Abstracting Periodicals

1. Abstracting Periodicals: According to Allent Kent an abstract is a summary of a publication

or articles accompanied by an adequate bibliographical description to enable the publication or
article to be traced.
H. M. Weisman defines the abstract is an announcement medium whose objectives is to
provide knowledge of and an ordered and logical access to new primary literature.
Thus an abstract can be defined as an abbreviated, accurate representation of the significant content
of a document consisting scope, purpose, method used, kinds of treatment results and findings,
interpretation of the result by the author, argument, etc which is usually accompanied by an adequate
bibliographical description to enable to trace the original document.

An abstracting periodical is a regularly issued compilation of concise summaries of
i) Significant articles (often in a very limited subject field) that appear in current primary source
journal and
ii) of important new research monographs, reports, patent and other primary source publication
in that field.
Example: Library and Information Science Abstract, London, Library Association, 1950-,
Bimonthly. Indian Science Abstract, Delhi, Insdoc, Vol. 1-, 1965-.
Besides the above sources, list of periodicals, list of theses, dissertations, location and
finding list etc also serves as bibliographical sources.
Academic Library

Academic Library: Libraries in the educational institutions are concerned with the teaching and learning
process experienced by specific communities.
a) Definition: A library which is an integral part of a college, university, or other post-secondary
educational institution (higher education), administered to meet the needs of its students, faculty, and
staff for scholarly information and research services is the academic library. Large college or university
libraries often have separate libraries within individual academic departments or schools which have a
collection devoted to their subject or discipline such as chemistry, mathematics etc.
i) College Library: The college library meets the legitimate needs and demand of all their users from
senior teachers engaged in research to fresh students just entering. The library serves the reading,
reference and research needs of the members of the college community.
ii) University Library: According to Donald Davinson library is the soul of a university, the sun around
which all teaching revolves. The Radhakrishnan Commission in its report hailed the library as the very
heart of a university, the workshop of the scholar and the laboratory of the learned.
b) Objectives: The general objectives of the academic libraries are:-

i) To serve the curricular, cultural and general education requirement of the academic community;
ii) To provide reference material at appropriate levels;
iii) To provide study areas of users;
iv) To provide a lending service appropriate to different types of users;
v) To provide an active information service.
These libraries are located on the campuses of colleges and universities and serve primarily the
students and faculty of that institution and other academic institutions. Some academic libraries are also
accessible to the general public in whole or in part, although borrowing privileges are often limited for
users affiliated with the college or university only.
i) College Library: The college library aims to help young students in proper understanding of various
disciplines, in preparing them for advanced studies, and for shouldering the higher responsibilities in
future life. It also helps the students in getting acquainted with the library practices such as consulting
catalogues, bibliographies, indexes, locating books, and other materials, etc.
ii) University Library: Its primary aim is to support the instructional and research programmes of the
university and conservation of knowledge and ideas, teaching, research, publication, extension service
and interpretation. The objective is to ultimately help produce leaders in the community in different fields
of human activity- the inventors, discoverers and pioneers.
c) Collections: The collections of academic libraries reflect the courses offered and research undertaken
within the institution. In recent times most of the academic libraries tend to use new computers,
telecommunications equipment for access to the Internet, and online databases, E-Journal etc. Also as in
the age of information explosion no college or university library can procure all published documents
therefore the academic libraries can form a network on cooperative basis that would enable them to share
the scarce and little-used materials required for advanced research.
i) College Library: The college libraries build up a balanced collection consisting of a wide variety of
learning and teaching materials to satisfy varied curricular and extra-curricular activities of both students
and teachers. The collections are selected and developed on the basis of educational philosophy and
objectives of the institution, size and nature of the student body, size of the faculty and their needs for
research materials. The collection includes text books and recommended books, books of advanced
nature for teacher, a wide range of reference books, travelogues, biographies, learned periodicals.

ii) University Library: The collection of the university library includes materials to meet the needs of
post-graduate students as well as resources of sufficient breadth and depth to support serious
scholarship in all areas. The collection, in fact, embraces a wide variety of subjects for learning, teaching,
research and publishing. It provides a general collection, rare materials, newspapers and periodicals,
government publications, special materials such as theses, dissertations, archives, clipping, visual and
audio-visual materials, digital objects, and so on.
d) Services: The academic library plays a central role in the academic work of students and faculty at
colleges and universities and is often considered the most important resource of the institution of higher
education. As students and faculty at colleges and universities may wish to conduct research within any
conceivable academic discipline, the collections of academic libraries usually reflect a vast range of
interests and formats. It has both a comprehensive collection to support formal or class room teaching as
well as bears a representative collection of different research activities. Some of the universities maintain
the largest libraries in the world.
Because of the complexity, range, and diversity of formats and information in academic libraries,
they frequently offer orientation, library tour programs to introduce incoming students and faculty to the
institutions library services. These programs are designed to teach new users the effective ways to make
use of a variety of reference tools and library search mechanisms. Even in some parts of the United
States, college accreditation agencies require institutions to offer library-sponsored courses on
information retrieval and evaluation.

i) College Library: The basic function of the college library is to assist its parent institution to carry out its
programmes. It must serve the needs and requirements of teachers and students towards reading, study
and research. Its educative function includes- providing materials to the college community, making
materials easily accessible, arranging orientation programmes in the use of the library, providing
bibliographical information to the faculty, arranging inter-library loan, and similar others.
ii) University Library: The university libraries provide ready access to materials and facilities such as
translation, typing, photocopying. In an effort to provide more efficient service the university library often
participates in co-operative undertaking in networking, consortia, interlibrary lending, co-operative and
centralized cataloguing and compilation of bibliographies. By accumulating and organizing materials, the
library serves as an invaluable aid in the conservation of knowledge and as an active force in teaching,
research and extension programme of the university. It also provides a variety of library documentation
and information services necessary for the success of the formal programmes of instruction. It also
participates in the interpretative function of the university through assistance to the faculty and research
staff.

Academic Status of a Librarian

Academic Status of a Librarian: Status means the social position or rank in relation to others and its
relative importance. The status of the profession depends upon the rules that reflect the entry qualification
for the new aspirants that want to join the profession, their future career prospects, the level of training
needed, amount of experience required. After getting a job it also depends upon the position held in the
administrative hierarchy of the institution, level of responsibility vested, amount of salary drawn, tenure,
voting privileges within or outside the institution, vacation, sabbatical leave, sick leave, retirement benefit,
social privilege and so on.
At present in India the status of the librarian is somewhat confused and uncertain.
However, some academic librarians in colleges and universities are considered as faculty, and they hold
similar academic ranks as professors. The following points will throw some light on the overall position of
the librarian as an academician in different academic institutions.
a) Entry Qualification: At present the entry qualification for the post of librarian at college is on par with
that of the lecturer i.e. Master degree with minimum of 55% marks in Library Studies, Library Science,
Library and information Science and, in some cases, a Master's degree in another field, SLET/SET/NET
and at university level, it is similar with that of the head of different departments.
b) Rank in the Administrative Hierarchy: He works at the top level of administrative hierarchy, next to
the principal and vice principal at college level and alone with the top administrator such as Vice
Chancellor, Registrar, Controller of Examinations in the University level. In case of universities, the
librarian is directly responsible to the vice chancellor of the university or in colleges to the principal. The
librarian is also a member of a Universitys Academic Council.

c) Responsibilities: He/she acts as a boss or chief executive and is responsible for all the administrative
functions of the library. He helps not only the students but also the teaching staff. Besides, he / she can
be termed as the teacher of the self-education practice, who complements and supplements the
classroom teaching.
d) Salary and Grade: The salary and grade of a qualified librarian is at par with the teaching staff of the
respective institution. In college, lecturer grade is given to the librarian, in Universities the grade of the
librarian is equivalent to professors.
e) Condition at Foreign Countries: In the United States and Canada, generally, the trend is to provide
academic status to the librarians working in colleges and universities.
In India, in Karnataka, the Karnataka Government passed a resolution for the librarian to be treated on
par with a teacher on 21
st
July 2006. Of course this is due to the efforts of the Karnataka State College
Librarians Association and fde credit goes to the Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Shri.
Basavaraj Horatti and Shri D H. Shankarmurthy respectively.
Further, each individual working in an organization wants a feeling of group belongingness, as the
public librarian are group among government officer, the librarian in research laboratories are group
among scientist so the academic librarian wants to grouped alone with the faculty member of the
institution.
So in conclusion if we count the academic and professional qualifications of librarian, they are
same as that of teaching staff, so the status should also be the same.
Accessioning Work

Accessioning Work: The accessioning work includes the following activities
a) Receiving the Books and Bills: From the vendors books are received along with bills.
b) Checking the Books: After receiving the books they should be checked for page
missing, damaged binding, and for such other issues.
c) Arranging the Bills and the Books in Parallel Sequence: The books should be
arranged in the sequence in which these have been entered in the order placed to the
vendor.
d) Verification: Then the bill should be verified in regard to the order in terms of books
received and the amount to be paid. The order slip with the bill and books should be
submitted at the accession corner. If books are not received in time then reminder
letters should be sent to the vendor.
e) Accessioning: The accessioning involves the following activities-
i) Entering details in the accession register: In the accessioning process, the details of
the books are entered in the accession register.Documents are entered date-wise
according to their receipt in the library. All purchased books are entered in the order of
their bills.
ii) Entering accession number in the document: Accession number is recorded at the
back of title page and on the conventional clue place of the volume.
iii) Certifying the bills: Accession number is also written against the respective item in the bill for
purchased book. After entering all the items covered by one bill a certificate must be furnished on the bill
which should be like the following. A rubber stamp for this purpose may be usefull
Certified that all the books as per the bill have been duly entered in the accession register vide
numbers from ------ to ----.

f) Transmitting Books: Then the books are sent to the technical department for classification and
cataloguing (processing). At this step each book should also be provided with a process slip (7.5 cm X
12.5 cm) as well as earlier order slip.
g) Transmitting Bills: Then bills are passed for payment.
h) Books In-Process: The cards belonging to them, after noting the date of accessioning and the
accession numbers, are filed in a tray labelled as Books In-Process.


Terms

i) Accession Register: Accession register is the official stock record in the library about each
document forming part of its collection; it is a bound register consisting of essential field in
regards to a description of a reading material. This record gives a complete history of each book /
periodical acquired by the library. The general practice in libraries is to have a single register in
which all types of document whether purchased or received as gift or on exchange or as deposit is
entered. But some libraries have the practice of using separate accession registers for gifts. When
a book is withdrawn, then the corresponding accession slip is withdrawn or the note regarding
withdrawal is given in the accession register. In case, a user loses a book, then with the help of
details given in the accession register, the user may be asked either to make payment or to replace
the copy.

ii) Accession Number: Every volume added to the library receives a serial number in the order of
acquisition to the library collection. This includes book purchased or received in exchange or as
gift. This number is called accession number. Cumulated volumes of periodicals, which are to be
bound and preserved in the library, are also accessioned.




Administration Vs Management

There are many factors according to which administration can be distinguished from management. These
are as follows:
i) Meaning
Administration: It is concerned with formulation of broad objectives, plans & policies.
Management: Management is an art of getting things done through others by directing their efforts
towards achievement of pre-determined goals. It puts into action the policies and plans laid down by the
administration.
ii) Nature
Administration: Administration is a decision-making function.
Management: Management is an executing function.
iii) Scope
Administration: It takes major decisions of an enterprise as a whole.
Management: It takes decisions within the framework set by the administration.
iv) Process
Administration: Administration decides what is to be done & when it is to be done.
Management: Management decides who should as it & how should he dot it.
v) Function
Administration: Planning and organizing functions are involved in it.
Management: Motivating and controlling functions are involved in it.
vi) Skills
Administration: It needs administrative rather than technical abilities. Administration handles the
business aspects such as finance.
Management: It requires technical activities. Management handles the employers.
vii) Level
Administration: It is a top-level activity.
Management: It is a middle level activity.
viii) Influence
Administration: The administration is influenced by public opinion, govt. policies, religious organizations,
customs etc.
Management: The management decisions are influenced by the values, opinions, beliefs & decisions of
the managers.
ix) Status
Administration: Administration represents owners of the enterprise who earn return on their capital
invested & profits in the form of dividend.
Management: Management constitutes the employees of the organization who are paid remuneration (in
the form of salaries & wages).
Advantages and Disadvantages of Computers

Advantages and Disadvantages of Computers: Computers have some strength, which makes them
immensely useful and popular and also adorable for all. Some of its main characteristics are given below-
a) Accuracy: Computers can perform all the calculation and comparison accurately provided the
hardware does not malfunction.
b) Automaticity: Computers are capable of doing certain level of automation provided they are
programmed in that order. In the computer, once a task is initiated, it can perform on its own till its
completion. It will execute the program in the correct sequence i.e. it will switch on/off the machine at the
appropriate time, monitor the operational parameter, send warning signals or take corrective actions if the
parameters exceed the control level and so on.
c) Diligence / Reliability: The human being suffers from weaknesses like tiredness, lack of concentration
etc. being constant and earnest in efforts and application. Humans also have feelings, so they become
sad, depressed, bored and negligent and virtually it is reflected in the work they do. But the computers
can perform the task repetitively for n numbers of times without any degradation in quality. So computers
are more reliable than human beings.
d) Speed: Computers can calculate at a very high speed. A modern computer can execute millions of
instructions in one second.
e) Storage: Computers can store a large amount of information in a very small space. The storage
capacity of a computer is virtually unlimited.

f) Versatility: The computer can perform activities ranging from simple calculation to performing complex
tasks in any field of knowledge and in different environment conditions, i.e. they can do hazardous jobs
even in hospital environment.
Being an electronic device the computers have certain limitations also, which can be summarized
as follows.
a) Lack of Decision Making Power: Computers cannot decide on their own; they are dependent on
human instruction. Computers can only do what they are told to do.
b) Zero IQ: Computers are dumb machines with zero IQ. They need to be told in each and every step,
however minute it may be.
c) No Heuristic: Heuristic refers broadly to learning from past experiences. If a computer commits an
error once and the similar situation / event occurs again, the computer will commit the same error again.
i.e. it can not learn from the past experiences.
Archives

