Government Associate

College for Women

Chonnawala, Hasilpur
Subject: Library & Information Science
(ADP)Semester : 1st
Course Instructor: Ms. Kiran Malik
 Government Associate College for Women Chonnawala,
Hasilpur
Subject: Library & Information Science (ADP)
Semester : 1st
Course instructor: Ms. Kiran Malik

Library & Information Science Page 1

Definition of a Library:
The word “Library” means in English “a collection of books gathered for study, research,
reference and recreation”. It is being perceived that it has derived from a Latin word ‘libra’
which means ‘a book’.

The Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary says that “a place in which literary, musical, artistic, or
reference materials (as books, manuscripts, recordings, or films) are kept for use but not for
sale”.

The Oxford Dictionary defines library as “a building or room containing collections of books,
periodicals, and sometimes films and recorded music for using or borrowing by the public or the
members of an institution.

The Oxford Companion to the English Language says that the

“library is a collection of books, periodicals and/or other materials, primarily written and
printed”.

The Harrold’s Librarians’ Glossary and Reference Book explains library as:

(a) A collection of books and other literary material kept for reading, study and consultation.

(b) A place, building, room or rooms set apart for the keeping and use of a collection of books,
etc.

(c) A number of books issued by one publisher under a comprehensive title as the ‘Loeb
Classical Library’, and usually having some general characteristic, such as, subject, binding, or
typography.

(d) A collection of films, photographs and other non-book materials, plastic or metal tapes, disks
and programs.

Concept of Library & Information Science:

LIS is the academic and professional study of how information is produced , disseminated ,
discovered, evaluated, selected, acquire, used, organize, maintain and managed.

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The “Discipline” concerned with the administration of a library, including the collection of
books and other information sources, their organization and presentation to library users and
related services.

LIS is the field of study that teach us how to manage books and other information, Particularly,
through collecting, preserving and organizing books and other information materials.

Five Laws of Library Science:

The laws of Library Science govern various disciplines within the field library science and are
normally invoked when two or more commons lead to any conflicting. S. R. Ranganathan
formulated five laws of Library Science in 1928 and published them in 1931 under the title “Five
Laws of Library Science”. According to these five laws of Library Science, books are for use and
user is the king whose time must be saved.

The five laws of Library Science are:

1. Books are for use

2. Every reader his/her books

3. Every Books its reader

4. Save the time of the user

5. Library is a growing organism

First Law: Books are for use

The first law of Library Science is ‘Books are for use’. No one will question the correctness of
this law but the story in actual practice is different. Historically in 15th and 16th century in
Europe, books were chained with the selves. In those days libraries were meant for storage rather
than for use. At a later stage, books were made available to those persons who pay a fee but now
the book lending is free for all. Modern libraries are attractive, comfortable and a number of
special services are introduced to ensure optimum utilisation of the book. A modern librarian is
happy when the readers make his shelves constantly empty. He is worried and depressed on

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seeing those volumes which stay at home-library. Librarians have taken some initiatives to make
the library as the centre of intellectual achievements by maximum use of books.

Second Law: Every Reader his/her Book

The second law of library science has established a new concept of libraries and has inculcated
the culture of libraries. Every Reader his/her books means books for all. Books for all symbolises
‘Education For all.’ In the past education was not for all, it was only for the chosen few. The
Second law says that every reader of the library should get the book he wants. This law also
advocates the generalisation and democratisation of library services. In earlier days, the access to
libraries and their books were only available to few persons who were belonging to the
aristocracy and the upper classes of the society. Hence the library services have become a basic
right of all citizens without any distinction or discrimination. Thus the second law ‘Every Reader
his/her Books’ obtained great importance in this age of democracy. The second law honestly
maintain the principal of equality of opportunity for books and provides suitable environment to
learn for all.

Third Law: Every Books its Reader

The third law is “Every book its reader”, it ensures maximum utilization of books by their
readers. This law advocates for providing appropriate reader for each and every book. The first
law is developed for satisfying the interest of library documents. While the second law is
concerned with the task of finding appropriate book for every reader, the third law expects that
an appropriate reader should be found for every book. The most prominent process used by the
libraries for satisfying the third law is 'Open Access System', while the other prominent library
activities which relate to the shelf-arrangement, catalogue entries, reference work, access of
popular departments, publicity methods, Book selection and extension work also satisfy the third
law of library science.

