LISc.

563: Information Sources and Services I

Unit/Course Content     Teaching Hrs.
1.       Documentary Sources:                                                                                                                  
A. Primary sources : Journals, thesis, Govt.   publications, patents, gray literature

Journals,  a daily newspaper —usually used in titles

Thesis, a long essay or dissertation involving personal research, written by a candidate for a university
degree.

Govt. publications, Works consisting of documents issued by local, regional, or national governments or by

their agencies or subdivisions.

Patents, A patent is considered personal property of the inventor. Once the inventor is granted a patent, she
may transfer her patent rights to another. For example, a research company may employ a scientist who
invents a new medical device. Once the patent is granted, the scientist will transfer the patent to the
company as part of her contract with the employer.

Gray literature The term grey literature is used to describe a wide range of different information that is
produced outside of traditional publishing and distribution channels, and which is often not well represented
in indexing databases.
A widely accepted definition in the scholarly community for grey literature  is ...
"information produced on all levels of government, academia, business and industry in electronic and print
formats not controlled by commercial publishing" ie. where publishing is not the primary activity of the
producing body."

B. Secondary Sources: Dictionaries, Encyclopedias books, Biographical dictionaries, year books etc. 

Dictionaries: a reference book on a particular subject, the items of which are typically arranged in
alphabetical order.

Encyclopedias Book: a book set of books, optical disc, mobile device, or online informational resource
containing articles on various topics, usually in alphabetical arrangement, covering all branches of
knowledge or, less commonly, all aspects of one subject.

Biographical dictionaries: work containing information about the lives and work of various persons,
usually listed alphabetically; some dictionaries classify persons by time period or descriptive category.

Year Books: a book published every year by an organization that gives information about

the events and achievements of the previous year

Reference and Information Sources Practical: https://library.uaf.edu/ls101-reference-services

A. Encyclopedias

Encyclopedia Americana https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Encyclopedia-Americana
Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.1081/E-
ELIS4
International Encyclopedia of the Social
Sciences. https://www.cengage.com/search/productOverview.do?
N=197&Ntk=P_EPI&Ntt=1195668151722511439812555965163953578&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial
Mc. Graw Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology https://www.amazon.com/McGraw-Hill-
Encyclopedia-Science-Technology-Set/dp/0079136656
New Encyclopedias Britannica https://www.britannica.com/topic/Encyclopaedia-Britannica-English-
language-reference-work
Some other newly published Encyclopedias.

B. Dictionaries

Oxford English Dictionary. https://www.oed.com/

Raghu Vira's English Hindi
dictionary. http://www.bookganga.com/eBooks/Books/Details/4629053824839560791
Webster's Third New International English Dictionary. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Websters-
Third-New-International-Dictionary-of-the-English-Language
Random House Dictionary of English Language. https://www.amazon.com/Random-Dictionary-English-
Language-Unabridged/dp/0394500504
Angreji Nepali Sajha Samchhipta Sabdakosha, Sajha Prakashan.
Some other standard and newly published dictionaries.

C. Year Books

Europe Year Book. https://brill.com/view/serial/EUYE

India: A Reference Book https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/india-history-reference
Statesman's year Books. https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9780230270893

D. Biographical Dictionaries

International who's who. https://www.worldcat.org/title/international-whos-who/oclc/1390904

https://www.routledge.com/The-International-Whos-Who-2020/Publications/p/book/9780367135584
Who's who Nepal https://books.google.com.np/books/about/Who_s_Who_Nepal.html?
id=gnFmAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y
Mc Graw Hill Encyclopedia of world Bibliography. https://www.worldcat.org/title/mcgraw-hill-
encyclopedia-of-world-biography-an-international-reference-work/oclc/266670
Webster's Biographical
Dictionary. https://books.google.com.np/books/about/Webster_s_Biographical_Dictionary.html?
id=CG27vwEACAAJ&redir_esc=y
Some other standard and newly published biographical dictionaries.