Archives: In general, archives consist of records which have been selected for permanent or long-term
preservation on the ground of their enduring cultural, historical or evidentiary value. Archival records are
normally unpublished and almost always unique, unlike books or magazines for which many identical
copies exist. This means that archives (the places) are quite distinct from libraries with regard to their
functions and organization, although archival collections can often be found within library buildings.
a) Definition: The word archive is derived from the Greek arkh meaning government or order
(compare an-archy, mon-archy). The word originally developed from the Greek arkheion which refers to
the home or dwelling of the Archon, in which important official state documents were filed and interpreted
under the authority of the Archon. Since archive, as a noun or a verb, has acquired meanings related to
computer science, Archivists tend to prefer the term archives (with an S) as the correct terminology to
serve as both the singular and plural.
A person who works in archives is called an archivist. The study and practice of organizing,
preserving, and providing access to information and materials in archives is called archival science.
b) Objectives
i) Safe storage and preservation of the document in a climate control facility;
ii) Classification and Cataloguing of the document;
iii) Retrieval and safe handling of the document.
c) Collections: It contains records (primary source documents) which have accumulated over the course
of an individual or organization's lifetime. The collection refers to all historical records (not just documents
and manuscripts but videos, disks, and other tangible forms as well) held and preserved by an institution.
Archival materials are not published; these are always famous documents, or even necessarily old.
The archives of an organization (such as a corporation or government) tend to contain records,
such as administrative files, business records, memos, official correspondences and meeting minutes.
The archives of an individual may include letters, papers, photographs, computer files, scrapbooks,
financial records or diaries created or collected by the individual regardless of media or format.
d) Services: Professor and author Bruce Dearstyne identified the eight roles of the archivist-
- The role of an agent to the past and the future. This means that archivists must always bear in mind its
historical significance and its importance to posterity.
- They must work in conjunction with related information fields. For example, many archivists work closely
with librarians and records managers to determine the value of records and their place in the repository.
- They act as organizers. This requires the archivists to manage, coordinate, and allocate resources in a
manner that allows an easy access and use by staff and patrons.
c) Collections: It contains records (primary source documents) which have accumulated over the course
of an individual or organization's lifetime. The collection refers to all historical records (not just documents
and manuscripts but videos, disks, and other tangible forms as well) held and preserved by an institution.
Archival materials are not published; these are always famous documents, or even necessarily old.
The archives of an organization (such as a corporation or government) tend to contain records,
such as administrative files, business records, memos, official correspondences and meeting minutes.
The archives of an individual may include letters, papers, photographs, computer files, scrapbooks,
financial records or diaries created or collected by the individual regardless of media or format.
d) Services: Professor and author Bruce Dearstyne identified the eight roles of the archivist-
- The role of an agent to the past and the future. This means that archivists must always bear in mind its
historical significance and its importance to posterity.
- They must work in conjunction with related information fields. For example, many archivists work closely
with librarians and records managers to determine the value of records and their place in the repository.
- They act as organizers. This requires the archivists to manage, coordinate, and allocate resources in a
manner that allows an easy access and use by staff and patrons.
Areas of Computer Application in Library
Areas of Computer Application in Library: A modern library cannot be imagined without the application
of computers. In the library and information centres computers can be used for performing efficiently all
sorts of jobs from the procurement of the reading materials to their organization and use. So, it can serve
as a remedy for all the existing problems of libraries and information centres. But, till now computers have
been used successfully in the following areas of library activities.
A) Library House Keeping Operation: In case of library house keeping operation, the computer is used
for acquisition of books and other reading materials, their classification, cataloguing, circulation and serial
control.
a) Acquisition: The selection of materials can be made by the computer. Any library which is a part of
online computerized library system has access to catalogue entries and bibliographic data of all the
libraries in the system. These databases can be used as a selection tools to purchase new documents for
the particular library in question. Other offline databases can also be used as selection tools for non
current documents and sometimes out of print books. For other documents, conventional book selection
methods may be used. The MARC bibliographic record service has opened up a new vista in both
cataloguing and bibliographic database that can be used as a book selection tool.
The ordering and acquisition are the routine jobs in the library and for a single time ordering it
requires repetitive operation by different sections. These repetitive operations and the requisite checking
can very well be done by the application of the computer system. Both offline and online acquisition can
be performed by the use of computers.
b) Classification: A computer based classification system is being experimented at the Documentation
Research and Training Centre, Bangalore. It is based on Colon Classification System.
c) Cataloguing: The computerized cataloguing system operates with high speed for performing routine
and repetitive jobs. Besides, in the cataloguing unit, computer can also be used in various other ways
such as producing book plates, book pockets, book cards, spine labels, etc. It can also produce a variety
of records, card catalogues in the book form, printed catalogue, etc. as byproducts. The following uses of
computer in cataloguing have already been able to draw the attention of the librarians.
The MARC project was started in November, 1965 by the Library of Congress, USA. The latest
development in the system includes the CoMARC (Co-Operative Machine Readable Cataloguing).
Computer Output Microfilm (COM) was developed in the USA by Stromberg Carlson Company. The
Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), previously known as the Ohio College Library Centre was
started in August 1970. All these have successfully used computers for cataloguing of documents.

d) Serial Control: Serials are continuing publication having reasonably permanent titles and appearing
usually at regular intervals. Their contents usually vary from issue to issue. An article as a single
bibliographic unit may be published in more than one issue and even in more than one volume.
Obviously, the users may be interested in an issue of a serial as a bibliographic unit, or an article spread
over a number of issues as a bibliographic unit. So, serial control comprises complex operations of library
activities because of the vary nature and characteristics of Serial as library material. Again, the conflict
between the physical unit and the bibliographic unit makes Serial control a complex task.
In case of Serial, the current issues, the retrospective or immediate back issues and bound
volumes under every year of publication is an ongoing process. In this case, the library should encounter
the search problem because of the conflict between the title and the corporate body, the old titles and the
changed titles, nature of irregularity in publication (more than one issue in a single publication and the
like). These situations pose the problem of listing, acquisition, accessioning, cataloguing and creation of
records in the desired format.
e) Circulation: The circulation activities are the life-stream of the library services. The library documents
are for use and are intended for the users. At various points, documents are to be trapped for the users
who have recorded their priority in using such documents. The circulation is a flow of document, but the
flow should be controlled by library operations so as to serve the users in the best possible way with the
available materials in the library.
B) Library Administrations: In case of library administration, the library automation helps in
a) Providing Access Right to Staff Members
b) Providing Access Right to Library Users
c) Exception Reporting
d) Generation of Library Statistics / Report

C) Information Retrieval: Today, Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) or sometimes Web OPAC
facility provided by the library and information centres helps in easy retrieval of information. Computers
are also used for searching Library Database: eg. International Nuclear Information System.
D) Building Digital / Virtual Libraries Collection: Computers can also be used to build digital or virtual
collection or for institutional repository of the library.
E) Resource Sharing: In order to facilitate the provision of material request on inter library loan basis, the
use of computers and other latest telecommunication devices is being put to use in almost all the
countries of the world. The Online Union catalogue is also a product of computer application in library.
F) Library Network: INFLIBNET, Developing Library Network (DELNET) is the example of taking library
automation as its first step or base structure.
G) Information System: World Science Information System (UNISIST), Medical Literature Analysis and
Retrieval System (MEDLARS), illustrate the advanced stage of library automation.
H) User Services: The library automation also helps to provide Current Awareness Service (CAS),
Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) Services, Indexing and Abstracting Service, Web Based
Translation Services, Computer Based Indexing and Abstracting Services, and so on.

Conclusion: Today, the computers have entered each and every area of a library. The library automation
is the application of modern technologies including the application of computer hardware and software,
different storage medias, telecommunications, etc. which help the mechanization of any activity in the
library. To implement the computer in the library, the selection of proper hardware and software forms an
essential part. If proper software is selected, it will automatically generate or create OPAC which will
replace the traditional card catalogue of the library. The feature-rich software will also have the provision
of retrospective conversion. It will help the library to enter minimum of details about the document in their
collection in the database of some other libraries and will help in getting the full bibliographic record of the
document that can be embedded in the local database.




Array and Chain

1. Introduction: The addition of a characteristic to a basic subject idea or an isolate idea leads to
the addition of an array. The addition of an array implies the addition of a further division of a
basic subject or an isolate idea as the case may be. Any isolate idea taken along with its
succession of sub isolates is also an isolate idea. The succession of the isolate idea from the first
to the last reached in this process is denoted by the term chain of isolate idea. A chain may
similarly be formed in respect of basic subject idea.
2. Array: The series of co-ordinate subdivision which are obtained by dividing a class or a division
according to a single characteristic. Each co-ordinate division in array should exclude all the
others and the whole array should be exhaustive of the context of the class. The order of the
division in an array should be that deemed most helpful to users.
3. Chain: The successions of division subordinate one to another expressing the relation.
A includes B which in turn includes C (or conversely c is a part of B which is a part of
A) constitute a chain of or it may also be defined as a hierarchy of term each containing
or including all which follow it in the same series.
4. Examples: Asia, India, Assam, Kamrup, Guwahati is a chain of isolate idea.



Assam Library Association

Assam Library Association: The Assam Library Association (Sadau Assam Puthibharal Sangha) was
started in the year 1938 mainly by the personal enthusiasm of Shri Kumudeswar Borthakur (1893-1966),
a man who devoted his life for the growth and development of libraries in Assam. He was fully assisted in
the matter of public library services by Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi and other political and social workers.
By establishing this Association, Assam became the 8th state in country in establishing state level library
association. After the executive meeting held on 16th July 1972 ALA became inactive till 1996. However,
on 22nd February, 1997 it got revived with a full fledged executive council.
The Association has been performing the following functions and activities
i) Making People Aware: After the birth of ALA an attempt was made for a wide publicity of the library
movement through different avenues like Bihu festivals, public meeting, advertisement through the screen
of Kelvin Cinema, Guwahati etc. With the help of daily newspapers and using the market places people
were sought to be made aware of the library movement. Children were encouraged to demand books
from their parents on the occasion of their birthday or as reward for good performance in
examination. The lower income groups of people were approached for small contribution through
mustibhiksha, which was a unique way of collecting handful of grains and the money thus collected from
the sale of the grains was to be spent on libraries.
ii) Organization of Rural Libraries: In the 1
st
conference of Assam Library Association in 1938 hardly 50
libraries were recorded to have been engaged in library work throughout the villages of Assam and during
the span of 10 years (1938-1948) Barthakur organized 250 libraries. Between May-July, 1971 it
established Goalpara, Tezpur, Jorhat, Nagaon, Nalbari, Barpeta, Dibrugarh, Mangoldoi, Guwahati
Mahkuma Committee for carrying out its activities but in the subsequent years it did not give much fruitful
result. The Association, further, at its Granthalok of 1972/73 listed 169 rural libraries of Assam with
detailed address (Granthalok: 1973: 81-87) that were affiliated to ALA.
iii) Draft Public Library Act: On the invitation of the 8
th
conferences (1964) of the All Assam Library
Association held at Gauhati under the chairmanship of Pandit Dr. Maheswar Neog, Dr. S. R.
Ranganathan prepared a Draft Public Libraries Act for Assam which was submitted to the Government
and further in the 9th Annual conference held at Guwahati on 9, 10 and 11th April, 1971 reiterated its
earlier demand but it has not got any fruitful result till now. The Draft Public Library Act was published in
the Souvenir of Assam Library Association of 1971. Again, since 1998 attempt has continuously been
made to enact the library legislation in Assam. A draft Assam State Public Library and Information Bill
made by a Govt-appointed committee has been submitted and now it is in the process of being accepted.
v) Publication: In connection with the 8
th
Annual conference of 1964 ALA published one Souvenir; A
Souvenir was also published by the reception committee with 9th Annual conference in 1971. At the 10th
Annual Conference on 24th and 25th November, 1972 at Nagaon the half yearly official organ of the
Association titled Granthalok took birth. In 1972/73 it brought out another volume of Granthalok. One
newsletter was published in the year 1999.
v) Seminars, Conferences, Workshops and Training: ALA also made an attempt to build up a voluntary
village library system by organizing conferences in different districts and in this way has been able to
arouse and enlist public support and sympathy for public libraries by holding different conferences at
Dibrugarh (1938), Tezpur (1952), Nagawn, Jorhat (1953), Golaghat (1955), Bokakhat (1957), Mangoldoi
(1959), Guwahati (8th conference, 24th and 25th October 1964), Guwahati (9th conference on 9, 10 and
11th April, 1971), Nagaon (10th Annual Conference on 24th and 25th November, 1972) etc.
vi) Librarians Day Celebration: In 1998 ALA celebrated Librarians Day with Guwahati Library Association
(GLA) at Guwahati and in 1999 with Jorhat Library Association. It observed its 12th Annual Conference
on 12th August at Guwahati District Library Auditorium along with the Librarians Day which was also
observed in association with the Department of Library and Information Science, Gauhati University and
Guwahati Library Association.
Through a resolution passed in the 8
th
Conference (1964), the All Assam Library Association had
resolved to start a certificate course in Library Science but till now it has not been implemented. The
Association, however, is passing into an inactive stage day by day. Unless some young and energetic
librarians take the responsibility, the future of the Association is not encouraging.


Association for Information Management (ASLIB)
Association for Information Management (ASLIB): An exploratory conference held at Hoddesdon,
Hertfordshire in 1924 resulted in a decision to form the Association of special Libraries and Information
Bureau (ASLIB). In 1983, name of the Association was changed to Association for information
Management, but as the association is well know as ASLIB, its acronym retained.
a) Aim and Objectives
i) To facilitating the co-ordination and systemic use of sources of knowledge and information in all public
affair and in industry and commerce and in all the arts and sciences.
ii) To increase the contribution of information to the economy, social and cultural life of community
management.
b) Membership: The membership of ASLIB is largely composed of bodies including industrial and
business organizations, profession and learned societies, public, academic and national libraries
publishers and database providers.
c) Activities: The main activities of ASLIB are discussed bellow
i) Conference and Seminars: Each Annual Conference of ASLIB takes up a specific theme for
deliberations. Besides, ASLIB and its various specialist group regularly organize conference seminars
and professionals meetings to discuss issues confronting the library and information specialists.
ii) Training: ASLIB organize short term courses and training programmes for both members and non
members.
iii) Information Service: ASLIB through its outline information centre provide enquiry service concerning
the availability of databases on specific subjects, coverage of data, search strategy and equipment and
telecommunication.
iv) Library: There are more than 30,000 volumes in the ASLIB library. Most of the books are related to
Information Science and Documentation.
d) Publication: Some of the publications of ASLIB are
i) ASLIB Newsletter (Monthly)
ii) ASLIB Proceeding (Monthly)
iii) ASLIB Booklist (Monthly)
iv) ASLIB Directory
v) Journal of Documentation (quarterly)
vi) Program : News of computers in libraries (Quarterly)
vii) Forthcoming International scientific and technical conference (Quarterly)
viii) The hand book of special librarianship
ix) Index to theses.

Basic Principles of Library Building Design
Basic Principles of Library Building Design: Some of the basic principles of library building design are
mentioned below-
a) Functional Design: A library building should have functional design rather than a monumental one.
There should be provision for documents, users, staff, and service areas. There should be areas for
senior professionals rooms, library staff, seminar room, binding section, reprographic section, digital
library section with additional areas for acquisition section, technical section, reference section, reading
room, room for stack book, circulation section, etc.
b) Open Access: The availability of the number of library staff, the user demand and the type of
collection are the deciding factors for a library to go for open access or closed access system. In a closed
access library the users are prohibited to enter the library, they should write their demands in some slips.
The building design for open access is also considered useful for closed access system. However, vice
versa is not true. But, in both the closed and the open access systems, library property counter and some
such a thing are a must, because the users are free to enter the reading room and the periodical section
in both the cases. Both the systems require that the library building should have a single entrance and
one exit point for keeping a proper control on incoming and outgoing users. The whole building should be
accessible from the entrance to different parts of the building by means of simple and easy to understand
plan requiring only a few directions or guides. Doors and windows should be protected by means of wire
fabric to avoid any loss of books.
c) Future Growth: A library building should be planned for at least next 20 years, keeping in view the
rate of collection development, number of readers, technology enhancements, etc. The building should be
extendable to allow for future growth with minimum of disruption. There should also be adequate
provision for future expansion, both horizontally and vertically.
f) Modular Design: A building on modular system is the one which is supported by columns placed at
regular interval. The basic dimensions of library building should be in multiples or submultiples of some
module/column. Even while only the columns are load bearing inside the building, outside walls may also
bear the load. Columns, stairways, lifts, hearing facilities, plumbing and ducts are all fixed and everything
else is movable. Thus, the modular system leads to flexibility.
g) Economic: The design should be such that the operation of the library can be carried out with the
minimum of staff and finance. The windows should be covered with net.
h) Secure: The building should be free from dust, dirt, and cobwebs. To deal with other vermin the best
remedy would be to have a rat proof building. The water may not enter the stack room either through
ventilators and windows or due to leakage of roof. The stacking material should be fire proof. Sufficient
number of fire extinguishers and fire buckets should be fixed at various strategic places in the building.
The library building should also be designed to guard against some detrimental habits of the readers,
visitors and outsiders.