Fourth Law: Save the Time of the Reader

The main concern of the first three laws of library science is to facilitate access of books by their
appropriate reader and to optimise the usage of library collection. While the Fourth law is
focusing towards the services for the readers. The Fourth law demands to save the time of the

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reader as well as staff. The Fourth law expects the library's reference staff to support a reader
from the vary instant he enters the library up to the moment he leaves it, critically examine each
and every process he involves himself , with a care to save his time.

Fifth Law: Library is a Growing Organism

The Fifth Law is ‘Library is a growing organism’. This law enunciates a fundamental rule and
principle which govern planning and organisation of libraries. The fifth law handles the library
as an institution which holds all qualities of a growing organism. A growing organism has an
inherent feature of natural growth, deterioration in old matters, change in size, development of
new shapes and forms etc.

Librarianship as a Profession:
Librarianship is a distinct and distinguished profession in modern society. It is engaged in public
service and plays an important role in national development. Librarianship today is termed as
“Library and Information Profession” since the concept of librarianship has changed in view of
the changing information needs of the society.

A librarian conserves the cultural and intellectual heritage of mankind and acts as an agent of
communication from information generation to the point of use.

librarianship can be considered as a profession, as it possesses the following basic characteristics

of a profession:

 A body of knowledge imparted in LIS schools;

 Intensive training and continued practice to gain mastery over the skills for knowledge
organization and retrieval;
 Oriented towards service to the society;
 Associations to bind the professionals;
 Standard terminology and practices; and
 Code of ethics.

To quote Ranganathan “Librarianship is a noble profession. A librarian derives his joy by

seeing the dawn of joy in the face of the readers who were helped in their search

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for the right information at the right time.”

Mayors defines librarianship as “That branch of human knowledge which is

concerned with the production, care and use of recorded human knowledge”.

Dakhole characterizes librarianship in the following words:

1) “Librarianship is a branch of human knowledge

2) It is a profession

3) It is tool for information or knowledge

4) It involves social service

5) It is a department of scholars not mere a craft”.

Social institutions are affected by movements and changes in the society around

them and the library is no exception. The media revolution, the computer and

communication technology, the changing behavior of user community and the

increasing social responsibility of libraries have had a great impact on the LIS

profession. The present librarian is vested with new responsibilities like managing

information networks, and conducting online searches, managing digital

preservation and development of digital libraries. The profession is more active

and meaningful in the present day information world. Librarian acts as an advisor, interpreter and
mediator for user’s information needs. Thus the work performed by today’s information
professional, seems quite different and challenging in both forms and formats than in the past.
Thus, LIS profession is gaining a new identity. LIS professionals are now identified as
webmasters, network administrators/managers, information literacy providers, information
facilitators etc. The following paragraphs explain the stages in the evolution of LIS profession.

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Custodian:

The library custodians are keepers of culture, preservers of creation, and defenders of future.
Their duty earlier was to keep the books intact rather than allow them to circulate freely among
readers. Thus the first generation of librarians was mere custodians / keepers of recorded
knowledge and culture.

Librarian:

With the invention of printing in 15th century there was less need for the protective function of
libraries. The librarian moved away from just being the “custodian of books” to information /
knowledge collection manager. The philosophy changed, library resources were meant to be put
into use, it was felt to circulate the books for better utilization of knowledge.

Thus the traditional librarianship started shifting from material handling to information handling.
In this process of transmission of knowledge, librarian stood as mediator between the originator
(author) and the end user. With the bombarding generation of information termed “information
explosion” and the need for the same growing in a big way, importance of librarianship has been
realized among people in the society.

Hence it became very difficult to find out specific information from this huge mass of
information. Since the needs of the information seekers are varied, information is processed,
preserved and disseminated according to the users’ specific demands. In the process specialized
services like documentation, current awareness, selective dissemination of information and
translation etc. are provided.