E. Bibliographies

Nepalese National
Bibliography. https://books.google.com.np/books/about/Nepalese_National_Bibliography.html?id=wE-
mxwEACAAJ&redir_esc=y
Books in Print https://www.booksinprint.com/Login/Index?ReturnUrl=
%2f&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
British Books in Print https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095528126
Indian Books in Print. https://www.worldcat.org/title/indian-books-in-print-a-bibliography-of-indian-
books/oclc/72906274
Indian National Bibliography http://crlindia.gov.in/pages/show/5-indian-national-bibliography
British National Bibliography. https://www.bl.uk/catalogues/british-national-bibliography

F. Directories

Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory https://www.library.ucsb.edu/research/db/338

World of Learning. https://www.learnevents.com/
IFLA's Directory. https://www.ifla.org/ES/publications/node/1280

G. Geographical Sources
Webster's New Geographical
Dictionary https://books.google.com.np/books/about/Webster_s_New_Geographical_Dictionary.html?
id=TBDWAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y
World Almanac and Book of Facts https://www.amazon.com/World-Almanac-Book-Facts-
2020/dp/1600572308
Columbia Lippincott Gazetter http://www.columbiagazetteer.org/static/about

H. News Summaries

Asian Recorder https://www.worldcat.org/title/asian-recorder/oclc/1703895
Nepal Press Digest https://books.google.com.np/books/about/Nepal_Press_Digest.html?
id=CmlDAAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y
Keesing's Contemporary Archives http://keesings.com/index_new.php

I. Hand Book

Universities Handbook India.

Handbook of Library and Information Science.
Tertiary Sources
Advances, Annual reviews.
2.            Non-Book Materials:                                                                                                                      5
Maps, Photos, posters, Audio-visual materials
Cassettes, disk, micro film, micro fiches, slides etc.

3.            Electronic Resource:                                                                                                                       16
Databases
Bibliographical databases
Full text databases
E-books
Online journals
Free e journals
Commercial e journals
CD ROM
Databases and Internet search
National, regional, international
Evaluation practical
HINARI
WIKIPEDIA

4.            Information Literacy                                                                                                                       12
Definition of information literacy
Components of information literacy
Evolution of information literacy
Resource based learning
The challenges of human resources
Information literacy research

5.            Human Sources and Institutional sources:                                                                            3

Preparation of directories human sources in a specialized area.
local, regional, international
Mission or discipline oriented institution's directories
Local, regional, international.

Documentary Sources:
Primary and secondary sources
Primary sources provide a first-hand account of an event or time period and are considered to be
authoritative. They represent original thinking, reports on discoveries or events, or they can share new
information. Often these sources are created at the time the events occurred but they can also include sources
that are created later. They are usually the first formal appearance of original research.
Secondary sources involve analysis, synthesis, interpretation, or evaluation of primary sources. They often
attempt to describe or explain primary sources.
Scholarly journals, although generally considered to be secondary sources, often contain articles on very
specific subjects and may be the primary source of information on new developments.
Primary and secondary categories are often not fixed and depend on the study or research you are
undertaking. For example, newspaper editorial/opinion pieces can be both primary and secondary. If
exploring how an event affected people at a certain time, this type of source would be considered a primary
source. If exploring the event, then the opinion piece would be responding to the event and therefore is
considered to be a secondary source.
Primary sources
Examples of primary resources include:
diaries, correspondence, ships' logs
original documents e.g. birth certificates, trial transcripts
biographies, autobiographies, manuscripts
interviews, speeches, oral histories
case law, legislation, regulations, constitutions
government documents, statistical data, research reports
a journal article reporting NEW research or findings
creative art works, literature
newspaper advertisements and reportage and editorial/opinion pieces
Primary sources can be found using:
Library collection
Primary sources for history subject guide
Secondary sources
Secondary sources offer an analysis, interpretation or a restatement of primary sources and are considered to
be persuasive. They often involve generalisation, synthesis, interpretation, commentary or evaluation in an
attempt to convince the reader of the creator's argument. They often attempt to describe or explain primary
sources.

Examples of secondary sources include:

journal articles that comment on or analyse research
textbooks
dictionaries and encyclopaedias
books that interpret, analyse
political commentary
biographies
dissertations
newspaper editorial/opinion pieces
criticism of literature, art works or music