a separate digital library section, where information is stored in digital format. For retrieving information in digital format we use computers. The data/information can be in CD-ROMs, or in the hard disk of the computer or in online information databases. The indexing and abstracting periodicals discussed above can be obtained on CD-ROM or as online databases. Retrospective volumes of periodicals for the last five years ten years etc. may also obtained on CD-ROM. In case of online database services the main database is continuously updated and adding index/abstract/full text of the articles as and when they are published. Those who are having the access can log on to these distantly located databases through internet or other communication networks by using the proper login name and password. Then they can search in the database using various parameters like keywords, author, title etc. The search result will be listed in the monitor, if needed the user can read the abstract/full text as per the availability. They can also download/print the result. As the databases are regularly updated with the latest articles as and when they are published, the online information databases help the user to be uptodate in his/her subject field.


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Example: Medline is an online information system in the field of medicine and biomedical field. Internet Internet is a collection of interlinked computer networks, or a network of networks. The internet provides global connectivity via a mesh of networks using the TCP/IP protocols. It has opened up wide vistas of information sources on a global basis that previously were unavailable to the average library or individual searcher. There are a number of different types of use of the internet. Some of them are listed below: • E-mail: allowing users to send messages or files to each other • News: to inform users of available information • Remote log in: allowing users to log in to remote sites • File Transfer Protocol (FTP): which allows users to access and retrieve files at remote sites A wide variety of public domain and commercial, scientific and other information sources are currently available on internet, with new sources being announced every day. These include, bibliographic/full text databases, table of contents of journals, discussion forums, preprints, technical reports, directories, teaching material, data archives, library catalogue, etc. There are sites and databases in all the subjects in internet, so anybody who need any type of information can search in internet and find their materials. The World Wide Web (WWW) is the multimedia part of the internet displaying a hyper text type of structure and search

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facilities. Every individual document of page is assigned a unique address, called the Uniform Resource Locator (URL). A collection of home pages located on the same server is called a website. Access to these pages is via the URL using a browser. Search engines are mechanisms which aid users to search the entire internet for relevant information. They are based on allowing users to enter keywords that are matched against database. All the relevant sites/pages/articles in abstract/full text are listed. Examples of some important search engines are Google, Yahoo, Alta Vista, Excite, Hot Bot, Infoseek, Lycos etc.

Rules and Regulations Each library will have its own rules and regulations, which the users are obliged to follow. Strict silence should be maintained in libraries. There will be rules regarding the library membership, number of books issued, periodicity of the issue, overdue charges for the books not returned in time etc. Library timings also differ from library to library. Open access and Closed access When the users are allowed to enter the stack room and search the books by themselves then it is known as an open access library. Some libraries will not allow users to enter the stack area where the books are arranged. Such libraries are called closed access libraries. In closed access libraries the by referring the catalogue the users can find out the availability of a title and if they give a request for a particular book then the library staff will collect the book from the stack room and issued it to the user. Sometimes in open access libraries some sections may be kept as closed access where rare and costly documents are kept.


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Conclusion The manual prepared can be used for library orientation programmes in arts and science colleges. Based on the manual described above a multimedia kit for library orientation can be developed and distributed to the new students. Works Cited

Berwick, Sayers, W.C. 1964. Manual of Classification for Librarians and Bibliographers, ed.3. Andre Deutsch. Bonn, George S. 1971. “Literature of Science & Technology.” McGraw-Hill, Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology. Newyork: McGraw-Hill, vol.7:614. Collison, Robert L. 1971. Abstract and Abstracting Services. Santa Barbara: California. Curaj_library_orientation_programme_aug_2011.ppt. http://www.curaj.ac.in Kemp, D.A.1979. Current AwarenessServices. London: Clive Bingley. Luhn, H.P. 1961. “Selective Dissemination of New Scientific Information with the Aid of Electronic Processing Equipment.” American Documentation, 12(1):131-8. Maizell, Robert E. 1971 Abstracting Scientific and Technical literature. NewYork: Wiley-Inter Science. Ranganathan, S.R. 1964. Classified Catalogue Code with Additional Rules for Dictionary Catalogue Code. Ed.5. Bombay: Asia Publishing House. Venter, Henna. 2003. “User Orientation, or, Giving Your Library User a Glimpse of the World Waiting to be Explored.” http://www.fs.gov.za/ Departments/SAC/Library/user_orientation_main_%20janmar2003_main.htm