Documentation Officer:

With changing times, users expected specific information to be culled out from sources to be
provided to them. This gave birth to the concept of documentation activities in libraries.
Documentation centers have been set up to meet the requirements of specialized users in research
organizations.

Documentation officer needs to be aware of the subject/area of interest of her/ his users. S/he
should constantly update herself/himself in the ongoing developments in the field. S/he should

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have a good command over the language and skills of summarizing, etc. Technology has enabled
to provide these services more effectively and efficiently.

Information Officer/Scientist:

As the use of information increases in the society, the importance of library and information
centers also increases. This demands for special skills in information professionals to create,
collect, communicate and consolidate the information on behalf of the clients. The speedy and
radical explosion of information has greatly transformed the role of libraries and information
centers. Thus, the change in the mission of librarianship has significant implication for the
library profile in the 21st century. Hence the scope of library becomes universal and the
information specialist works as a disseminator of digital information, rather than the custodian of
information.

Digital Librarian:

Digital libraries are electronic libraries wherein all the collections in full text are in digital form
and access to the collection is through networks. Thus the present role of digital librarian extends
his services far beyond physical boundaries. They provide innovative resources and services, and
play an important role as digital librarian in connecting old graphic records, to machine readable
forms, and create new records of text, graphics, and sounds and multi media.

Data, Information & Knowledge:

Data:

Data – a collection of text, numbers and symbols with no meaning. Data consists of raw facts
and figures. Data therefore has to be processed, or provided with a context, before it can have
meaning.

Example: 3, 6, 9, 12. These are meaningless sets of data

Information:

the processed data to be used in context and have meaning. Information is data that has meaning.

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Data on its own has no meaning. It only takes on meaning and becomes information when it is
interpreted. Data consists of raw facts and figures. When that data is processed into sets
according to context, it provides information.

Data refers to raw input that when processed or arranged makes meaningful output. Information
is usually the processed outcome of data. When data is processed into information, it becomes
interpretable and gains significance.

Data + Meaning = Information

Example: 3, 6, 9 and 12 are the first four answers in the 3 x table

Knowledge:

When someone memorizes information they have acquired some knowledge. Another form of
knowledge is produced as a result of understanding information that has been given to us, and
using that information to gain knowledge of how to solve problems.

Knowledge can therefore be:

• acquiring and remembering a set of facts, or

• the use of information to solve problems

Information + application or use = Knowledge

Example: 3, 6, 9 and 12 are the first four answers in the 3 x table, 4, 8, 12 and 16 are the first
four answers in the 4 x table (because the 3 x table starts at three and goes up in threes the 4 x
table must start at four and go up in fours).

Role of Library in Education:

Library and educational institutions are two faces of the same coin, one cannot survive without
other. The meaning and purpose of education is completely supported by library. Library is often
called as hub of educational activities and heart of educational institution with which it is
attached. The main objectives of education are imparting knowledge, inculcation of values and
creation of vocational skills. These three aims are being achieved by different models of

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education. In modern society, there are three models of education as: a)Formal education b)Non
Formal education and c)Informal education.

(a) Formal Education

The formal education system is such a system in which education is imparted through the
contact of teacher and student in school ,college and university. In such system the student
are to be educated or trained on the basis of certain curriculum for a certain period of time In the
system of education the institution are supported with the library to acquire the knowledge on the
subject as well as related subjects of the student choice . in this context library is playing the
following roles:-

(i) Library supports the teaching and learning process at all levels of education( school,
college , universities ,technical or professional)
(ii) Inculcate reading habits and acquires knowledge in the subjects of pursuits.
(iii) Developing critical and analytical thinking and creating skills of self studies.
(iv) Intellectual development of a student to make one research from a simple reader.

(b) Non-formal Education

Non formal education is such a system in which a person gets educated without the help of
teacher or formal classes. In this system student get enrol with an academic institution for
certain educational program and complete it through self studies.The library plays a major role in
supporting educational pursuit such student who is getting education through this model. The
public library plays major role in supporting non formal education system and provides the
access of required sources as books, periodicals, etc. Anyone of society has the right of accessing
the library services provided by public library. Hence, a student of non formal education
completes his/her study easily with the help of a public library. Sometimes, the institutions,
providing non-formal education also provide library services to support the students enrolled for
such educational programmes.