Bengal Library Association
Bengal Library Association: Bengal Library Association (Bangiya Granthagar Parishad), formerly
known as All Bengal Library Association, was established in 1925 under the presidentship of Poet
Rabindranath Tagore. Presently, the Association is housed in its four-storied building accommodating its
office, library, class rooms and computer room at P64, CIT Scheme 52, Kolkata - 700 014.
a) Objectives: The Objectives of the Association are:
i) Propagating the importance of library and information services for individuals and for the society and
developing awareness for the library and information services;
ii) Suggesting measures for improvement and expansion of library services for all categories of libraries in
the state;
iii) Organizing movement for the improvement of the service conditions and proper pay and status of the
library workers;
iv) Organizing conferences and seminars to enlighten people about the various aspects of the library
movement and library services
v) Organizing training courses, refresher courses, workshops etc. and publishing books, periodicals,
reports etc pertaining to library science and library services.
b) Organization: The General Body, the Council and the Executive Committee form the organizational
structure of BLA.
c) Membership: Anybody interested in the library movement may become a member of the Association.
There are five categories of members of the Association i.e. Patron, Honorary Member, Donor Member,
Life Member, Personal Member and Institutional Member.
d) Functions and Activities: The Association is performing the following functions and activities
i) Library Service: The Association has a library of its own with a collection of more than 5 thousand
books on library and information science and reference tools. The Library is open to all members and
students.
ii) Publication: The first periodical on Library Science in Bengal was published by the Bengal Library
Association in 1937 as Bengal Library Association Bulletin Bangiya Granthagar Parishad Patrika.
Presently, the Association publishes a monthly journal in Bengali with English Abstract named
Granthagar. Besides this, the Association also regularly publishes books on Library and Information
Science and library services in English and Bengali. The English collection includes Research
Methodology, Book Classification, Phanibhusan Roy Commemorative Volume, Library Movement in
India, etc.
iii) Seminars, Conferences, Workshops and Training: Bengal Library Conference is a forum of the library
users and workers where any person having interest in library services can participate.
iv) Course in LIS: It has been conducting a Certificate Course in Library Science since 1937, Special
Course on Computer Application in Library Services, and Refresher courses for working librarians.
Bibliographic Control
According to UNESCO / Library of Congress Survey, bibliographic control means the mastery over
written and published records which is provided by and for the purpose of bibliography. Effective
bibliographic control should be made at subject and national level.
A) National Bibliographic Control: The national library ensures the bibliographic control of all the books
or book-like documents published in that particular country. It has the provision of legal deposit by a host
of different programs such as a cataloguing in publication service or similar mandatory practices. By
cataloguing in publication service, the Library of Congress gives a complete catalogue entry of a book to
any publisher who sends a final draft or some form of galley proof of a book currently in production.
B) International Bibliographic Control: One of the main goals of a national library is fulfilling their
nation's part of the common international goal of universal bibliographic control. The International
bibliographic control is done by the exchanges and also by fostering the creation of standard conceptual
tools such as library classification systems and cataloguing rules. The most commonly used of these tools
is the International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD). It applies to books and periodicals, but also
has variants for other book-like material such as the ISBD (ER) for Electronic Resources or digital
documents or the ISBD (A) for Antiquarian documents.
C) Conclusion: New ideas are generated in each and every branch of human activity from time to time.
Apart from new ideas we give new interpretation to old ideas, at times we also borrow ideas from other
discipline and try to apply them in a new content. As a result more and more information are produced in
a variety of forms leading to information explosion. There is a need to keep track of this information
explosion by way of bibliographic control.

Bibliography
1. History of the Bibliography: the word bibliography originated in post classical Greek times.
It has been derived from the Greek word biblion which means books and graphein is to
write. So etymologically bibliography changed practically. Since 1763 from writing of books
to writing about books.
The term bibliography was first used by Louis Jacob de Saint Charles in his Bibliographia
parisiana (1645-50) and Konrad Gesner regarded as the father of bibliography, he attempted to
list of all scholarly publications in bibliotheca universities which appear in 1545.
Great German bibliographer Ebert define bibliography as the science that deals with
literary production
Copinger define bibliography as the grammar of literary investigation
C. W. Claps defined bibliography as the systematic listing of the records of human
communications.
The bibliography as defined by Louis Shores is a list of written, printed or otherwise
produced record of civilization, which may include books, serials, pictures, films, maps, records,
manuscripts and any other media of communication.
According to Ranganathan the bibliography is a list of document listed together for some
purpose. The purpose is to bring to the attention of the reader an exhaustive or selective lis of
document relevant to his pursuit of study or enquire.
ALA glossary of library and information science defined bibliography as a list of works,
documents or bibliographic items, usually with some relationship between them. E.g by a given
author on a given subject or published in a given place and differing from a catalogue in that its
contents are not restricted to the holding of a single libraries or group of libraries.
2. Aims and Functions of Bibliography: Librarianship is a profession in which what is
recorded by what so ever of librarianship is bibliographies. Bibliography generally serves the
following functions:
a) It is a guide to the literature of a subject: bibliography is actually an index compiled
systematically on a subject, so it serves as a guide to the literature of the subject.
b) Finding the existence: A bibliography enables one to find out what has already been written
on his subject and allows him to keep himself well informed and up to date. This avoids
duplication in research, saving him both time and money.
c) Verification of bibliographic detail: Whenever we are to verify a title or collect information on
any subject we are to consult a bibliography (subject bibliography). It also helps us to as certain
bibliographical data about an author thus helping in the identification of a document.
d) Location of material: A bibliography helps in locating the material or book in terms of place
of publication, location in the library on point of purchase.
e) Book selection: A bibliography by adding a note to each document being listed, indicate the
value of the document to a given type of user. So it helps in books selection i. e. which book
should be consulted for a given purpose.
f) It preserves documents: bibliography by listing of documents preserve all books, good, bad
and indifferent from oblivion.
g) It provides list of prior records of civilization: bibliography provide information about the
prior records of communication. Thus it is a vital aid to the study of history.
3. Types of Bibliography: Bibliographies are of the following types
a) Analytical Bibliography: According to Roy B Stokes on analytical bibliography involves
investigation of the physical nature of the book which can be and frequently is sufficiently
exhaustive to enable all the circumstances of the book manufacture and history to be revealed.
Analytical or critical bibliography therefore rests to a large extent upon imperfection in the
production process and as such it has been defined as the physical examination of books.
There would have been virtually no need of analytical bibliography if every step in the
production process was perfectly accomplished and a perfect book produced in every care. But
unfortunately such perfection has been a rare thing in the history of book production or has at
latest happened in exceptional case.
b) Descriptive Bibliography: Descriptive bibliography is the application of analytical
bibliography to the external form of the book i.e it concern itself with the materials forms of
books and not with their literary contexts. its function is primarily that of recording the
bibliography details of the book which has been established during the process of analytical
bibliography. In Descriptive bibliography the bibliograph details are kept to minimum because
the basic purpose to listing. Descriptive bibliography aims to describe all variation from this
ideal form. But due to standardization of books production the importance of descriptive
bibliography has decreased greatly.
c) Textual Bibliography: It is an application of analytical bibliography to the contexts of books.
It is a bibliography applied to textual studies. The main purpose of such a bibliography is to
determine the effect of writing or the printing process on the correctness or completeness of a
text. It helps ascertain the variety of authorship edition etc. thus textual variation between a
manuscript and the printed books or between various reprints or edition. So the textual
bibliography is more interested in the authors wards and tries to determine the exact words that
the author intended should constitute his work. The aim is to prepare definite edition of the
original author.
We can say therefore the textual bibliography is an area which seems to be of great
importance for literary critics rather than librarians or bibliographies.
d) Historical Bibliography: The study of books as object of art may be termed a historical
bibliography. It is concerned with art of writing, printing, illumination and binding. The
historical bibliography makes an attempt to achieve a broad understanding of the milieu of the
book in the context of the world of books, and social and cultural conditions in existence at the
time because the significance of books is very great in every phase of civilization and of life.
Historical bibliography has to content itself with the evolution of typefaces from its very
early manuscripts origin. Then again the very material of which the book is compared paper as
we know it, from its handmade stage to that of machine manufactured.
e) Systematic Bibliography: systematic bibliography is nothing but the listing of books and
other reading material according to some useful system of reference scheme. According to
Arundell Esdaile to assemble the resulting entries, simple or elaborate as the case may required
into logical and useful arrangement for reference and study is called systematic bibliography.
Esdale in his students manual of bibliography has divided bibliography into two
categories namely primary and secondary.
a) Primary Bibliography: Primary bibliographies are those which are the original record of the
whole or part of their content.
i) General or Universal Bibliography: In general or universal bibliography, it attempts to
include books published in every country and age and on all subject. It is a survey of all records
of civilization in all fields of knowledge for whatever the time, place, language, subject or
author. It does not matter. In fact there is no universal bibliography as such but the publish
catalogue of great libraries of the world can be stated to be the nearest approaches to this type of
bibliography. Eg. Library of Congress Catalogue of Books., British Museum General Catalogue
of printed books.
Also Konard Gesner, the father of bibliography attempts to list all scholarly publication in
the world which appears in 1545, under the title Bibliotheca Universalis
ii) I ncunabula Bibliography: This type of bibliography lists the early printed material upto
15
th
century. It was considered a cradle period of printing and the systematic order in arranging
various parts of the book was not followed. Eg. Proctor Robert An index to the early printed
books in the British Museum from the invention of printing to the year 1300 with notes of those
in the Bodleian library. Konard Burgers index, London 1960.
iii) Bibliography of anonymous and pseudonymous works: These types of bibliographies are
arranged alphabetically by title with notes of author, details of publication and annotations and
notes about authority for the ascription. They are also provided with an index of initials and
pseudonyms. Sometimes the titles are arranged alphabetically with names of the authors in
square brackets and notes about the authority for the attribution at the end. Eg. Dictionary of
anonymous and pseudonymous literature.
iv) Trade bibliographies: These types of bibliographies are brought out by large publishing firms
engaged in book production or trade. The books available for sale or purchase are listed therein.
Eg. Whitakers cumulative book list, London, Whitaker British Book in print etc.
v) National bibliography: it is a comprehensive, almost complete record of both written and
printed output in a given country, furnishing description and supplying verification which cannot
found in the less complete bibliographies. So in short a national bibliography list all documents
published in a given country.
The national bibliography is compiled on the basis of the materials received by the National
Libraries under the copyright act as promulgated in various countries. A national bibliography is
considered a national heritage and its purpose is intellectual not commercial (selling). It is useful
for the researcher and the posterity. Example: Indian National Bibliography, Kolkata, Central
Reference Library, British National Bibliography, London
B) Secondary Bibliography: Secondary bibliographies are those in which material registered
elsewhere is rearranged for the convenience of research. In these documents already recorded in
primary bibliographies are selected, analyzed, and rearranged either by subject, author, period or
typography.
i) Subject Bibliography: A subject bibliography is a comprehensive list of all books, periodicals
articles, pamphlets and other analytical materials that have appeared on that subject, such a
bibliography is international in scope since it covers everything that has been appeared on the
subject in different languages and in different countries of the world. Example: Education
Abstract, 1949 to date, Paris, UNESCO.
ii) Author Bibliography: An author bibliography is the list of writing by an author together with
the works on him by others.
Example: Mahatma Gandhi: A descriptive bibliography, compiled by Dr. J. S. Sharma, Delhi, S.
Chand, 1955.
iii) Personal Bibliography: A personal bibliography is a list of writings by others on the
different aspects of the life of a great man together with what he himself has written, printed and
delivered in the form of oratory. Kindly note that personal bibliography is different from that of
author bibliography.
Example: Jawaharlal Nehru: A descriptive bibliography by Jagdish Saran Sharma, Delhi, S.
Chand & Co, 1955.
iv) Bibliophilic Bibliography: A bibliography that records old and rare books, first editions of
celebrated authors is known as bibliophilic bibliography. These bibliographies are only for those
who have a craze for old and rare books, especially for first edition of books of celebrated
author. They have fancy for such book for their magnificent look, distinctive physical feature,
colorfulness, sumptuous binding, decorative covers, brilliant illustration and pictorial
ornamentation, grand illumination and beautiful type face, sometimes on sentimental ground and
sometimes for getting original thought of the author.
Example: Johnson, Merie de Vore, American first editon, 4
th
ed, revised N. Y. Bowker, 1942.
v) Selective Bibliography (Elective): This kind of bibliography is concerned with the listing of
only selected and the best books. This is useful to those who want to record only the best. This is
also serves as a valuable book selection tool to small and medium-sized libraries.
Example: The best books: A readers guide, 3
rd
ed, by W. S. Sonnenschein, London, Routledge,
1910 35, 6 Vol.
vi) Unit Bibliography: It is a list of different editions adaptations, abridged forms, translations,
dramatization, versification, criticism, etc of a single literary work conveniently arranged in
order to give a comprehensive picture of its literary excellence and popularity. Every literary
work by every author does not deserve a unit bibliography. It is only in the case of such works
which have sound scholars curiosity by dint of their great literary merit, universal appeal and
enormous popularity that unit bibliographies are compiled.
Example: The Arabian Hights Entertainment with its numerous adaptations and translations.
vii) Bibliography of Bibliographies (Bibliographic I ndex): As the bibliographies in various
subject fields have multiplied now a day the compilation of this kind of bibliography has become
imperative. It is a list of bibliographies recorded in a systematic and logical order. It includes all
type of bibliographies in various subject fields, separately published. This kind of bibliography is
also known as bibliographic index.
Example: Besterman Theodore, A world bibliography of bibliographies.

