FACULTY OF INFORMATION AND

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT
DEPARTMENT OF DOCUMENT
MANAGEMENT

SUBJECT: BIBLIOGRAPHIC SCIENCE

 9.THE MAIN COMPONENTS OF BIBLIOGRAPHIC ACTIVITY

In order to move from general ideas to a more specific characteristic of a

bibliography, it is necessary to consider its internal structure. However,
bibliography, as an professional area of human activity, is a very complex object.
Activities in general are defined as a specifically human way in the world.
Components of any human activity are: subjects, goals, objects, processes, means,
results, organizational forms and conditions in which it occurs.
Accordingly, in the structure of bibliographic activity, the following main
components can be defined:
Subjects,
Goals,
Objects,
Processes,
Means,
Results.
Among them, only the goal is completely ideal. It acts as a mental model of
the expected result, as the motive for activity. Therefore, in relation to
bibliographic activities, its objectives will be considered together and in connection
with its subjects.
The main, central, system-forming component of bibliographic activity is its
subjects. Subject is the main driving force of the whole system. It establishes and
formulates goals, in accordance with which it chooses objects, implements
processes, and creates results of activity.
Subjects and objectives of bibliographic activityThe subject of
bibliographic activity is a concept that is quite complex. In this capacity, the
bibliographer may be a professional; a certain collective (bibliographic department,
sector, institution, network of interrelated bibliographic services); non-professional
(scholar, teacher, writer, journalist, etc.), temporarily engaged in bibliographic
activities; finally, the consumer of bibliographic information, which, being
primarily an object of bibliographic influence, at the same time actively
participating in the implementation of bibliographic processes, become its subject.
If we consider the bibliography in a broad sense, then its subjects are also
bibliographer - a scientific worker engaged in research activities in the field of
bibliography; teacher of bibliographic disciplines in higher and secondary schools,
collages, universities and other educational institutions; organizer (head) of the
bibliographic work.
The concept of "bibliographer" is still collective in relation to all representatives of
the bibliographic profession. Indeed, the above functions in various combinations
are often performed by one person.
Formulating the basic requirements that determine the professionalism of the
bibliographer, one should first of all distinguish the characteristic features of his
professional psychology, as well as the set of knowledge, skills and abilities.
Psychological qualities of a bibliographer's personality. These include:
♦ the ability to quickly establish the most diverse links between the surrounding
reality, people and documents;
♦ Developed professional memory, trained for the purposeful memorization of
bibliographic information (title documents, names of authors, major figures in
various fields of science, literature and art, various historical and book
information).
These general qualities should be supplemented with specific requirements related
to the functional specialization of professional bibliographic activity. Thus, a
bibliographer should have calmness, perseverance, concentration, developed
logical (systematizing) thinking. Usually bibliographers-compilers are prone to
production comfort, order, clarity, well-established technology, a uniform labor
rhythm.
The bibliographer engaged in bibliographic services needs the ability to make
quick decisions during the search and selection of information, business activity in
the conditions of unevenness in the receipt of requests of varying degrees of
complexity, emotional stability and pre-tactfulness in communicating with
information consumers, the ability to quickly move from one topic to another,
developed heuristic (especially associative) thinking, which is necessary for the
successful solution of bibliographic search problems, good professional intution,
allowing correctly guessing the nature and causes of errors, inaccuracies in queries,
finally, perseverance, persistence in reaching a final (positive or negative) outcome
of the bibliographic search.
The professional knowledge of a bibliographer (a combination of knowledge
necessary for him) consists of two main parts: general scientific and professional.
General scientific knowledge of the bibliographer, in turn, consists of the following
main blocks:
♦ philosophical-methodological, political, historical knowledge. Especially
important in the field of philosophy, political economy, dialectical and formal
logic, modern domestic and foreign policy, the historical past of mankind:
♦ psychological and pedagogical knowledge,
♦ professionally mathematical, semiotic, linguistic knowledge, which plays an
important role in bibliographic work with large document flow and arrays,
multilingual sign systems, alphabets, literatures
Professional knowledge of the bibliographer includes:
♦ The theory and history of bibliographic activity, which form the fundamental
basis for the professional training of a bibliographer;
♦ practical applied methodological and technological, source studies, as well as
organizational and management bibliographic knowledge, based on general
scientific and fundamental (theoretical and historical) professional knowledge and
ensuring their use in practical bibliographic activities;
♦ professionally important for the bibliographer knowledge from related branches
of science and practical activities, primarily computer science and information
activities; book study and book (editorial and publishing) case, and, depending on
the departmental belonging of the bibliographic service, library science and
librarianship; book trade; archival science and archives, etc.;
♦ factual knowledge accumulated by the bibliographer in the course of his practical
activity as a result of purposeful remembering of names, dates, serial, multivolume,
encyclopedic and other large editions, names of magazines and newspapers,
information about scientific institutions, the composition of funds, the structure
and the possibilities of using the RBA of various libraries and other institutions,
universal and branch electronic search systems, Internet resources, databases;
♦ for the bibliographer-branch - knowledge of the problems, prospects for
development, terminology, literature (main works, periodicals), special sources and
systems of bibliographic search in the field of knowledge served by him.
Professional skills of the bibliographer ensure the application of his knowledge in
his practical activities. Professional skills are usually divided into mandatory and
desirable.
Mandatory skills, in turn, are divided into general (necessary for all bibliographers)
and additional (depending on the specialization).
Themostimportantamongtheminclude
1. All bibliographers, regardless of specialization, should be able (general
skills):
♦ compile bibliographic records and read them (extract necessary information from
them);
♦ conduct a bibliographic search, use reference and bibliographic publications,
card and electronic catalogs, bibliographic files and other sources of information
retrieval, including in the electronic environment;
♦ compile bibliographic tools
2. to create electronic bibliographic resources, using ready-made software, to
know the principles of data entry (including in machine-readable formats of
bibliographic records);
♦ plan, take into account, analyze the work of bibliographic service.
2. The bibliographer-compiler must additionally be able (additional skills):
♦ use existing classifications, systematize documents;
♦ edit bibliographic tools;
♦ compile a bibliographic guide.
3. The bibliographer performing bibliographic services should additionally be able
(complementary):
♦ communicate with bibliographic information consumers, instill them the skills of
bibliographic self-service;
♦ accept requests;
Among the desirable skills for all bibliographers can be attributed the following:
♦ speak publicly, promote bibliographic knowledge;
♦ understand bibliographic descriptions in various languages using the Latin and
Cyrillic alphabets;
♦ conduct research, scientific and methodological work;
♦ Have computer literacy.