A library plays following roles in non-formal education:

I. Supports the educational program in which the student is involved.

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 II. Provide informational requirement needs for educational program.
III. Bridge the gap of the absence of the teacher
IV. Help in self learning and create a researcher for student.

These days almost all the institutions of higher studies offer distance educational programmes. In
such programmes, a library plays the role of both teachers as well as information resources. In
this direction public library is more important in this mode of education. Hence the library
system itself becomes teacher, guide and mentor to the student, getting education through non-
formal mode of education.

(c) Informal Education

Informal education system is such a mode of education in which a person get information
and knowledge as per his/her requirements it doesn’t have a course curriculum or
structure education programme as offered in formal and non formal education. The
informal education system could be for anything as an illiterate learns the reading-writing skills
and become literate. Another example may be taken as a professional gets knowledge and skills
to complete their work from any other professionals who have such knowledge. Hence, informal
education is having a wide range of coverage. The library satisfies the knowledge quest of an
individual for professional, spiritual or recreational. It provides the opportunity of lifelong self
learning to the member of the society.

The role of library in the informal education can be listed as:

(i) Satisfy the knowledge requirement of an individual needed for personal, professional
and educational development, etc.;
(ii) Creating reading habit among semi illiterate or illiterate;
(iii) To creating responsible citizen;
(iv) Keep semi illiterate or illiterate person educated through library services

Role of Library in Research:

Research is defined as careful consideration of study regarding a particular concern or

problem using scientific methods. Simply put, research is the process of discovering new
knowledge. Hundreds and thousands of individual, corporative houses, government institutions

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are conducting researches on science and technology as well as in social science and humanities.
All these researchers need in to obtain effective and fruitful results. Hence, the library provides
support to the research work of an individual as well as institutions.

The role of a library in research and innovation may be listed as:-

i. Keep the researchers up to date with the latest development in their field of research.
ii. Helps in selecting the research topic
iii. Organizes programs on the process and procedure of research and research methodology.
iv. Provide information to avoid duplication of research.
v. Provide bibliographical service for collecting and selecting study material.
vi. Convey rational outlook and scientific knowledge to researchers
vii. Bridge the gap between the researchers and experts of the field research.

With the help of formal and informal library services, the library disseminate information to the
researcher either store in the library in the form of book, journal, Periodicals etc. or by
organizing program with the help of expert of different field to meet the researcher need.

Scope of library and Information Science:

Librarianship as a profession provides a variety of employment opportunities. Today there are a
number of career prospects in Library and Information Science. The qualified professionals are
employed in various libraries and information Centers. Trained library professionals can find
opportunities for employment both as teacher and as a Librarian.

There is the huge demanding scope of library science in Pakistan. In Pakistan, there is a huge
number of libraries are available at both public and private level, which ultimately gives you the
opportunity of serving your services in the field of Library and Information Science. Candidates
who have done Library Science at Bachelors and Masters level can easily recruit in below-listed
employment areas such as

Job Areas:
 Private Libraries

 Government Libraries

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  School Libraries

 College Libraries

 National Libraries

 Research Institutes

 Special Libraries

 Town Libraries

 Media

 E-Libraries

 Advertising Agencies

 Public Relation Departments

 Museums etc

Job Positions:
 Preserver in Museum and Archives

 Research Assistant

 Reporter

 E-Library In charge

 Library Assistant

 Senior Librarian

 Assistant Librarian

 Lecturer

 Documentation Assistant

 Cataloger

 Public Relation Officer

 Classifier

 Reference Librarian

 Bibliographer

 Mobile Librarian

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  Information Assistant etc

Remuneration (Salary):
In the age of information revolution librarianship is a well paid job. However salaries of library
professionals vary depending upon their individual qualifications, experience, size and nature of
the hiring institutes. Persons with a superior record and high qualifications can achieve high
positions. The salaries in college and university libraries are comparable to those of teachers.
Indeed, the salaries of special librarians are high. Librarians employed in government museum,
archives, galleries have higher earnings than those in colleges and universities. Librarians
working in research institutes and private documentation centers also have handsome earnings.