Blog
Blog: The term "weblog" was coined by Jorn Barger on 17 December 1997. Then Peter Merholz, jokingly
broke the word weblog into the phrase we blog in the sidebar of his blog Peterme.com in 1999, from
where it becomes popular as "blog". Thus Blog is derived from Weblog. Blog or weblog is a web-based
publication consisting primarily of periodic articles normally in reverse chronological order with reflections,
comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer.
1. Definition: Blogs have different meaning to different people, ranging from online journal to easily
updated personal website. A weblog is a journal (or newsletter) that is frequently updated and intended
for general public consumption. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the Web site.
According to Concept Websites Ltd (http://www.conceptwebsites.com/SEO/common-terms.htm),
a blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and
someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows
people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog.
In simple, it can be said that it is a web based website where articles posted will automatically be
arranged in reverse chronological fashion or in a chronological fashion. The owner/member will post
message which are sometimes rich with graph, audio, video and hyperlink periodically enabling others to
view and comment. Topics often include the owner's/members daily life or views on a particular subject
or topic of important to the group. The original post with its associated comments and discussion provide
a very insight to the topic at hand.
Many blogs are frequently updated and publicly accessible i.e they allow anybody to sign up at
any time; some others are private where entry to the group is restricted. Some advanced users have
server-side software, and often implement membership management and password protected areas.
Others have created a mix of a blog and wiki, called a bliki.
2. History: At the initial stage of internet development, Usenet, e-mail lists, Bulletin Board Systems
(BBS), chronicles, commonplaces, diaries, and perzines were used as a form of Citizen Media. Bulletin
Board is a service whereby messages and points of interest can be posted to be read and replied to
unlike list server. The news group provides access to thousands of topic based discussion group services
which are open to all. The news reader software allows one to post an article to any group for others to
read. A comment to the message (original) can be added to the thread of the article. In recent times these
are effectively replaced by the blog.
During recent days, blog has evolved into a tool that offers some of the most insightful information
on the Web. It provides self-publishing phenomenon represented by blogging and becoming much more
common in LIS, as librarians, libraries and library associations have begun to blog as a way of
communicating with their patrons and constituents. Many librarians world wide also publish their personal
blogs that offer a wealth of information about librarianship, their parent institution and sometimes to their
personal lives as well.
The emergence of blogging provides a medium to give readers of the library new perspectives on
the realities, as well as often offering different viewpoints from those of its official news sources. Many
bloggers began to provide nearly-instant commentary on televised events, creating a secondary meaning
of the word "blogging": to simultaneously transcribe and editorialize speeches and events shown on
television (liveblogging).
3. Anatomy of a Blog Entry: Blog uses web interfaces that allow anyone over the Internet, to
create blogs by their own. It usually does not demand the maintenance of server software by the users
themselves. It also does not demand to go for the HTML. A blog entry typically consists of the following:
a) Title: The main title, or headline, of the post;
b) Body: Main content of the post;
c) Permalink: The URL of the full, individual article;
d) Post Date: Date and time the post published.
A blog entry optionally also includes the comments or feedback. Comments are a way to provide
discussion on blog entries. Readers can leave a comment on a post (a way of correcting ones error) or
they can also leave their personal opinion on the previous post(s).
4. Types: There are various types of blogs, and each differs in the way content is delivered or written. A
typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its
topic, the ability to quote another user's post with special formatting in ones post is also a special feature
of many blogs. Generally, blog can be categorized as follows:
a) Linklog: A blog comprising links;
b) Moblog: A blog written by a mobile phone or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA);
c) Photoblog: A blog comprising photos;
d) Podcasting: Blog containing audio;
e) Vlog: A blog comprising videos.
Blog can also be categorized based on a particular subject, such as political blogs, travel blogs,
legal blogs (often referred to as a blawg), Library blogs, Academic Library blogs, Librarians blogs and so
on.
5. Importance: Blogging combined the site with tools to make linking to other pages easier specifically
permalinks, blogrolls and TrackBacks. This, together with blog search engines enabled bloggers to track
the threads that connected them to others with similar interests.
a) Blog as a Forum: The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format and the scope for
adding more than one author in a blog, can be used to create discussion forum. Wordpress comments at
the bottom of a blog post allow for a single-threaded discussion of any given blog post. Slashcode, on the
other hand, is far more complicated, allowing fully threaded discussions and incorporating a robust
moderation and meta-moderation system as well as many of the profile features available to forum users.
b) Blog as a Group: The Blogs RSS Feed or Atom by burning with some feed burning services can be
used to provide email subscription option (some blog hosting service even produce it by default). This
feature can be used as a group to notify the intended users or reader or subscribers about some
announcement.
Blog also have blogrolls (i.e. links to other blogs which the owner reads or admires), and indicate
the social relationship of a particular blog to those of other bloggers. Pingback (links to other sites that
refer to the entry) and trackback (one of three types of Linkbacks, methods for Web authors to request
notification when somebody links to one of their documents) allow one blog to notify another blog,
creating an inter-blog conversation. In summary, blogs engage readers and build a virtual community
around a particular person or interest, which have immense implication in library and information science.
c) A Major Part of the Internet: Blogs are easy to create and maintain as compared to websites. As a
result, people are turning towards blog as a publication medium. Day by day, its volume as well as quality
increases and now we are in a position where we can say that if one is unable to locate any information
over internet by searching in the traditional general purpose search engine then it must be in blog.
d) Latest Information: The literature search forms the backbone of any research activities. In recent
times, a part of this business relies on internet and for a comprehensive list of resources over internet, the
search should extend to blog also, as it contains the latest, up to the minute information on a given topic.
e) Substitute of Mainstream Media: Blog increasingly considered as a substitute of the mainstream
media for news services, consultants, etc. As blog becomes a standard part of the publicity arsenal, it is
used extensively as a tool for outreach and opinion forming and as means of applying pressure upon
concern authority and like other. It can also be used to push the messages directly to the public by
avoiding the filtering process of the mainstream media (the editorial board of which often cut down the
massage as a means to avoid the legal liabilities, to present credible news or at times to justify their
presence!).
6. Finding a Blog / Blog Search Engine: The general purpose search engines generally avoid
displaying results from blogosphere. So, for searching the blog over internet, reliance must be placed on
the specially designed blog search engines. Several blog search engines are used to search blog
contents (also known as the blogosphere), such as blogdigger, Feedster, and Technorati, which helps
one to find out what people are saying on any subject of his/her interest. In the following paragraph an
attempt is made to list and discuss some of the most popular blog search engines.
a) Blogdigger (http://www.blogdigger.com/index.html): Blogdigger is a blog and media search engine
founded in March 2003 by Greg Gershman. Blogdigger began as an experiment with RSS and search
technologies, developing into a search engine that provides fast, up-to-the-minute search results of the
latest posts collected from blogs and syndicated content feeds, such as RSS and Atom.
b) Bloglines (http://www.bloglines.com): Bloglines is a web-based news aggregator for browsing
weblogs and other news feeds. Mark Fletcher founded the site in 2003 and sold it in February 2005 to
Ask.com. Bloglines uses an interface with the blogs names in one frame and their most recently updated
content in another pane.
c) Feedster (http://www.feedster.com): Feedster was founded in March 2003 by Scott Johnson. In June
2003, it merged with RSS-Search founded by Franois Schiettecatte. Feedster began as a weblog search
tool, indexing and archiving individual blog posts based on a site's RSS feed. Feedster gained popularity
with blog enthusiasts because it indexed new information fast, let users sort search results
chronologically, and made it possible to subscribe to search results as an RSS feed. It has now expanded
to offer a wide range of related services, including "Feed of the Day".
d) IceRocket (http://www.icerocket.com): IceRocket is an Internet search engine specialized in
searching blogs. IceRocket is backed by Mark Cuban and headquartered in Dallas, Texas. In 2005, CNet
reported that it may be re launched as Blogscour.
e) PubSub: PubSub is an Internet search engine for searching blogs which was founded in 2002 by Bob
Wyman and Salim Ismail. The site operates by storing a user's search term, making it a subscription, and
checking it against posts on blogs which ping the search engine. When a new match is found, the user is
notified, even if it occurs months after the initial search. This feature has led PubSub to call itself a
matching engine. Results can be read on the service's website or on an optional sidebar, available for
both Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. PubSub is currently having problem as noted in by Bob
Wyman.
f) Sphere (http://www.sphere.com): The Sphere search engine delivers blog posts based on algorithms
that combine semantic matching with authority factors to deliver results relevant to the search query.
Sphere also organizes bloggers by topic. The company produces an application called Sphere It! allowing
users to seek blog posts related to news articles based on the contents of a particular web page they're
viewing. The function is accessed from a browser navigation bar plug-in. Upon clicking the plug-in button,
a semantic analysis is performed on the text within the page and blog posts related to the text of the
article are returned.
g) Technorati (http://www.technorati.com): Technorati is an Internet search engine for searching blogs,
competing with Google, Yahoo, PubSub and IceRocket. As of November 2006, Technorati indexes over
60 million weblogs. The site won the SXSW 2006 awards for Best Technical Achievement and also Best
of Show. It has also been nominated for a 2006 Webby award for Best Practices. Technorati provides
current information on both popular searches and tags used to categorize blog postings. Blogs are also
given rankings by Technorati based on the amount of incoming links and Alexa Internet based on the web
hits of Alexa Toolbar users.
h) Google Blog Search (http://www.google.co.in/blogsearch?hl=en): Google Blog Search is a search
engine focused on blogs, with a continuously updated search index. Results include all blogs, not just
those published through Blogger. Results can be viewed and filtered by date. Google provides following
option to search for blog
i) Google-style interface (blogsearch.google.com)
ii) Blogger-style interface) (search.blogger.com)
iii) The Blogger Dashboard
iv) The Navbar on any Blog
All of the above provide same search, no matter where one searches. The Navbar, however,
provides two buttons: one to search the blog that one currently viewing, and one to search all blogs. It
also provides Advanced Search features where one can specify titles, authors, languages and more.
After getting the search results, it also provides an additional link that allows to switch between displaying
the results with either the most relevant or recent results at the top.
7. Blog Hosting Services: Blogs are generally hosted by dedicated blog hosting services or on regular
web hosting services. Most of the free blog hosting services are ad-supported but generally have
unlimited posting bandwidth and storage space. Generally, a small advertisement square banner is
placed on the user blog, which does not affect the overall make up the said blog. Many blog hosting
services also notified the blogger when someone adds some comments on his/her blog. Examples
include the following
i) Blogger (https://www.blogger.com/start): Blogger was started by Evan Williams and Meg Hourihan
(Pyra Labs of San Francisco) in August 1999 and was purchased by Google in February 2003.
ii) coComment (http://www.cocomment.com/): coComment is a Swiss startup company funded by
Swisscom Innovations and focused on providing high quality services to internet users worldwide. The
company is based in Geneva, Switzerland.
iii) LiveJournal (http://www.livejournal.com/): Brad Fitzpatrick started LiveJournal in March 1999. The
LiveJournal can be used as a private journal, a blog, a discussion forum, a social network, and like other.
iv) Open Diary (http://www.opendiary.com/): Launched in October 1998, soon growing to thousands of
online diaries. Open Diary becomes the first blog community where readers could add comments to other
writers' blog entries.
v) Pitas.com (http://www.pitas.com/): Andrew Smales created Pitas.com in July 1999 as an easier
alternative to maintaining a "news page" on a website, followed by Diaryland in September 1999, focusing
more on a personal diary community.
vi) Xanga (http://www.xanga.com/): Launched in 1996, had only 100 diaries by 1997, but over 20
million as of December 2005.
Other blog hosting service includes Blog (http://www.blog.com/), DreamHost
(http://www.dreamhost.com/), Salon.com (http://www.salon.com), Tripod (http://www.tripod.lycos.com/),
Vox (http://www.vox.com/), WordPress (http://www.worldpress.org/), etc.
Book Order
Book Order: Once a book has been selected for purchase, then an order has to be placed to acquire it
by typing from the book selection slip in a sheet or two. In case the book being ordered is an additional
copy or a new edition of an available book, the staff would put down the call number in the book order
slip. The ordering procedure relates to three stages-
i) Pre-ordering Work: Pre-order work includes the various jobs connected with the invitation of tenders or
quotations, tabulating the quotations, fixing the suppliers, signing the contracts, and so on.
ii) Order Placing Work: Order placing work consists of tallying, scrutiny and elimination.
iii) Intimation to the Indenters: The library should inform the indenter(s)/user(s) about the action taken by
the library for their demanded books.
The library generally tries to possess every type of information sources based upon the demand of the
user which includes books, journals, books on tape, videocassettes, CDs, CD-ROMs, DVDs, electronic
journals, online databases, etc.
The book selection section is responsible for the identification of potentially useful materials by consulting
publishers' catalogues and flyers for the final selection to be made by the appropriate decision maker.
Sometimes the acquisition unit is the primary collection development unit for the library. Activities centring
acquisition also focus on securing items wanted by the library's end-users and handling financial
transactions that are associated with the purchase or leasing of the item(s). It is a process that involves
which materials the library should acquire by purchase or otherwise and getting the materials.
Book Selection Theories
Book Selection Theories: There are some principles of selection of documents which guide the librarian
in making a judicious choice of a document and thus help to develop a meaningful collection of
documents in the libraries.


i) L. R. McColvin: Theory of Book Selection (1925): According to L. R. McColvin books in themselves are
nothing. They have no meaning until they are made serviceable by demand. So he gives much stress on
demand and gives stress on the selection of only those documents which are demanded by the users for
their information needs.
ii) Drury: Book Selection (1930): It states that the right book will be provided to the right reader at the right
time. In this principle the reader is the central theme. A document is right or otherwise is to be provided
when the user needs it for use. The selector should know the users and their requirements. He should
select only that material which caters to the informational educational and recreational needs of the users.
iii) Haines: Living with book (2
nd
ed, 1950): The first edition of Living with Books appeared in 1935. It
was one of the first true textbooks aimed at training librarians in the art of book selection. Although
Haines died in 1961, her legacy continues to be felt. Through the 1970s, Living with Books remained the
standard text on book selection, and it is still referenced on many collection development course syllabi.
iv) Ranganathan: Library book selection (1952, reprint 1990): The first three laws of library science
enunciated by Ranganathan are also helpful in formulating the principles of selection of the documents for
libraries.
v) Deweys Principle: According to Dewey, the library should select the best documents within the finance
available, which may satisfy the information need of the maximum number of users.
Besides the above, we may mention Rovert Broadus Selecting Materials for Libraries, 2nd ed.
New York: H.W. Wilson Co, 1981 and Building Library Collections: 6th Ed. By: Arthur Curley, Dorothy M.
Broderick, and Published: January 1985 as important books on book selection.

British Librarys Automated Information SErvice (BLAISE)
British Librarys Automated Information SErvice (BLAISE): Blaise is an online information retrieval
service that includes access via a new graphical interface on the World Wide Web. It is a library network
which was introduced in April 1977 and now it is the world largest commercial service. It is an online
interactive computerized information retrieval and cataloguing system and the individual databases are
stored on an IBM-370 computer located at Harlow. Teletype compatible terminals are used together with
the ordinary public telecommunication system to access BLAISE. Thus BLAISE can be called up from
anywhere in the UK and Europe. The system is available from 9-5 on Monday to Thursday and 9-4.30 on
Friday. To access BLAISE, subscribers are given individual identity numbers and passwords.
The following services are available through BLAISE-
a) BLAISE Line: It is operated from the existing computer installation at Harlow, Essex. It host British
library bibliographic database. Telnet access is also available. The Web version of BLAISE-LINE is
called BLAISE Web.
b) BLAISE Link: It is the official host providing full access to all US National Library of Medicine
MEDLARS databases, in the UK and Ireland, via the British Library. It is also involved in processing UK /
Irish contributions to the MEDLINE database. The BALISE Link provide access to the following
i) MEDLINE: The MEDLARs databases are available through online in the form of Medline.
ii) SDI-Line: It contains the latest months reference to be used primarily for current awareness.
iii) Chem-Line: It is an online dictionary files which enables the user of Toxline to describe chemical
substances before beginning the search.
iv) Mesh: It is a controlled indexing structure of MEDical Subject Heading.
c) Catalogue: The catalogue production is made through Local Catalogue Service (LOCAS) which is an
integral part of BLAISE.
d) Database: BLAISE provide access to 21 databases containing 18.5 million bibliographic records.
e) Editors Software: It was developed by British Library. The editor system of BLAISE allows records to
be transferred from MARC files and edited. The new records can also be created and added to the main
database.
Blaise gives access to a wide range of bibliographic information that includes not only British Library
catalogues but also complementary bibliographic databases, some of which are produced outside the
British Library. Blaise has other value-added features, such as its link to the British Library Document
Supply Centre for ordering loans and photocopies and its ability to supply fully formatted catalogue
records for use in local automated catalogues. Blaise has traditionally been used by trained librarians in
other libraries. Recently, Blaise has added a World Wide Web option that makes it much easier to use by
untrained and inexperienced searchers.
According to Allen Kent "the success and survival of libraries will much depend on how much and to what
extent the libraries cooperate with each other in future". Further, tremendous explosion of information,
financial constraints, information in different forms, etc., compelling the libraries to form network and
consortia is an essential facet of modern library practices.
In library network the particular focus is forming online networks by using computers and linking
members to the computer resources by means of telecommunication connections. When a group of
libraries using computers decide to exchange information, a network is developed.
The library network deals with the development of software for library automation, automation of the
member libraries, retro-conversion of records, cooperative acquisition, creating union catalogue,
development of database of the holdings in member libraries, conducting training, workshops and
seminar, providing DDS, Email, CD-ROM, internet access facilities. It also provides reference service,
referral service, and provides technical support to member institutions in the selection of hardware,
software, and technical problem faced by the member libraries. But till now except DELNET and
INFLIBNET, most of the other library networks have yet to develop databases of library holdings in a
significant way. Even these two networks have to go a long way to cover in their databases the entire
holdings of all the participating libraries. Unless this is achieved, the networks would not be able to
achieve significant resource sharing as well as rationalization in library acquisitions.





Budgeting

Budgeting: Budget is defined as an estimated often itemized or expected income and expense or
operating results for a given period in the future. Thus, a library budget is an estimate of the expected
income and expenditure of the library for the coming year. As a budget is an estimate, it can be altered if
and when the circumstances change. It needs to be flexible enough to meet the changing needs. In a
budget, the diversion of funds should not be done for some unnecessary events or causes and it is
actually not permitted.
a) Need and Purpose of Library Budget: Since a library is a non-profit organization, the financial
responsibility on its part is much more important. The need and purpose of library budget can be looked
at from the following points
i) Through budgeting a library is able to limit its expenditure to its income;
ii) A budget helps to spend the finance in a systematic way;
iii) Budgeting is the primary means by which formulated plans can be carried out;
iv) It serves as an effective management tool.
v) It gives overall direction to the library services;
vi) It coordinates all administrative functions by guaranteeing exchange of information on policies,
program and finance;
vii) It is a most important control device to measure the programmes of a library and their effectiveness;
viii) It reflects the goals and objectives of the library.
b) Budgeting Method: The following methods are generally used in budgeting-
i) Line Item: Here the expenditure is divided into broad categories such as salary and wages, books and
periodicals, equipment, binding, stationary, miscellaneous, etc. However, this brings inflexibility, whereby
money from one item cannot be shifted to another one easily.
ii) Lump Sum: In this approach a certain amount of money is allocated to the library, the libraries decide
as to how that amount is going to be allocated to different categories.
iii) Formula Budget: Here predetermined standards are applied for the allocation of money. The formula is
mechanical and easy to prepare.
iv) Performance Budget: It is based on the expenditure for the performance of activities of a library. It
gives justification for and description of services to be achieved by the proposed programme.
v) Programme Budgeting: It is concerned with activities of organization but individual items or
expenditures are ignored.
vi) Per Capita Method: In this case a minimum amount per head of the population is fixed and financial
estimates are prepared accordingly.
In case of university and college libraries, the UGC Library Committee way back in 1957
suggested for a provision of Rs. 16 per student and Rs. 200 per teacher. Kothari Commission in 1966
suggested for allocation of Rs. 25 per student and Rs. 300 per teacher.
vii) Proportion Method: In this method a certain proportion of the general budget of a parent organization /
state is recommended for providing library services.
Dr. S. R. Ranganathan suggested that 6% of the education budget of a local /state / federal
government, as the case may be, should be earmarked for public library purposes. UGC Parry Committee
(UK) suggested that 6% of the total budget of a university may be provided to university library. Education
Commission recommended that 6.5-10 percent of the total university budget should be spent for the
university library.
viii) Method of Details: In this method all the items of expenditure of a library under various heads and
subheads in detail are calculated. The expenditure should be estimated under non recurring expenditure
and recurring expenditure. It is generally done by projecting current expenditure to the next year adding
the increase of cost.
The UGC Library Committee (1957) staff formula can be used to determine the number of staff
and their pay scale. The cost of books and other reading materials can be based on the number of
students and teachers. 5% of the total cost of books is allocated to stacking, storing, and serving of
books.
ix) Planning Programming Budgeting System (PPBS): PPBS is a technique which combines the best of
programme budgeting and performance budgeting. In this method the emphasis is given on the planning
of the total system, the different parts of the system and their expected level of performance. All these are
considered for assigning the cost of the whole system.
x) Zero Based Budget: It was developed by Peter Phyor to achieve greater effective planning and fiscal
control. The term zero based is derived from the first step in the process- the development of a
hierarchy of functions based on the assumption that the unit or agency is starting operation for the first
time (i.e point zero). Thus, the focus of budgeting is on the purpose(s) of the unit and on the function
which it should perform so that it meets the reason for its existence. Basically, it is not concerned with
what happened previously but rather with what is required to be done in future.
c) Expenditure: While estimated expenditure is planned three factors are kept in mind-
i) Comparison with past expenditure;
ii) Budgeting in accordance with the work programme and
iii) Using arbitrary stands and norms.
Depending upon the size of the library, the types of library expenditure headings vary. The
general forms of expenditure which can be applied to all types of libraries are given below.