The goals of bibliographic activity, established by the bibliographer as a subject

of the bibliographic process, are extremely diverse, due to a variety of internal and
external, subjective and objective circumstances. The goals of bibliographic
activity have a multilevel hierarchical structure. The most common ultimate goal is
to help meet the information needs of society. This goal is differentiatedin terms of
the basic social functions of bibliographic information, which, while representing
ways to achieve the ultimate goal of bibliographic activity, are at the same time
recognized by the bibliographer as independent goals.
Object of bibliographic activity
As an object of bibliographic activity its most general expression is a document
communications system, represented by its two main elements - documents and
information consumers.The document as the carrier of social information is a
direct object of the process of bibliography. Consumers of information in the
field of bibliographic activity act as a potential (mediated, typical) object for which
bibliographic information is created and a direct, individual object of bibliographic
service.
Processes of bibliographic activity
Practical bibliographic activity consists of two main, partially combined processes:
bibliographic process and bibliographic service to information consumers.
Bibliographic process is a process of preparation documented bibliographic
information in the form of bibliographic tool.
The second point, or the stage of bibliography, is bibliographic service, it seems to
combine two basic processes of bibliographic activity. Bibliographic service is
carried out in two main "modes": reference and bibliographic information.
Means of bibliographic activity
To the means, which the bibliographer uses in the processes of bibliographic
activity to achieve his/her goals, include: methods of activity; channels of
production and bringing bibliographic information to consumers; technical means
of bibliographic activity.
Results of bibliographic activity
The result is the final component of the bibliographic activity structure. All other
components are toward receiving it. In general, the result of an activity is an
accomplished, realized goal. Its results are so diverse and numerous. The ultimate
goal of bibliographic activity is to promote the satisfaction of the information
needs of the individuals. Consequently, the final (cumulative) result of
bibliographic activity is the real satisfaction of these needs.