Library And Society:

Library and society is inter-linked and inter-dependable. This is the strong perception and
realized truth that the development in the society is not possible without library. In the changing
context of the society, the role of library has also changed dynamically. The library in modern
society is being considered a service agency. the libraries play a vital role in socio-economic,
political and cultural development of a community and society.

Over the centuries, library has also developed different models to serve the society. Presently, we
have different types of libraries to cater wide range of the informational need of the society.
Broadly library has been grouped in four categories on the basis of their objectives and functions
in the society. Those categories are as follows:

1. National library

2. Academic libraries

3. Special libraries

4. Public libraries

National library:

The national library is the apex library in the library system of any country. The national library
of any country is the custodian of the intellectual heritage of the country. The intellectual
heritage is the total information and knowledge wealth either produced within the nation; any

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where written by the nationals; and written by any one on that particular nation. For example,
National Library of Pakistan.

Functions of the National library:

(i) produce a national bibliography;

(ii) hold and keep up-to-date a large and representative collection of foreign literature

including books about the country;

(iii) act as a national bibliographic center

(iv) compile union catalogue;

(v) publish the retrospective national bibliography

Academic Library:

An academic library is an integral part of any institution of formal education. It supports the
teaching- learning process of the institution it is attached with. Academic library can be defined
as “a library which associated or attached with any educational institution to support its
educational programes”.

Broadly, there are three types of academic libraries. Those are:

(a) School library

(b) College library

(c) University library

Function of a Academic library:

(i) serve the needs of the academic community;

(ii) collect and store all kinds of reading and reference material;

(iii) provide all kinds informational materials to support their curricular requirements;

(iv) provide supporting materials for extra curricular activities;

(v) provide reading areas for users;

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(vi) render lending service appropriate to students, teachers and researchers;

Special Library:

SLA defines “Special libraries as those libraries maintained by corporate bodies or institutions,
professional association or special government agencies or departments ”

The term “Special Library” indicates the collection of special kinds of documents, such as,
braille books, audiovisual material, books published in any language or it may also means a
library meant mainly for a group of special readers, such as, Children’s library, Hospital library,
Prison library etc.

A special library serves specialist user, located within a single organization or group and is
responsible for the collection, organization storage, retrieval and dissemination of information.

For example: National Bank Of Pakistan

Functions of a Special library:

1. Select, procure, organize, store and retrieve current information required by the
researchers and other users of the library
2. Analyses, synthesizes and evaluates available information in the area of concern;
3. Provide reference service as Current Awareness Services (CAS), Selective Dissemination
of Information (SDI), and Translation Services;
4. Provide document delivery service including lending and inter library loan service

Public libraries:

Public library is a social institution established for providing opportunities to each and every
person of the society, irrespective of their caste, creed, religion, gender, social, economic and
educational status, etc.

It provides equal opportunity to each and every member of the society to get success in life
which ultimately contributes in development of the society. It promotes the democracy in true
sense.

For example: Punjab Public Library

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Function of Public Library:

1. Supporting Education
2. Knowledge Preservation and Dissemination
3. Creating Reading Habits and Love for Knowledge

Digital Library:

The digital library is a library which select, collect, store, retrieve and disseminate electronic
information. Main characteristic of a digital library is to build library collection of information
sources in electronic or digital form and provide services to its members using such resources.
Hence, the library services are there but only the form of information sources has changed from
print to electronic. The digital library uses digital technology for storing, retrieving and
dissemination information.

Introduction to Library Sections:

Usually, all kinds of libraries have basic departments and sections, which are: acquisition,
technical processing, circulation, reference, periodicals, maintenance, administration, and
Reference section. Apart from these, depending upon the collection and services, some libraries
also have archives, electronic collection and other sections.