Sl. No. Item Percentage of Total Budget
Initial Recurring
1) Salaries
a) Basic Salary
b) DA
c) PF
20% 65%
2) Equipment and furniture 30% 5%
3) Books
a) Reference collection
b) New books
c) Others
15% 10%
4) Periodicals
a) Back volumes
b) Annual subscription
20% 10%
5) Binding and repairing of documents 2 % 2 %
6) Microfilming and digitization 7 % 2 %
7) AMC -as needed- -as needed-
8) Contingency
(stationary item, printing, Photostat,
postage, telephone, electricity bills, etc)
2 % 2 %
9) Miscellaneous (overtime allowances,
insurance premium)
2 % 2 %
10) Imprest Money (Sundry expenditure or
the money which is kept for unforeseen
events)

In the above table, expenditure with regards to gift and exchange are excluded as they cannot be
foreseen with any possible precision.
In case of a new library, the initial costs as well as the operating budget require some special
consideration. But in case of an existing library only the operating budget items need to be considered. As
the library does not usually have all its functions at the start, the total staff is not required at the initial
state; consequently, the recurring expenditure on salary will be about three times of that obtaining at the
beginning.
The cost of the library building and its maintenance usually form part of the budget of the
organization as a whole and, therefore, this has been excluded from the library budget. If, however, the
library has its separate existence, a sizable initial cost and a proportionate cost of maintaining will have to
be provided in the budget. Any good architect will be able to give these estimates.
The expenditure in a special library is higher than that in a general library as it involves more
amenities and the use of many costly machineries and gadgets.
d) Accounting and Reporting: Accurate records regarding the amount paid out, encumbered and
unspent are maintained by the accounts section. To ensure proper utilization of grants, an Account
Register should be maintained to watch the expenditure. A Ledger should be maintained with double
entry system. Receipts and expenditure items should be entered regularly in the said ledger. In addition
to this ledger, a Cash Book in which daily transactions are to be entered and a Budget Allotment Register,
department wise and objective wise, should be maintained so as to know easily and with accuracy as to
how much amount has been spent and how much remains in balance. Monthly reports should be
prepared regarding this. The reporting should be done to the users, library staff and higher authorities.
This may appear an annual report of newspaper article or radio talk or in some other form.

Let Us Sum Up: Budget statement or record is a definite financial record which speaks of the back
history, present position and future development of the library. It is also a statement for comparing the
position and the trend of development between the past, present and future. Budgetary statement
generally depends on the sources of income and expenditure of the library. Library budget may be
divided into two parts- Income and expenditure.

Circulating Library
Circulating Library: The establishment of circulating libraries by booksellers and publishers
provided a means of gaining profit and of creating social centres within the community. The
circulating libraries not only provided a place to sell books, but also a place to lend books for a
price. These circulating libraries provided a variety of materials including the increasingly
popular novels. Although the circulating libraries played an important role in society, members
of the middle and upper classes often used to look down upon these libraries that regularly sold
material from their collections and provided materials that were less sophisticated. Circulating
libraries also charged a subscription fee. However, the fees were set to entice their patrons,
providing subscriptions on a yearly, quarterly or monthly basis, without expecting the
subscribers to purchase a share in the circulating library.
Circulating libraries were not exclusively lending institutions and often provided a place for
other forms of commercial activity, which may or may not be related to print. This was necessary
because the circulating libraries did not generate enough funds through subscription fees
collected from its borrowers. As a commercial venture, it was important to consider the
contributing factors such as other goods or services available to the subscribers.

Citation Analysis
Citation Analysis: When one author cites another author, a relationship is established. Citation analysis
uses citations in scholarly works to establish that relationship (links). Many different links can be
ascertained, such as links between authors, between scholarly works, between journals, between fields,
or even between countries. Citations both from and to a certain document may be studied. The Science
Citation Index began publication in 1961.
One very common use of citation analysis is to determine the impact of a single author on a given field
by counting the number of times the author has been cited by others. Citation indices, such as Institute
for Scientific Information's Web of Science, allow users to search forward in time from a known article to
more recent publications which cite the known item. Information scientists also use citation analysis to
quantitatively assess the core journal.
Google's PageRank is based on the principle of citation analysis. Other bibliometrics applications include:
creating thesauri; measuring term frequencies; exploring grammatical and syntactical structures of
texts.
Data from citation indexes can be analyzed to determine the popularity and impact of specific articles,
authors, and publications. However the limitation of citation analysis is that they are often incomplete
or biased; data has been largely collected by hand (which is expensive), though citation indexes can also
be used; incorrect citing of sources occurs continually; thus, further investigation is required to truly
understand the rationale behind citing to allow it to be confidently applied.
a) Co-citation Coupling: If papers A and B are both cited by paper C, they may be said to be related to
one another, even though they don't directly cite each other. If papers A and B are both cited by many
other papers, they have a stronger relationship. The more papers they are cited by, the stronger their
relationship is. Co-citation coupling is a method used to establish a subject similarity between two
documents.
b) Bibliographic Coupling: Bibliographic coupling is the mirror image of co-citation coupling.
Bibliographic coupling links two papers that cite the same articles, so that if papers A and B both
cite paper C, they may be said to be related, even though they don't directly cite each other. The
more papers they both cite, the stronger their relationship is.

Cloud Computing
Cloud Computing: In the traditional model of computing, both software and data are fully
contained on the users computer, whereas in the cloud computing, the users computer may
contain almost no software or data. They only need a minimal operating system and web browser
to serve as a display terminal for processes occurring on a network of computers far away. So,
the cloud computing refers to the provision of computational resources on demand via a
computer network. The resources may be a application, database, file service, email etc.

In case of cloud computing, the data are stored in the cloud instead of a local computer so
multiple users can access and contribute to the projects simultaneously without worrying about
using the same operating system, software, or browser. For example, instead of collaborating on
a document by sending back and forth revision after revision as attachments, documents can be
better stored in the cloud with Google Apps. Coworkers can access the web-based document
simultaneously in their browsers, and even make changes that other authorized users can see in
real-time. Eliminating attachment round-trips by storing data in the cloud saves time and reduces
frustrations for teams who need to work together efficiently.

Collection Development

Collection Development: The Library housekeeping operation or Technical works of a library handle
those tasks associated with bringing materials into the library and making them ready for use for the
general public or for the service population and thus include the job of identification, selection,
acquisition, organization of the collection (classification and cataloguing) and preparation (labeling and
others), covering, security processing, and/or distribution of materials. Within the purview of technical
service also come such things as serials, binding / repair, copy cataloguing, original cataloguing, and gifts
and exchange.
A library, however large it may be, cannot store all the materials and all the users of a library will not be
interested in all the materials kept in it. All the materials will not be used by all the users in a library. So,
here arises the need of selection of library materials.
The library collection development is the process of planning and acquiring a balanced collection of
library materials of many formats, including books, periodicals, online resources, and other media. It is
sometimes considered as synonymous to Collection building, which means that there are already
nuclei of collection in the library and the librarian is going to build up the collection. But collection
development is a term different from collection building, since the word development implies
qualitative improvement of the collection, whereas building a collection is likely to mean the planned
and systematic development of an already existing collection. It occasionally involves the selection and
acquisition of materials, as said by Shipman. Harrods Librarian Glossary (6
th
edition) defines collection
development as the process of planning a stock acquisition programme not simply to cater for
immediate needs but to build a coherent and reliable collection over a number of years, to meet the
objective of the service.


Terms

Exponential Growth: Growth becoming faster and faster.

The proliferation of publications in various physical formats made the exponential growth of literature
and all these materials are the record of intellectual endeavours on one hand and on the other hand
these are the vehicle of communication for transmission of information and knowledge. Since the basic
purpose of the library is to facilitate the process of communication so all the above materials should be
collected to help grow the library holding and to meet the ever increasing need and requirement of the
users as far as possible. This continuous process of acquiring the reading material is known as collection
development. Collection development is an expansion of book selection by enlarging the kinds of
materials to which selection principles have been applied, making the collection a total holding at any
particular point. It is also a process of maintaining a balanced, consistent and user responsive collection
in the library.
The process of collection development includes selection of current as well as retrospective material,
weeding out of obsolete, irrelevant, unused and not-to-be-used materials. Evaluation of existing holding
should be made for the identification of adequacy and gaps. The gaps should be filled according to the
users need.
Paul Mosher explains collection development as a process that should constitute a rational
documented programme guided by written policies and protocols and should reflect in sense a contrast
between library users and library staff as to what will be acquired, for whom and at what level.
Collections are developed by librarians and library staff by buying or otherwise acquiring
materials over a period of time, based on the assessment of the information needs of the library's users.
In addition to ongoing materials acquisition, library collection development includes:
i) The creation of policies to guide material selection.
ii) Replacement of worn or lost materials.
iii) Removal (weeding) of materials no longer needed in the collection.
iv) Planning for new collections or collection areas.
v) Cooperative decision-making with other libraries or within library consortia.
a) Collection Development and Book Selection: The librarian knows that collection development begins
with book selection. Some assume that they are same and the terms are interchangeable; others
assume that collection development is a broader term for the same old job, namely, acquisition, but
actually collection development is very much different from the term book selection both
conceptually and operationally.
The library collection and its development determine the nature and the characteristics of the library
not only in the holding but in service pattern also. So the librarians should be acquainted with the user
needs and requirements and the users should be requested to advise the librarian about their needs. In
this way it is a two way job.
b) Objectives of Collection Development: The main objectives of collection development are-
i) A library should acquire and provide all the relevant reading materials to its clientele so that the basic
function of the library are fulfilled from the vast amount of literature, which are also increasing day by
day.
ii) A library should acquire all other books on the related topics;
iii) A library should contain all the reading materials pertaining to the history and culture of a particular
country, city, place or institution as the case may be.
c) Need of Book Selection: The need of book selection arises due to the following reasons-
i) The world of book is so large that a library, however large and resourceful, cannot procure all the
materials published and available in the market;
ii) The library collection is meant for the user of a particular library so that library collection should
commensurate with the need and requirement of the users;
iii) The physical limitation of storage naturally imposes the necessity for selection.
d) Factors that Influence Book Selection: Selection of the library materials is of prime importance in a
library. The librarians with the concern of library staff and with the help of various user groups should
perform the job of selection of the library material. In selection process the following factors should be
considered:-
i) The Library: The kind, objectives, size and goals of the library, specialization areas of the library;
ii) Users: Need and demand, requirement and intellectual level of the users, the number of users;
iii) Existing Holding: The number of books, its nature and characteristics which are already present in the
collection; the merits of the books which are going to be selected;
iv) Fund: The amount allotted for acquisition of books/journals.
v)



Common Communication Format (CCF)

Common Communication Format (CCF): CCF is a structure format for creating bibliographical records
and for exchanging records between groups of information agency and libraries. An international
symposium in Taormina, Sicily conducted by UNESCO was held in April, 1978. On the recommendations
of the symposium UNESCO / PGI formed the adhoc group on the establishment of a Common
Communication Format (CCF). The first edition of CCF was published in 1984 under the editorship of
Peter Simmons and Alan Hopkins and its second edition was published in 1988 in two volumes called
CCF/B and CCF/F. Several countries have adopted this standard for exchange and creation of
bibliographic records at national level.
A) Structure of CCF: The structure of CCF is the implementation of ISO-2709. It consists of the following-
a) Record Labels: Each CCF record begins with a fixed record label of 24 characters and consists of data
element which contains the record. Each data element is identified by its relative character positioning
the label.
b) Directory: The directory is a table containing a variable number of 14 characters entries i.e the length
of each directory entry is of 14 characters terminated by a fixed separator character. Each directory
entry corresponds to a specific variable. Data fields in the record are divided into four sub sections or
parts, containing data for the following data element-
i) Tab
ii) Length of the data field
iii) Starting character position
iv) Implementation defined section
c) Data Fields: In the CCF a data field is defined as consisting of-
i) Indicator
ii) Sub Fields: A sub field consists of a subfield identifier followed by a data string which is terminated by
either another sub field identifier or a field separator.
iii) Field Separator: The field separator is that character which constitutes the final character of every
data field except for the final data field in the record.
iv) Record Separator: The record separator is that character which makes the end of the final data field
in the record and constitutes the final character of the record.


B) Limitation of the CCF: CCF is not designed to meet the requirement of all types of libraries and
information organizations for local implementation. It is also not expected that institutes will use CCF
record format for internal storage and processing purpose. The major limitations of CCF are-
a) It is not sufficiently detailed in its definition and coverage of all data elements necessary for creating a
bibliographical database for an individual library.
b) It does not include its cataloguing rules nor does it align itself with any particular cataloguing code or
set of rules oriented towards a specific or fixed type of information output form.
c) Except for standard CCF fields CCF recommends the use of alphanumeric code for tags but it may not
be possible to use alphanumeric code for tags in all cases (eg when library system uses CDS/ISIS, this
recommendation cannot be implemented).
d) Though in CCF further addition of the new data elements and their respective content designator is
possible, the unrestricted interpolation by different users can create complication for exchanging data
among libraries. In such cases, the content designators of newly added data elements are likely to vary
which may cause inconvenience for exchanging data from one database to another.

Communication

Communication: The term communication comes from Latin word communis meaning common.
When we communicate with someone we try to establish a certain degree of commonness with the
communicate. Eg. By sharing some information, an idea or an attitude. Communication therefore refers
to transmission or exchange of information, message, etc. Communication takes place when people
send or receive message of various kind. So information and communication are two interlinked term in
the sense that without information communication is not possible.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines communication as the imparting, conveying or exchange of ideas
and knowledge whether by speech, writing or signs.
The Columbia Encyclopaedia of Communication defines it as the transfer of thought and
message as contrasted with transportation of goods and person.
In ordinary usage the verb to communicate means
i) To exchange thoughts, feelings, information;
ii) To make known;
iii) To make common;
iv) To have a sympathetic relationship.
In the noun form communication refers to
i) The exchange of symbols, common message, information;
ii) The process of exchange between individual through a common system of symbols;
iii) The art of expressing ideas and
iv) The science of transmitting information.
In the popularly understood sense of the term communication refers to anything from a face to face
conversion between two persons, conversion over the telephone, and correspondence between friends.
The transmission of programmes on live television are broadcast via communication satellite i.e
received by millions of people.
1. Elements of Communication: The communication process requires at least three elements.
a) Source: The source is a point at which message originates. It can be an individual or an organization, a
human being or a machine.
b) Channel: The message may be in audible, visual, or tactile form as any signal capable of meaningful
interpretation.
c) Destination: The destination or recipient, which again can be a person or a group of person, is in
the final link of the communication chain. Destination is the interceded target of the message.
ci)
2. Media and Forms of Communication of Information: There is a distinct difference between
communication of information and communication of commodities, energy, heat, etc. i.e ones own
stock of information or knowledge is not going to diminish by communicating to others. Thus the
ownership of information may multiply but not change hands like a physical commodity. Further one
can communicate information which he does not have, eg. about ones own behaviour.
Quite often two or more channels may be used together for effective communication and the
channels of dissemination may form a series of alternative routes, through the total communication
system.
Communication is a process of transferring message from one point to another. The four element of any
communication process are the reader, the medium, the receiver and the feedback. In Library and
Information Science several models of communication are used in the dissemination of information
through e-mail, post, telephone line, through oral verbal communication, videoconferencing etc.

