Lisquiz.com: Information Sources - Notes

Document : A piece of written, printed or electronic matter that provides information or evidence or that serves as an official record.

Documentary Sources:  Sources that are in the form of documents.

Non-Documentary Sources : Sources that are not in the form of documents, e.g.  organisations, persons.

Primary Sources : Sources that carry original contributions, information that is appearing for the first time, etc. These are the base for secondary sources.

Secondary Sources : Sources that are based on the material published in the primary sources.

Tertiary Sources : Sources that are based on secondary sources, or act as key to the primary and secondary sources

Documentary Sources:

Dictionaries 

There are four types of dictionaries: abridged, unabridged; bilingual and multi-lingual dictionaries.

Encyclopedias 

The term was first used in the book Johann Henrich Alsted's Encyclopaedia Cursus Philosophici, Herbom, 1608.

The first known encyclopaedia was written by Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, which resulted from his assembled treatises. That is why Aristotle is referred to as the father of encyclopaedias although he never intended to write one.

The first encyclopaedia to be published in English was John Harris's Laxion Technicum, or, An Universal English Dictionary of the Arts and Sciences, London, 1704.

Encyclopaedias are of various types. Two major kinds are the General encyclopaedia like the Encyclopaedia Britanica and the subject encyclopaedias like the Encyclopaedia of Religion.

Bibliographies 

The word `bibliography' has originated from the Greek terms - 'biblion' meaning a book and `graphien' meaning to write. Bibliography, thus, means `writing of books' which later on changed to `writing about books'.

Based on the activities, to aid the users, the following branches of bibliography can be identified:

• Analytical or critical
• Systematic or enumarative
• Descriptive
• Historical
• Textual

National bibliographies

A national bibliography can be defined as a list of books, documents, pamphlets, serials, theses, dissertations or other printed material produced in a country, in the language of the country, by the people living in the country or elsewhere within a stipulated time limit.

Indian National Bibliography (INB). Calcutta: Central Reference Library,   1957- Monthly

• It is based on the publications deposited at the National Library of India under the           `Delivery of Books Act of 1954'.
• Till 1972 the INB was divided into two parts: general publications and government publications.
• INB contains two sections: the classified and the alphabetical.
• First published as quarterly , with annual cumulation, the periodicity was changed to monthly in 1964 and continued upto 1977 (when the publication was      suspended).
• With a gap in publication for 1978, 1979 and a combined set for 1980-83, the monthly periodicity has been resumed since January 1984.
• From January 1984 onwards 19th edition of DDC system is being followed.
• Entry details are now based on AACR II rules with slight modification.