These sections are made up of several sub-sections or units. The distribution of the activities
under different sections varies from library to library. For example, some libraries place
maintenance section with circulation section while some place it with the technical processing
section. But, the technical processing section always has activities of cataloguing and
classification

Acquisitions Section:

This section is mainly responsible for acquisition of books. This section acquire the documents
by the following process: by purchase, gift or exchange;

At first, the library collects the recommendation from faculty members of different departments.
Based on the recommendation, the library interacts and places order with selected vendors. Then,

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the books are accessioned in this section and transferred to the Technical Processing Section for
cataloguing, classification and indexing & database entry.

Functions of acquisition system:

The acquisition system performs the following basic functions to complete the entire acquisition
process.

(i) Selection, Ordering, Receiving of Documents

(ii) Cancellation of Documents

(iii) Accession of Documents.

Technical Section:

This section is mainly responsible for processing of procured books and acts as a bridge between
Acquisition and Circulation Section.

This section classifies the documents, catalogues them and finally sends these books for display
in New Arrivals Display Area for a week.

Cataloguing Section:

Cataloguing is the process of creating catalogue of the library holdings on the basis of catalogue
rules or code adopted by a particular library. A catalogue is a list of the holdings of a library with
all the bibliographic details. It is a tool which helps users to search relevant materials on the basis
of known information about a particular book or its subject area. Different catalogue entries such
as title, author, collaborator, series, subjects, etc. are prepared for an easy availability of the
library resource. Catalogue of a library is known as the guide map of the library resources for
users of the library.

Circulation Section:

This section is mainly responsible for circulation of documents to the users of the library. This
section acts as a bridge between users and books. The following tasks are performed by this
section:

 Membership Registration

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  Issue/Return

 Reserve/Renewal

 Issue No Dues Certificate

 Overdue Fine Collection

 Alert Services such as overdue, collect notice etc.

Newspaper & Periodical Section:

The Periodicals Section is the place where needed information could be found in journals,
magazines, newspapers, and other serial literature. These are publications that are published at
regular intervals, that is, in series with certain frequency. The frequency may be weekly,
monthly, quarterly, etc. There is a growing demand in the areas of newspapers, journals and
magazines research.

The following tasks are performed by this section:

 Print Journals Subscription

 E-Resources subscription and its management (Full Text & Abstract Databases)

Reference Section:

This section is mainly responsible for keeping reference books in different stacks of the Library
subject-wise.

An area of the library with materials that provide quick and easy-to-understand information on a
topic. For example, a dictionary provides information on the meaning of words.

An examples of reference material is Encyclopedia, Dictionary, Almanacs, Atlas

Information Literacy:
It is important to know the different concepts that are related to information literacy to identify a
clear direction for an information literacy program. This section contains a brief definition of
relevant terms followed by the key concepts of information literacy.

What is information?

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Information is a resource that has varied definitions according to the format, and media used to
package or transfer it, as well as the discipline that defines it. Case (2002) provides a broader
definition. Here the term is synonymous with:

• Encapsulated knowledge

• Packaged human experience

• A source that can provide a myriad of data

• A resource that takes different formats, packaging, transfer media, and varied methods of
delivery

• People: family, friends, tutors, fellow students

• Institutions, i.e., national health service professionals or help facilities

What is literacy?

The basic definition of literacy is “the condition of being literate” according to the Chambers
English Dictionary (2003). This reference work, on the other hand, defines literate as “…learned;
able to read and write; having a competence in or with” (p. 1856). In education parlance, “Basic
Literacy” means the classic or traditional literacies of learning how to read, to write, and to
perform numeric calculations and operations; basic literacies in almost all societies are learned in
basic and secondary formal education settings, primarily public or private schools, but
sometimes basic literacies are learned at home or in community centers.

Other “Literacy” concepts related to information literacy:-

Information literacy is linked with other types of related literacies, but it should be differentiated
from them, especially from information technology, media literacy, network literacy, digital
literacy, network or Internet literacy, “Computer Literacy” and “Media Literacy” (Bawden,
2001). These last two literacies are clearly defined by Horton (F. Horton, Jr., personal
communication, December, 2004) in the following terms:

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• Computer Literacy

The knowledge and skills necessary to understand information and communication technologies
(ICTs), including the hardware, the software, systems, networks (both local area networks and
the Internet), and all of the other components of computer and telecommunications systems.