Communication of Information

1. Introduction: In the popularly understood sense of the term communication refers to anything
from a face to face conversion between two person, conversion over the telephone, and
correspondence between friends. The transmission of programmes on live television broadcast
via communication satellite i.e. received by millions of people.
2. Elements of Communication: The communication process requires at least three elements.
i) Source: The source is a point at which message originates. It can be an individual or an
organization, a human being or a machine.
ii) Message: The message may be in audible, visual or tactile form, as any signal capable of
meaningful interpretation.
iii) Destination: The destination or recipient, which again can be a person or a group of persons,
in a final link in the communication chain - the intended target of the message.
3. Media and Forms of Communication: There is a distinct difference between communication
of information and communication of commodities, energy, heat, etc i.e. ones own stock of
information or knowledge is not going to diminish by communicating to other. Thus the
ownership of information may multiply but not change hands like a physical commodity. Further
one can communicate information which he does not have eg. about ones own behavior.
Following is a list of forms of communication with channels of disseminating information.
Though they are given in isolation here, quite often two or more channels may be used together
for effective communication and the channels of dissemination may form a series of alternative
routes, through the total communication system.
3.1 Oral Communication / I nformal Communication: Oral communication is one of the oldest
medium of communication of information and is speedier. The oral communication is generally
called as informal communication.
According to Ban Hillel, oral transmission can be analysed into the following technical
stages-
i) A concept, statement, preposition, postulates etc is formulated mentally.
ii) The mental formulation is expressed in words.
iii) The words are spoken that is they are expressed by the complicated larynx, tongue and lip
position of speech.
iv) The vibration set up a sound wave that is transmitted through the air.
White has referred to informal communication as interactive as it involves a direct
interaction between the source of information and the recipient.
Oral communications are of the following types-
i) One person to one person: Example: a face to face talk or by phone, chat, etc.
ii) One person to several: Example: a group or committee meeting, conference, teleconference,
video conference, etc.
iii) Several person to several: Example: A group discussion, conversation, etc.
a) Advantages of I nformal Communication: The following are the some of the advantages of
informal communication
i) Promptness: The face to face or telephone conversation, personal correspondence, and preprint
exchange, all of which are faster than dissemination through the formal channels.
ii) Selectivity: Formal journals are designed to reach large audiences and therefore cannot be
sensitive to individual need. Information transmitted through the informal channel is specifically
meant for an individual recipient or a small group.
iii) Interactive Communication: In the informal context example telephone conversation,
continuous interaction between the supplier and receiver of information is possible. This facility
is very difficult to achieve in the formal channels.
iv) Screening and Evaluation: In the informal communication system the supplier provides
evaluated and predigested information that can be readily used by the recipient.
v) Transmission of Ineffable: In the informal mode a scientist may not hesitate to communicate
opinions and experiences which are too personal to be communicated through formal channels.
vi) Personal Appeal: Scientist communicating in the informal mode can established a personal
rapport among themselves. This is difficult to achieve in the formal channel.
3.2 Formal Channel of Communication / Verbal Communication: The formal channel of
communication is very effective way of storing and preserving the available information and
knowledge in a very handy manner. Formal communication is non interactive and also known as
documentary communication or verbal communication. The formal channel of communication is
of the following types.
i) Written (Manuscripts): Exchange of practical note book, preprints and reprints among
scientists fall under this category.
ii) Printed: The newspapers, newsletter, journal, book, state of art report, etc fall under this
category.
iii) Audio Video: It consists of picture, charts, maps, slide, video tapes, CD, DVD, Magnetic
tapes, etc.
3.3 Exception Cases: There are many exception of formal and informal communication. They
are
i) Correspondence: Correspondence is a written form of communication but it is generally
treated as informal rather than formal channel of communication.
ii) Professional Conference: It is both formal and informal. It is formal in the sense that it
involves formal organization. There will be presentation of formal papers and it frequently
results in some formal publication. It is informal in the sense- it provides greater opportunity for
personnel communication among individual.
iii) Mass Media: Radio, television film which are able to bring the information as soon as it
occur to the mass.
iv) Telecommunication and Satellite Communication: The online resources, though they are
formal but are interactive in nature.
4. Barriers of Communication: The barriers to communication of information can broadly be
grouped into the following categories-
a) I nstitutional Impediment: There are three basic institutional impediments. These are -
i) Status of a person and organization: Information mainly flows among equal level of status. It
is very difficult for person of lower status to enter into such network of information.
ii) Structural (Hierarchical): Information flows from top to bottom or from bottom to top level
in administrative hierarchy.
iii) Secrecy (Fear of Losing): Managers and officials sometimes fear that if they provide the
information to somebody else their own secrets will be lost.
iv)
b) Financial: Financial barriers are of the following types
i) Rising cost in production of document: It reduced the production of the documents and reduced
the purchasing power of the user.
ii) Postal and other transportation charges
iii) Cost in running libraries and information centres pushed libraries to shift from free services
to fee based service.
iv) Currency exchange and import controls: Some countries have import restrictions for certain
classes of literature.
v) Dwindling Budgets: The dwindling budget of libraries and individual toward information
procurements.
vi) Royalties: The scope of royalties increases the price of the literature.
c) Technical: The technical barriers can be of the following types-
i) Poor presentation of documentary products.
ii) Less number of copies.
iii) Lack of special system / equipment: Certain classes of documents need special equipment for
reading or viewing. Example: Microfilm / fiche.
iv) Complicated System: The complicated nature of system needs lot of patience and practice to
get the required information.
v) Lack of Awareness: Many of the users are not aware as to what services are available and what
service can provide him the needed information.
vi) Underqualified staff of libraries / documentation centres.
vii) Lack of proper organizational structure.
viii) Lack of bibliographical control tool.
d) Linguistic: The linguistic barriers can be of the following types
i) Inter linguistic problem
ii) Intra language problem: Jargon such an neologism (coining or using of new words),
synonyms (words that have similar meaning), acronyms (words formed from the initial letter of a
name), etc.
e) Psychological and Social: Psychological characteristic of user i.e. unwillingness to changes,
question of prestige, shyness, selfishness, ignorance, traditional boundaries, mistrust, etc.
f) Administrative and Political: The closed societies who allow very little information to cross
their border or allow very little information to flow in.

Components of a Computer

Components of a Computer: The computer unit is frequently called as the computer system because of
its numerous parts, machinery units and complicated sequential operation. A computer system has
three main parts i.e Hardware, Software and Humanware. A general purpose computer has two main
parts Hardware and Software.


Fig. 1: Block Diagram of a Computer
1. Hardware: The physical or mechanical parts of the computer system that can be seen and touched
are known as hardware. It consists of a combination and collection of electro-mechanical and electronic
components and devices, electronic circuits and microelectronic equipment assembled in metal boxes in
the form of modules and cabinet. All these equipment and elements are interconnected by wiring and
switching communication components like transistors, capacitors, resistors, diodes, printed circuits,
integrated circuits, main and auxiliary storage systems, various types of magnetic media, communication
media for carrying and transformation of data, coded instruction, etc. The different hardware parts are
interconnected by busses, often made of groups of wires.
Any computer system has three important hardware parts. They are input device, central processing unit
and the output device. The central processing unit itself has three parts, namely memory unit, control
unit and arithmetic and logic unit. These three units along with the input and output devices form the
five important components of any computer system. In addition to the above five parts mentioned,
computers also have secondary storage devices, which are used for storing data or instruction on a long
term basis.
A) Input Unit: The input devices are used to transfer the information into the memory unit of a
computer. In simplest term, they bring information into the computer from the users hand, i.e. input
unit feeds data into the computer. It is thus a communication medium between the user and the
machine. The input devices are of the following types.
i) Keyboard: Keyboards are the most commonly used input devices usually having 83-84 keys and
enhanced with 101 keys or even more. The enhanced keyboards are more popular.
ii) Mouse: It is a hand-held pointing device that allows controlling the computer without having to type
the instruction through keyboard. The Scrolling mouse is a small unit with a round ball at the bottom
and with two depression switches at the upper top portion having again a scroll button. Nowadays cord
less as well as without scroll ball-type of mouse is also used.
iii) Scanners: Scanners are used to store or feed an entire image / data or page of other information into
the computer system. Image scanner is a general-purpose device which digitizes a two-dimensional
image.
iv) Track Ball: A trackball is just like a mouse lying on its back. It is stationary and does not need to move
on any surface. To move the pointer only the ball should be rotated with the thumb / finger or with the
palm. The buttons next to the ball are used just like mouse button.
v) Joystick: A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or
direction to the device it is controlling. Joysticks are often used to control video games and they usually
have one or more push-buttons whose state can also be read by the computer.



Fig. 2: Elements of a joystick
elements: 1. Stick 2. Base 3.
trigger 4. Extra buttons 5.
Autofire switch 6. Throttle 7. Hat
Switch (POV Hat) 8. Suction Cup
Fig. 3: A 68 Wacom Intuos3
graphics tablet with DuoSwitch
erasing Grip Pen stylus and 5-
button scrollwheel puck.
Fig. 4: Front and back of a Canon
PowerShot A95.
vi) Digitizing Tablet: A graphics tablet (or digitizing tablet, graphics pad, drawing tablet, pen pad or
digitizer) is a computer input device that allows one to hand-draw images and graphics, similar to the
way one draws images with a pencil and paper. These tablets may also be used to capture data or
handwritten signatures.
vii) Digital Camera: A digital camera (or digicam) is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or
both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor.
viii) Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR): It allows the computer to recognize character printed
using magnetic ink. MICR is widely used in banks to read the cheque number written on the bottom of
the cheque. It is also used in the back of credit cards and bank debit cards and ID cards.
ix) Optical Character Recognition (OCR): An optical character reader is used to read character of special
type fonts printed on conventional paper with conventional ink i.e. it involves reading text from paper,
book or from a magazine articles but they still have difficulty with handwritten text.
x) Bar Code Reader: Bar code readers are photoelectric scanner that reads the bar codes or vertical
zebra striped marks printed on the product container and the computer automatically tells the prices of
the product at the terminals.
xi) Speech Recognition and Voice Response Devices: In this type of device the user speaks into a
microphone which is attached to a digitizer. The dizitizer converts the analog sounds waves to 0 and
1s which can be easily understood by the computer. Speech recognition devices are necessary
because spoken commands are much quicker than typing. It helps to give command to a remote
computer over telephone. It helps the computer usable to the blind people. In computer assisted
learning environment it helps in the interaction between the man and machine.
xii) Touchscreen: A touchscreen is a display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within
the display area. The touchscreen has two main attributes. Firstly, it enables one to interact with what is
displayed directly on the screen, where it is displayed, rather than indirectly with a mouse or touchpad.
Secondly, it lets one do so without requiring any intermediate device such as a stylus that needs to be
held in the hand. Such displays can be attached to computers or, as terminals, to networks.
xiii) Touchpad: A touchpad (also trackpad) is a pointing device consisting of specialized surface that can
translate the motion and position of a user's fingers to a relative position on screen. They are a common
feature of laptop computers and are also used as a substitute for a computer mouse where desk space is
scarce.
xiv) 14 Light Pen: A light pen is similar to a mouse except that with a light pen one can move the pointer
and select objects on the display screen by directly pointing to the object with the help of the pen.
xv) Optical Mark Recognition (OMR): Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) is also called mark sensing. It is a
technology where an OMR device senses the presence or absence of a mark such as pencil mark. OMR is
used in test such as aptitude test.
B) Central Processing Unit (CPU): The CPU is the brain of any computer system; all major calculations
and comparisons are made inside the CPU and it is also responsible for activating and controlling the
operations of other units of a computer system. It guides, directs and controls a computer performance.
It also executes the instruction given to it. The CPU consists of the ALU, control unit, registers, and basic
I/O (and often other hardware closely linked with these). Early CPUs were composedconditional
statements and processing Boolean logic.
b) Control Unit: It acts as a manager which controls all activities being carried out within the computer.
The control unit strictly obeys the instruction given by us, follows the instruction in the same sequence
and executes them one after another until the entire set of instruction is exhausted. CU brings one
instruction at a time from the memory, interprets it and obeys it by coordinating the working of all other
units. The CU tells the input unit what is to be read and addresses the memory as to where it is to be
stored. The CU ensures that according to the stored instruction the right operation is done on the right
data at the right time. It manages and coordinates the entire computer system. The simplified
descriptions of the steps that are performed by the Control unit are given below. Some of these steps
may be performed concurrently or in a different order depending on the type of CPU
* Read the code for the next instruction from the cell indicated by the program counter (program
counter is conceptually just another set of memory cells, it can be changed by calculations done in the
ALU);
* Decode the numerical code for the instruction into a set of commands or signals for each of the other
systems;
* Increment the program counter so it points to the next instruction;
* Read whatever data the instruction requires from cells in memory (or perhaps from an input device).
The location of this required data is typically stored within the instruction code;
* Provide the necessary data to an ALU or register;
* If the instruction requires an ALU or specialized hardware to complete, instruct the hardware to
perform the requested operation;
* Write the result from the ALU back to a memory location or to a register or perhaps an output device
* Jump back to step one.
c) Memory Unit: It is the workspace area within the computer where the data and instructions are
stored. It holds all data, instruction and results temporarily. It stores the data to be processed, the
intermediate results and the final results until they are displayed. It contains the programs that are
currently being run and the data the programs are operating on. In modern computers, the main
memory is the electronic solid-state Random Access Memory (RAM). It is directly connected to the CPU
via a "memory bus" and a "data bus". The arithmetic and logic unit can very quickly transfer information
between a processor register and locations in main storage, also known as a "memory addresses". The
memory bus is also called an address bus or front side bus and both buses are high-speed digital
"superhighways". Access methods and speed are two of the fundamental technical differences between
memory and mass storage devices. Main memories are of the following types
i) Random Access Memory (RAM): It is the key working area of the memory. It is possible to select
randomly and use any location of this memory. It is also called the read/write memory because
information can be read from RAM chip and can also be written into it. It is a volatile storage medium
i.e. the contents of the memory are lost when power is switched off/cut, as it requires a steady flow of
electricity to maintain its content. RAM is also quite expensive. RAM may be of VRAM, WRAM, NVRAM.
ii) Read Only Memory (ROM): It holds permanent data or instruction that can only be read. That
information is permanently recorded and cannot be changed by the programmer. It is non volatile in
nature i.e. the contents of ROM are not lost when the computer is switched off. It contains instruction
to get the computer started when the switch is on, holds instruction and data that control the various
peripheral units of the computer such as graphic display, disk drives, etc. Most personal computers
contain a small amount of ROM that stores critical programmes, as it is expensive to produce. Typically,
ROM must also be completely erased before it can be rewritten, making large scale use impractical, if
not impossible. ROM may be of the following types-
* Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM): A PROM is a memory chip on which set of instructions or
information can be stored, but it cannot be modified or wiped out later on. Like ROM its memory is also
non volatile. To write data on a PROM one will need a special device called a PROM programmer or
PROM burner. The difference between a PROM and ROM is that PROM is manufactured as blank
memory where ROM is programmed during the manufacturing process.
* Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM): EPROM is used widely in personal computers
to enable the manufacturer to change the contents of PROM before the computer is actually skipped so
that the bugs can be removed and new versions can be installed shortly before delivery. The EPROM is
of two types - Electrically Erasable PROM (EEPROM), where high voltage electric pulses are used to erase
the previous data or instruction and after that the disk can be reused and Ultra Violet Erasable PROM
(UVEPROM), which retains its data or instruction until it is exposed to Ultra Violet light. The UV light
clears its contents making it possible to reprogramme the memory. The difference between an EPROM
and PROM is that while in PROM the data or instruction can be written only once and cannot be erased,
in EPROM the content can be erased and reprogramming can be done.