• Media Literacy

The knowledge and skills necessary to understand all of the mediums and formats in which data,
information and knowledge are created, stored, communicated, and presented, i.e., print
newspapers and journals, magazines, radio, television broadcasts, cable, CD-ROM, DVD,
mobile telephones, PDF text formats, and JPEG format for photos and graphics.

The information literacy concept:-

There are several definitions assumed by associations and authors. The American Association of
School Librarians (AASL) “information literacy is - the ability to find and use information –
is the keystone of lifelong learning” (Byerly/Brodie, 1999).

“Information literate student accesses information efficiently and effectively, evaluates

information critically and competently, and uses information accurately and creatively”
(Byerly/Brodie, 1999).

The most commonly cited and used IL definition is the one adopted by the American Library
Association (ALA), 1998: “To be information literate, a person must be able to recognize
when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the
needed information. The information literate individuals are those who have learned how to
learn”. They know how to learn because they know how knowledge is organized, know how to
find information, and know how to use information in such a way that others can learn from
them.

Information competencies:-

A competent citizen, whether a student, a professional or a worker is able to recognize her/his

information needs, knows how to locate, identify access, retrieve, evaluate, organize, and use
information. To be an information literate person, one has to know how to benefit from the

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worlds of knowledge, and incorporate the experience of others into one’s background. The
information literate person is capable, in Mackenzie’s words, of:

• Prospecting:

The ability to locate relevant information, to sift it, to sort it, and to select it

• Interpreting:

The ability to translate the data and information into knowledge, insight, and understanding

• Creating new ideas:

Developing new insights

• Information fluency – Capability or mastering of information competencies

• User education – Global approach to teach information access to users

• Library instruction – Focuses on library skills

• Bibliographic instruction – User training on information search and retrieval

• Information competencies – Compound skills and goals of information literacy

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• Information skills – Focuses on information abilities

• Development of information skills – Process of facilitating information skills

Digital Literacy:

The American Library Association (ALA) defines digital literacy as ―the ability to use
information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate
information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills.

The human life is continually changing because of the advancement of science and innovation.
An ever-increasing number of advances have made tremendous changes in living style of
humans. The mechanical advances have additionally entered into the universe of training and
have caused different social changes in learning innovation.

Innovative changes and the information explosion have modified the elements of learning. A
social order offers a need for different objectives, for example, being an information society,
managing science, and delivering innovation. Undoubtedly proficiency has assumed a critical job
in the instructive frameworks of numerous nations through the development of educational plans,
objectives, and the destinations.

Models of Digital Literacy:

1. Analyze and evaluate (understanding issues of portrayals) Analyze messages in an

assortment of structures by recognizing the creator, reason, and perspective, and
assessing the quality and validity of the substance

2. Create and collaborate; (initiation and imaginative capabilities) take social activity by
working exclusively and cooperatively to share information and take care of issues in the
family, working environment and network, and by taking an interest as an individual
from a network

3. Use and share; (instrument use and access abilities) create content in an assortment of
structures, utilizing language, pictures, sound, and new advanced apparatuses and
innovations.

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Information Sources: Definition
“an information source is a source of information for somebody, i.e. anything that might inform a
person about something or provide knowledge about it. Different types of questions require
different sources of information. Information sources may be observations, people, speeches,
documents, pictures, organizations, websites, etc. They may be primary sources, secondary
sources, tertiary sources and so on.

Reference and Information Sources: Need

We are living in an information society where the creation, distribution, uses, integration and
manipulation of information is a significant economic, political, and cultural activity. The
information becomes a resource as well as one of the most valuable commodities. Identification,
gathering, organization, and utilization of the right information require the knowledge about the
area of study and skills to process and retrieve it effectively. The users with varied information
needs and those are not conversant with searching and retrieval techniques require proper
guidance to find the accurate information stored in different information sources. The need of
reference sources come in the picture at this point where the reference librarian or the user
him/herself turns to the organized and authentic sources of information.

When we discuss the need of reference sources from the user’s perspective, some notable
requirements are,

 to obtain information quickly as possible for a specific reference query;

 due to the lack of knowledge about the newly generated information;

 the absence of skills to find, evaluate and use specific information from the vast pool of
unverified information;

 because of user’s specialization in some restricted subject areas which are not related to the
reference query;

 to obtain copies of required material or the material itself in different formats; and

 the lack of knowledge about the criteria for evaluation and selection of reference materials.

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Information Sources: Types

Information sources are broadly divided into (i) Documentary sources and (ii) Nondocumentary
sources. Documentary sources include primary, secondary and tertiary sources which are
basically ‘documentary’ in nature. Non-documentary sources include (i) formal and (ii) informal
sources. Formal sources include research organizations, societies, universities, government
departments, etc. Conversation with colleagues, visitors, attendance at professional meetings, etc.
comes under the category of informal sources.

Based on the originality of the materials, information sources can be categorized into three. They
are,

i. Primary Sources

ii. Secondary Sources and

iii. Tertiary Sources

1. Primary Source:-

Primary Sources are original materials that were created first hand. This type of information is
from the time period involved and has not been filtered through interpretation. They are usually
the first formal appearance of results in physical, print or electronic format on which other
research is based. They present original thinking, report a discovery, or share new information.
Primary sources are unorganized sources, which are rather difficult to use by them.

Examples:

a) Artifacts (e.g. coins, plant specimens, fossils, furniture, tools, clothing, all

from the time under study);

b) Audio recordings (e.g. radio programs)

c) Diaries;

d) Internet communications on email, list-servs;

e) Interviews (e.g., oral histories, telephone, e-mail);

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f) Journal articles published in peer-reviewed publications;

g) Letters;

h) Newspaper articles written at the time

i) Oral history (i.e. records of interview, legal proceedings)

j) Original Documents (i.e. birth certificate, will, marriage license, trial

transcript);

k) Patents;

l) Photographs;

m) Proceedings of Meetings, conferences and symposia;

n) Records of organizations, government agencies (e.g. annual report, treaty,

constitution, government document);

o) Speeches;

p) Survey Research (e.g., market surveys, public opinion polls);

q) Video recordings (e.g. television programs);

r) Works of art, architecture, literature, and music (e.g., paintings, sculptures,

inscriptions on tombstones, musical scores, buildings, novels, poems).

s) Ephemera (e.g. brochures, pamphlets, postcards, programs,

Advertisements)

t) Web site.

2. Secondary Sources

Secondary sources are interpretations and evaluations of primary sources. They are not
evidence, but rather commentary on and discussion of evidence. These types of information
are either compiled from or refer to primary sources of information. Generally, they are

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 accounts written after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. These are the original sources
having been modified, selected or reorganized (or repackaged) so as to serve a definite
purpose or group of users. Secondary sources are easily and widely available than primary
sources. These also serve as bibliographical keys to primary sources. The user may consult
the secondary sources first which will lead him/her to specific primary sources.

Examples:

a) Periodicals;

b) Bibliographies;

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c) Indexing and abstracting periodicals;

d) Biographical works;

e) Commentaries, criticisms;

f) Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, handbooks, tables, formularies;

g) Histories;

h) Journal articles;

i) Magazine and newspaper articles (this distinction varies by discipline);

j) Monographs, other than fiction and autobiography;

k) Textbooks (also considered tertiary);

3. Tertiary Sources

Tertiary sources consist of information which is a distillation and collection of primary

and secondary sources. These will aid the user of information in the use of primary and
secondary sources of information. Most of the tertiary sources do not contain subject
knowledge. Out of various kinds of sources, tertiary sources are the last to appear.

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 Examples:

a) Almanacs;

b) Bibliography of Bibliographies;

c) Chronologies;

d) Directories;

e) Fact books;

f) Guidebooks;

g) Indexes, abstracts, bibliographies used to locate primary and secondary

sources;

h) Manuals;

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