of many separate components but since the mid-1970s CPUs have typically been constructed on a
single integrated circuit called a microprocessor.
a) Arithematic and Logic Unit (ALU): The input devices are used to transfer the information into the
memory unit of a computer. Information from the memory can be transferred to the ALU where
comparison and calculation are done and the results are sent back to the memory unit. The set of
arithmetic operations that a particular ALU supports may be limited to adding and subtracting or might
include multiplying or dividing, trigonometry functions (sine, cosine, etc) and square roots. Some can
only operate on whole numbers (integers) whilst others use floating point to represent real numbers
with limited precision. An ALU may also compare numbers and return boolean truth values (true or
false) depending on whether one is equal to, greater than or less than the other. Logic operations
involve Boolean logic: AND, OR, and NOT. These can be useful both for creating complicated conditional
statements and processing Boolean logic.
b) Control Unit: It acts as a manager which controls all activities being carried out within the computer.
The control unit strictly obeys the instruction given by us, follows the instruction in the same sequence
and executes them one after another until the entire set of instruction is exhausted. CU brings one
instruction at a time from the memory, interprets it and obeys it by coordinating the working of all other
units. The CU tells the input unit what is to be read and addresses the memory as to where it is to be
stored. The CU ensures that according to the stored instruction the right operation is done on the right
data at the right time. It manages and coordinates the entire computer system. The simplified
descriptions of the steps that are performed by the Control unit are given below. Some of these steps
may be performed concurrently or in a different order depending on the type of CPU
* Read the code for the next instruction from the cell indicated by the program counter (program
counter is conceptually just another set of memory cells, it can be changed by calculations done in the
ALU);
* Decode the numerical code for the instruction into a set of commands or signals for each of the other
systems;
* Increment the program counter so it points to the next instruction;
* Read whatever data the instruction requires from cells in memory (or perhaps from an input device).
The location of this required data is typically stored within the instruction code;
* Provide the necessary data to an ALU or register;
* If the instruction requires an ALU or specialized hardware to complete, instruct the hardware to
perform the requested operation;
* Write the result from the ALU back to a memory location or to a register or perhaps an output device
* Jump back to step one.
c) Memory Unit: It is the workspace area within the computer where the data and instructions are
stored. It holds all data, instruction and results temporarily. It stores the data to be processed, the
intermediate results and the final results until they are displayed. It contains the programs that are
currently being run and the data the programs are operating on. In modern computers, the main
memory is the electronic solid-state Random Access Memory (RAM). It is directly connected to the CPU
via a "memory bus" and a "data bus". The arithmetic and logic unit can very quickly transfer information
between a processor register and locations in main storage, also known as a "memory addresses". The
memory bus is also called an address bus or front side bus and both buses are high-speed digital
"superhighways". Access methods and speed are two of the fundamental technical differences between
memory and mass storage devices. Main memories are of the following types
i) Random Access Memory (RAM): It is the key working area of the memory. It is possible to select
randomly and use any location of this memory. It is also called the read/write memory because
information can be read from RAM chip and can also be written into it. It is a volatile storage medium
i.e. the contents of the memory are lost when power is switched off/cut, as it requires a steady flow of
electricity to maintain its content. RAM is also quite expensive. RAM may be of VRAM, WRAM, NVRAM.
ii) Read Only Memory (ROM): It holds permanent data or instruction that can only be read. That
information is permanently recorded and cannot be changed by the programmer. It is non volatile in
nature i.e. the contents of ROM are not lost when the computer is switched off. It contains instruction
to get the computer started when the switch is on, holds instruction and data that control the various
peripheral units of the computer such as graphic display, disk drives, etc. Most personal computers
contain a small amount of ROM that stores critical programmes, as it is expensive to produce. Typically,
ROM must also be completely erased before it can be rewritten, making large scale use impractical, if
not impossible. ROM may be of the following types-
* Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM): A PROM is a memory chip on which set of instructions or
information can be stored, but it cannot be modified or wiped out later on. Like ROM its memory is also
non volatile. To write data on a PROM one will need a special device called a PROM programmer or
PROM burner. The difference between a PROM and ROM is that PROM is manufactured as blank
memory where ROM is programmed during the manufacturing process.
* Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM): EPROM is used widely in personal computers
to enable the manufacturer to change the contents of PROM before the computer is actually skipped so
that the bugs can be removed and new versions can be installed shortly before delivery. The EPROM is
of two types - Electrically Erasable PROM (EEPROM), where high voltage electric pulses are used to erase
the previous data or instruction and after that the disk can be reused and Ultra Violet Erasable PROM
(UVEPROM), which retains its data or instruction until it is exposed to Ultra Violet light. The UV light
clears its contents making it possible to reprogramme the memory. The difference between an EPROM
and PROM is that while in PROM the data or instruction can be written only once and cannot be erased,
in EPROM the content can be erased and reprogramming can be done.

iii) Flash Memory: Many modern PCs have their Basic Input Output System (BIOS) stored on flash
memory chip so that it can easily be updated if necessary. Such type of BIOS is sometimes called flash
BIOS. Flash memory is also important for modem as it enables the modem manufacturer to support new
protocols as they become standardized. EEPROM is similar to flash memory (sometimes called flash
EEPROM). The principal difference between the two is that EEPROM requires data to be written or
erased in byte at a time whereas flash memory allows data to be written or erased in blocks. This makes
flash memory faster.
iv) Cache Memory: It is a special type of internal memory used by many central processing units to
increase their performance or "throughput". Some of the information in the main memory is duplicated
in the cache memory, which is slightly slower but of much greater capacity than the processor registers,
and faster but much smaller than main memory. Multi-level cache memory is also commonly used
"primary cache" being smallest, fastest and closest to the processing device; "secondary cache" being
larger and slower, but still faster and much smaller than main memory.
C) Output Unit: An output device is any product or machine that is capable of bringing information for
user view. It presents the processed data or information to the user. It can be a printed page, a picture
in monitor, and so on. Anything which comes out of a computer system is the output of it. The common
output devices are-
a) Monitor [Video Display Unit (VDU) / Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)]: It looks like a television. The
advantage of having a video display unit is that as we write we can see what is being fed into the
computer and by this way we can spot the mistakes and make the necessary correction. It also helps to
display the stored information inside the computer system.
b) Liquid Crystal Display (LCD): CRT screens are relatively heavy and bulky, therefore unsuitable for
small portable computer like note book. Considering this the screen of a portable computer is effectively
replaced by a flat panel LCD screen which is smaller in size and lighter in weight.
c) Printer: A computer printer, or more commonly called the printer, is a device that produces a hard
copy (permanent human-readable text and/or graphics) of documents stored in electronic form, usually
on physical print media such as paper or transparencies. Many printers are primarily used as computer
peripherals, and are permanently attached by a printer cable to a computer which serves as a document
source. The latest technology is combining printers with a scanner and/or fax machine in a single unit.
The world's first computer printer was a 19th-century mechanically driven apparatus invented by
Charles Babbage for his Difference Engine.
d) Plotter: A plotter is a vector graphics printing device which operates by moving a pen over the surface
of paper. Plotters are used in applications such as computer-aided design, though they are being
replaced with wide-format conventional printers.
e) Speaker: Speaker output the music or speech from the programme. A speaker or loudspeaker
converts an electrical signal to sound. The speaker pushes a medium in accord with the pulsations of an
electrical signal, thus causing sound waves to propagate to where they can then be received by the ear.
f) Computer Output on Microfilm and Microfiche (COM): The output from the computer, instead of
being printed is displayed on a high resolution cathode ray tube, and the output is obtained in microfilm
or microfiche from which it is often used to store massive data in compact form. Then, when needed,
with the help of a special microfilm reader it is used to read the output.
g) Speech Output Unit: A speech output unit is one which reads string of character stored in a
computer memory and converts it into spoken sentence. This type of speech output is very useful in
many areas.
Examples: A telephone where a message is given to the caller when the number dialed does not exist,
railway and airlines enquires.
D) Auxiliary Storage Devices: Auxiliary memory / storage devices or secondary storage supplements the
main memory and it requires the computer to use its input/output channels to access the information.
Secondary storage is also known as mass storage devices. It functions as back up device even if by
some accident the computer is crashed and the data in it is unrecoverable. One can restore it from the
backups. It acts both as input and output devices. The secondary storage devices are also used as a
transport medium to transfer data or information from one computer system to another computer
system. If we use keyboard as an input device we will waste a lot of valuable computer times because
manual input is always slow. Secondary storage is also used for long-term storage of persistent
information. Secondary storage device includes Magnetic tapes, Floppy disc, CD / DVD, Pen drive,
External Hard Disc etc. The Floppy and Magnetic Tapes are now obsolete as secondary storage devices.
i) CD-ROM: CD-ROM is an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-only memory. The standard CD-ROM
holds 650 or 700 MiB of data. A "700 MB" CD has a nominal capacity of about 700 MiB. The CD-ROM is
popular for distribution of software, especially multimedia applications, and large databases.
ii) DVD: It typically may contain at least 4.4 GiB of data, nearly 7 times the amount of a CD-ROM. DVD
capacities are given in decimal units: A "4.7 GB" DVD has a nominal capacity of about 4.38 GiB.
iii) Pen Drive: A USB flash drive consists of a NAND-type flash memory data storage device integrated
with a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface. USB flash drives are typically removable and rewritable,
much smaller than a floppy disk, and most weigh less than an ounce (30 g). Storage capacities can range
from 64 MB to 256 GB with steady improvements in size and price per capacity. Some allow 1 million
write or erase cycles and have 10-year data retention, connected by USB 1.1 or USB 2.0.

2. Software: A computer cannot perform on its own. It needs to be exclusively instructed on what it has
to do, the programmes written for a computer to perform different operation are called software and it
can be defined as the set of computer programme, procedures and associated documentation or
complete set of instruction which enable the computer to obtain solution of a problem that resides in
the memory or storage device of a computer. (The programme is a set of instructions written in
computer language). Software is a general term that is used to describe only single programme or group
of programme and makes the hardware run. It acts as an interface between the user and the computer.
Computer softwares are generally classified into two broad categories:
A) System Software: It is a set of one or more programs, designed to control the operation of a
computer system. Generally, the system software supports the running of the other software,
communicates with other peripherals devices, supports the development of other types of software and
supervises the user of various hardware resources. System software is of the following types-
a) Operating System: An operating system (OS) is an integrated set of computer programmes that
manage the hardware and software resources and the overall operation of a computer system. The
operating system is designed to support the activities of computer installation. It acts as an interface
between a user and the hardware i.e. all computer resources. It forms a platform for other system
software and for application software. Its prime objectives are to improve the performance and
efficiency of a computer system, increase the facility and the ease with which a system can be used.
Most operating systems have a command line interpreter as a basic user interface, but they may also
provide a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for ease of operation. Operating systems are mainly of two
types-
i) Command / Character User Interface (CUI): In this type of OS the user has to type the commands at
the command prompt mode, which will act as an input to execute and program. E.g. UNIX, MS DOS.
ii) Graphic User Interface (GUI): In this type the user is able to select files, programmes or commands by
pointing to graphical representations on the screen and thereby it avoids the typing of lengthy complex
commands. E.g. Windows XP.
b) Language Processor: Men use their own language (High Level Language) to write their programmes
because it is much easier to code in such languages. However, the computer is unable to understand
such a High Level Language; it only understands its own language i.e. Machine Language (Binary
Language). Therefore, it becomes necessary to process a HLL to LLL. The computer programme that
performs this job is the language processor. The language processors are of the following types-
i) Assembler: In the 1950s to reduce programming complexity in Machine Language and to provide
some standardization, assembly languages were developed. Assembly language is also known as
Symbolic Language. Assembly language uses abbreviation or mnemonic code to replace the earlier 0s
and 1s of machine language. i.e. it substitutes letters and symbols for the numbers in the machine
language program. The function of an assembler is to translate an assembly code into the computer
machine code / language.
ii) Interpreter: This language processor converts a HLL program into machine language by converting
and executing it line by line. If there is any error in any line, it reports it at the same time and the
programme execution cannot resume until the error is rectified. For error debugging the interpreter is
very useful as it reports the errors at the same time, but, once errors are removed then also interpreter
is present in the memory. So, unnecessary usage of memory takes place in this case.
iii) Compiler: It converts the entire HLL program at one go and reports all the errors of the programme
along with the line numbers. After all the errors are removed, the programme is recompiled and after
that the compiler is not needed in the memory as the object programme is available.
B) Application Software: These are the programmes written by the programmers to enable the
computer to perform a specific task such as processing words, inventory control, handling calculation
and figures, medical accounting, financial accounting, result preparation, railway reservation, billing, etc.
It can be defined as a set of programmes necessary to carry out operation for a specified application.
Application software can further be subdivided into three categories-
a) Packages: The application softwares that are designed for the individual user, so that they can be
used in a manner that suits their needs and requirements are known as packages. Actually it is a bundle
of essential features for carrying out a particular task. There are different packages available in the
market. Some of the most common categories are given bellow-
i) Word Processing Software: It is the software that processes textual matter and creates organized and
flawless documents. It provides a general set of tools for entering, editing and formatting text. A word
processor has everything that a conventional type writer has; in addition, it also removes various
barriers of the conventional type writers. eg. M.S. Word, Wordstar, WordPerfect, Softword, etc.
ii) Spreadsheet: An electronic spreadsheet is a programme that accepts data values in tabular form and
allows the users to manipulate / calculate / analyze data in the desired manner. It can also generate
graphs and charts to show the relationship among numbers. Eg. MS Excel, Quattropro, etc.
iii) Database Management System: A DBMS is a software that can effectively store, manipulate and
handle bulk of data. Eg. Foxpro, MS Access, Oracle, etc.
iv) Desktop Publishing Software: Desktop publishing packages handle page layout by combining the
function of a traditional typesetter and a layout artist.
v) Graphics: The application software that manipulates images is known as graphics software.
vi) Multimedia: The software that incorporates images, text, sounds, animation, video sequences is
known as multimedia software.
vii) Presentation Software: The application software that concentrates on professional looking visual
aids is called presentation graphics software. Eg. Corel Draw, Macro Media, Director, MS. Power Point,
etc.
b) Utilities Software: Utility software (also known as service program, service routine, tool, or utility
routine) is a computer software designed to help, manage and tune the computer hardware, operating
system or application software by performing a single task or a small range of tasks. Some utility
softwares have been integrated into most major operating systems.
i) Text Editors: Text and Hex / Editors directly modify the text or data of a file. These files could be data
or an actual programme.
ii) Backup Utility: Backup utilities can make a copy of all the information stored on a disk, and restore
either the entire disk (e.g. in the event of disk failure) or selected files (e.g. in the event of accidental
deletion).
iii) Compression Utility: Disk compression utilities can transparently compress / uncompress the
contents of a disk, increasing the capacity of the disk.
iv) Disk Defragmenter: Disk defragmenters can detect computer files whose contents are stored on the
hard disk in disjointed fragments, and move the fragments together to increase efficiency.
v) Antivirus Software: Anti-virus utilities scan for computer viruses.
c) Customized Software: Customized software (also known as Bespoke software) is a type of software
that is developed either for a specific organization or function that differs from or is opposite of other
already available softwares (also called off-the-shelf or COTSsoftware). It is generally not targeted to the
mass market, but is usually created for companies, business entities, and organizations.
The trained computer professionals who, by their knowledge are able to run the computer and can
perform different operations are known as Humanware. They are the persons who programme, design
and operate a computer installation such as System Analyst, Programmer and computer operator.


Copyright Library

Copyright Library: A copyright library is a library that is instituted by certain legislative that acts in a
country. India has enacted copyright acts with certain stipulation such as the publishers must
compulsorily deposit a few copies of a book in the National Library, Kolkata, which is authorized to be a
copyright library.

Components of Information System: Information System consists of a number of organs or
components. These organs or components work in harmony to achieve the define purposes. The main
components of Information Systems are
i) Libraries
ii) Documentation Centres
iii) Information Centres
iv) Data Banks
v) Data Centres
vi) Information Analysis Centres
vii) Referral Centres
viii) Clearing Houses
ix) Translation Centres, etc.
1. Libraries: Libraries are by far the oldest institutions charged with the responsibility of collecting,
storing and disseminating of information. Library is a collection of books or other written or printed
materials, as well as the facility in which they are housed and served the reader within an institution
that is responsible for their maintenance. According to Ranganathan, the father of library science in
India a library is a public institution or establishment charged with the care of collection of books, the
duty of making them accessible to those who require the use of them and the task of converting every
person in its neighborhood into a habitual library goers and reader of books.
Libraries are established by the government, academic institutions or by some other special
organizations. Libraries can be grouped into three major divisions i.e Public (State Central Library,
District Library, Sub divisional Library, Rural Library), Academic (University Library, College Library),
School and Special (Libraries attached to industries, Doordarshan Kendra, All India Radio, etc).
a) Collections: In ancient day libraries gathered huge collection of manuscripts and preserved them
most efficiently for the posterity. Modern libraries may contain a wide range of materials, including
manuscripts and pamphlets, posters, photographs, motion pictures, and videotapes, sound recordings,
and computer databases in various forms.
b) Services: Libraries are the carriers of information from one generation to the next generation. Most
of the new technology based information businesses are still largely dependent on the library for their
survival which includes information broker, consultants, referral centre. In the days of IT also libraries
continue to serve millions of grateful users in new and improved ways and it is hoped that in neat future
also it will be the only affordable source of information.
The change in structure of libraries comes as an information system that consists of a number of organs
or components. These organs or components work in harmony to achieve the define purposes. It is
advantageous to discuss the changing role of library and information centers on the basis of such
information unit or change in structure of the libraries.
2. Documentation Centres: ASLIB adopted the definition of the term documentation for the Journal of
Documentation in 1945 as recording, organization and dissemination of specialized knowledge. Late
Dr. S. C. Bradford defines it as the art of documentation is the art of collecting, classifying and making
readily accessible the records of all kinds of intellectual activities.
a) Origin of Documentation Centres: Books were not able to communicate latest scientific thought as a
result importance of scientific periodicals had increased. With the acceleration of research scientific
periodicals gained further importance. Along with the scientific periodicals new kind of literature like
conference proceedings, annual reviews, patents, standards and specification, theses, secondary
periodicals like indexing and abstracting journals, directories, research reports, etc. started appearing in
big way. Further these paper based information sources are supplemented by CD, DVD, etc. As a result
libraries started acquiring all these materials along with books. To have a comprehensive term for all
these media of communication Documentation was brought into vogue. The reader for this kind of
new literature steadily increases but the nature of complexity of information sources led to the demand
of services that are outside the domain of traditional libraries and the traditional library techniques
were found to be unsuitable hence, a new breed of organization known as documentation centres
paved the way.
b) Services: Documentation centres find out new vistas in serving the need of the user. It gives emphasis
towards provision of information contained in document rather than serving the document themselves.
It analyses the content of the documentation in finer details, provide indexing, abstracting, union
catalogue, translation, etc. services to meet the need of the specialist users. Another basic function of
any documentation centres is that it brings to the notice of specialist user, current and recent literature
of value to them. Services of documentation centres are designed to satisfy the existing and anticipated
needs of its users. The main purposes served by these units are
- To answer the queries;
- To help in finding the primary document;
- To identify as accurately as possible all information of potential interest to users;
- To see that the user receive the information.
3. Information Centres: An information centre can be defined as an organization that
a) Select, acquire stores and retrieve specific information in response to requests.
b) Announces, abstract, extract and indexes information and
c) Disseminate information in response to requests from documents or in anticipation.
Meltzer defines the information centre as The Special library with added functions of analyzing and
synthesizing information needed by management, staff and the technical personnel of the
organization. Thus information centres gives emphasis towards the provision of information contained
in the document rather than document themselves which is the main consideration of traditional
libraries.
A library handles and provides address of a document containing information but an information centre
gives information that is inside the document and also processes and disseminates it. The information
centre differs from the library in following main areas
i) Degree of delegation by the user i.e. the task of searching and evaluating information is dome by the
staff
ii) Exercise of judgment and evaluation as to the importance of the retrieved material in relation to the
clients request
iii) The giving of information itself rather than document.
iv) The processing of search input into a variety of search products
v) Provides information to not only user of parent organization but also outside the organization too.
vi) Not only acquire, process, store and retrieve information (the library function) but also reduce
analyse and present information / data.
4. Data Banks: Data Banks are usually concerned with a broader field. They are very precise grids to
extract the raw data from data collection and the relevant literature which they arrange in structured
files so as to be ready for subsequent processing to answer user queries. The essential characteristic of
data bank is storing information in a form (so data should be in a machine readable files i.e. for storing
and retrieving of data computer should be used) which will allow continuous updating, augmentation
and approach from different points of view and which has the capacity of supporting simultaneously a
number of user at remote locations. To use the analogy of a bank, a user can deposit or withdraw from
several branches.
Satmana defines a data bank as an open information system with sets of data known as files. It is
composed of the following elements
i) The basic files known as data base.
ii) A filing system that makes to integrate data from different files, relative to the same entities
iii) A data processing system that allows users to extract relevant information from the files adopted to
their needs and in a form suited to their decision pattern.
Data centre and data banks are dissimilar only regarding the subjects they deals and type of data they
handle. Simply stated data centres handle only numerical data and mostly for science and technology.
Data banks are multidisciplinary and deal with all types of data particularly administrative, statistical,
techno-economics, census and survey, and similar other that are produced by several institutions. Data
banks handle data only while data centres handle data themselves or literature about data.
5. Data Centres: According to UNESCO a data centre constitutes an organization handling quantitative
numerical data Such centers take the primary function of collecting, organizing, and disseminating data
(mainly numerical) and also provide a measurement service and are in a position to advance relevant
measurement techniques. They store data on a narrow field of specification. Data centres try to collect
arrange and store numerical data pertaining to a specific subject field or to answer specific queries. Data
centre activities are anticipatory operations planned keeping in view the requirements of its user. It also
checks systematically all available data and organizes them into a number of categories for the purpose
of showing the current state of knowledge together with comments on the precision or reliability of the
data in regard to the various aspects of a product or phenomena. It may be stated here that the
activities of a data centre may comprise of the following
i) Data Collection
ii) Data Control
iii) Data Codification
iv) Data Organization ans structuring into a database
v) Data Retrieval
Example of data centre include National Data Centre for Crystallography, University of Madras, India.
6. Information Analysis Centres: The COSATI standing panel wrote the following comprehensive
definition of Information Analysis Centre (IAC) An information analysis centre is a formally structured
organizational unit, specifically (but not necessarily exclusively) established for the purpose of acquiring,
selecting, storing, retrieving, evaluating, analyzing an synthesizing a body of information and / or data in
a clearly defined specialized field or pertaining to a specified mission with intent of compiling, digesting,
repackaging or otherwise organizing and presenting pertinent information and / or data in a form most
authoritative, timely and useful to a society of peers and management.
The key activities of IAC s are analysis, interpretation, synthesis, evaluation and repackaging of
information carried out by subject specialists, resulting in the production of new, evaluated information
in the form of critical reviews, state of art, monographs or data compilation as well as substantive,
evaluated responses to queries for the purpose of assisting a community of users more broadly
representative than the staff of the parent institutes of laboratories.
These centres have to closely monitor the literature produced in the field, evaluate the utility of each
piece of information so gathered and the information are communicate to the users in a directly usable
form. The results of analysis are communicated either through a regular publication or by way of
sporadic reports. It is very much essential that these centres should verify the information so gathered
with regard to the validity, reliability and accuracy before dissemination.
7. Referral Centres: These do not provide the user with the documents. Instead it refers or directs them
to the source from where they can get the data or the documents. Mostly to secondary publication,
information centres, professional organizations, research institutions, clearing houses and individual
scientist, etc. They maintain files of sources, directories, etc. The referral centre may even bring out such
documents. So, in simple referral centre provide switching mechanism among different types of
information institutions. The referral service may be one of the activities of a documentation centre and
it is difficult to find units performing this function exclusively. To achieve its objectives a referral centre
has to perform certain basic operations. These includes
i) A referral centre possesses an inventory of all significant information resources in different disciplines.
ii) It compiles and publishes directories of scientific and technical information resources.
iii) It analyzes the operating relationships that exist in the scientific information.
The function of referral centres includes
i) Collect information about information sources within the range of scope of either the subject or
activity of the referral centre.
ii) Prepares comprehensive inventory of types of information services available from these sources with
a detailed subject index to facilitate access.
iii) Functions as an intermediary between inquirers and the organization or individuals who possess
specialized information of the subject of enquiry;
iv) Guides users to appropriate sources where from the required information may be obtaining.
The Examples of referral center includes
a) British Library Lending Division (BLLD), UK.
b) National Referral Centre, Library of Congress.
8. Clearing Houses: A clearing house is a central agency for collection, classification and distribution of
information. It may include specialized information centres as well as conventional libraries. It
represents a depository for document with the additional objectives of servicing as a central agency
engaged in the distribution of information. It also includes such functions as collecting and maintaining
records of research and development.
Clearing houses provide a single point of access to documents originating from a number of sources
from different places, in different languages. The producers of the documents inform the clearing house
about the bibliographical details of the document and usually send them a copy. The clearing houses
circulate the description of the documents to the organization that are interested in the field and to the
participating organizations. They may provide a copy of these documents as well on request if available.
These units are organized either on a cooperative basis or by an international or national agency.
Most of the clearing houses have specialized as well as they developed collections. They have
information gathering network to acquire documents in their subject areas. They also provide
specialized information services in some selected areas. They answer specific and general type of
questions and may act as central searching places for enquiry especially for research and development
areas.
The difference between a documentation center and a clearing house is that the documentation
centre deals with conventional documents, whereas the clearing house deals with the non-conventional
documents like conference proceedings, scientific reports, document of limited circulation, etc.
9. Translation Centres: In modern times in any discipline literature are published in many languages as a
result, scientist in need of particular information find it difficult to be able to understand the contents of
the documents. To solve the problem, some national and international level organization comes forward
to help the scientist in this regard. They translate the content of the documents from one language to
another to meet the needs of the user. In the field of science and technology following centre provides
translation services.
a) National Translation Centre, Chicago, America
b) International Translation Centre, Delft, Netherlands
c) British Library Lending Division, Boston
10. Data Consolidation and Evaluation Centre: It is an advance form of information units which check
systematically all available data and organize them into a number of categories for the purpose of
showing the current state of knowledge together with comments on the precision or reliability of the
data in regard to the various aspects of a product or phenomenon.
11. Let Us Sum Up: In practical life each of the information unit performs more or less the same
function, at least to a certain extent making it difficult to make a distinction between different
components of information system. So it will not be correct to go by the name of the information unit.
However Claire Guinchat and Michel Menou say that the most important criterion for distinguishing the
information unit is the kind of information activity (or the primary function) they perform.

Computer
Computer: The industrial machine eliminates muscular effort from production; just like that the
computing machine eliminates clerical and computational effort from administration, research, etc. The
word computer is derived from the word compute, which means to calculate. It is an electronic
device that can perform a variety of operations according to a set of instructions called program. It is a
device that receives, processes and presents information (McGraw Hill, 1997, p. 270). A computer is a
device that solves problems by applying prescribed operation on data entered into it. (Encyclopaedia
Britannica, 1991, p. 638). A computer can also be defined as a set of interacting elements, responding
to input so as to produce desire output.
A computer is a machine that manipulates data according to a set of instructions. The first use of the
word "computer" was recorded in 1613, referring to a person who carried out calculations, or
computations, and the word continued to be used in that sense until the middle of the 20th century.
From the end of the 19th century onwards though, the word began to take on its more familiar
meaning, describing a machine that carries out computations.
Nearly all modern computers implement some form of the stored program architecture, making it the
single trait by which the word "computer" is now defined. By this standard, many earlier devices would
no longer be called computers by today's definition, but are usually referred to as such in their historical
context. The technologies used in computers have changed dramatically since the first electronic,
general-purpose computers of the 1940s, but most still use the Von Neumann architecture. The design
made the universal computer a practical reality.
Vacuum tube-based computers were in use throughout the 1950s. Vacuum tubes were largely replaced
in the 1960s by transistor-based computers. When compared with tubes, transistors are smaller, faster,
cheaper, use less power, and are more reliable. In the 1970s, integrated circuit technology and the
subsequent creation of microprocessors, such as the Intel 4004, caused another generation of
decreased size and cost, and another generation of increased speed and reliability. By the 1980s,
computers became sufficiently small and cheap to replace simple mechanical controls in domestic
appliances such as washing machines. The 1980s also witnessed home computers and the now
ubiquitous personal computer. With the evolution of the Internet, personal computers are becoming as
common as the television and the telephone in the household.
Experts dont agree on computer classification because computer technology is changing so fast that
within the span of a month, when a new system comes out, it is faced with two potential factors- one
costs the same and has a much higher performance and the other has the same performance but costs
much less. Thus, a recently introduced smaller system can outcome (outperform) the large model of a
few years ago and a new PC can do the work of an earlier mini at a much lower cost.
This is the Computer Age and these machines are beginning to affect our lives in many ways. There are
so many applications of computers. The computer era appears before us with the promise of new and
improved ways of thinking, living and working. Computers are all around us and avoiding them is
virtually impossible. We have been exposed to the world of computer hype, computer advertisements
and computer headlines. We interact with computers in our daily lives - whether we are at the cinemas,
the school, or the public library.

Computer Storage


Computer Storage: The fundamental components of a general-purpose computer are Input
Unit, Central Processing Unit (CPU) and Output Unit. The CPU consists of Arithmetic and
Logic Unit (ALU), Control Unit and Memory. If memory is removed, the device we had would
be a simple digital signal processing device (e.g. calculator, media player) instead of a computer.
Computer storage, computer memory, and often casually memory refer to computer
components, devices and recording media that retain digital data, to be used for computing at some
interval of time. It is one of the fundamental components of all modern computers, and coupled with a
CPU. Some of the commonly associated terminologies related to computer storage are discussed below
a) Memory Unit: Memory is the work space area of a computer system where data and instructions are
stored. Text, numbers, pictures, audio, and nearly any other form of information can be converted into
a binary digits i.e. 1 or 0 and a digital computer can understand information only in terms of 0s and
1s.
i) Bit: A binary digit i.e. 0s and 1s is called a bit and it can be define as an electronic signal, which is
either On 1 or Off 0. It is also the smallest unit of information the computer uses.
ii) Byte: A group of 8 bits is called a byte. There can be 256 different combinations possible in Byte (8
bit) and each character typed consumes one byte. The most common unit of storage is the byte.
Bit = 0 and 1.
1 Byte = 8 bits = 1 character.
1024 Byte= 1 Kilo Byte
1024 Kilo Byte= 1 Mega Byte.
1024 Mega Byte= 1 Giga Byte, and so on.
b) Storage Capacity: It is the total amount of stored information that a storage device or medium can
hold. It is expressed as a quantity of bits or bytes (e.g. 750 megabytes).
c) Storage Density: It refers to the compactness of stored information. It is the storage capacity of a
medium divided with a unit of length, area or volume (e.g. 1.2 megabytes per square centimeter).
d) Latency: It is the time needed to access a particular location in storage. The relevant unit of
measurement is typically nanosecond for primary storage, millisecond for secondary storage, and
second for tertiary storage. It may make sense to separate read latency and write latency, and in case of
sequential access storage, minimum, maximum and average latency.
e) Throughput: It is the rate at which information can read from or written to the storage. In computer
storage, throughput is usually expressed in terms of megabytes per second or MB/s, though bit rate
may also be used. As in the case of latency, read rate and write rate may also be differ in throughput.
f) Word length: The number of bits that a computer can process at a time in parallel is called its word
length. It is nothing but the measure of the computing power of a computer. Commonly used word
lengths are 8, 16, 32 or 64 bits.

1. Storage Media: Various forms of storage, based on various natural phenomena, have been invented.
So far, no practical universal storage medium exists, and all forms of storage have some drawbacks.
Therefore a computer system usually contains several kinds of storage, each with an individual need
and purpose.
A) Types of Storage Media Based on Memory Hierarchy and Distance from CPU: Based on memory
hierarchy, or distance from the central processing unit the memory or computer storage can be
categorize as primary, secondary, tertiary and network storage.
a) Primary Storage: Primary storage or internal memory is directly connected to the central processing
unit of the computer. It is used to store data that is likely to be in active use and is typically very fast, as
in the case of RAM. It is present for the CPU to function correctly. Primary storage can be accessed
randomly, that is, accessing any location in storage at any moment takes the same amount of time. A


Concepts Related to Software Packages


Concepts Related to Software Packages: Open-source software is computer software whose source
code is available under a licence that permits the users to study, change, and improve the software, and
to redistribute it in modified or unmodified form.
When we talk about the software packages especially Open Sources Software, we will come across
some concepts or terminologies or term. Some of such popular concept or terminologies are discussed
below-
a) Open Archives Initiative (OAI): The Open Archives Initiative (OAI) is an attempt to build a low-barrier
interoperability framework for archives or institutional repositories containing digital content. It allows
service providers to harvest metadata from the data providers. The collected metadata thus obtained is
used to provide "value-added services". More: http://www.openarchives.org/
b) Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH): It is a protocol developed by
the Open Archives Initiative. It is used to harvest (or collect) the metadata descriptions of the records in
an archive so that services can be built using metadata from many archives. A number of software
systems support the OAI-PMH, including GNU EPrints from the University of Southampton and DSpace
from MIT. The OAI Protocol has been widely adopted by many digital libraries, institutional repositories,
and digital archives. Commercial search engines have started using OAI-PMH to acquire more
resources. Google has started to accept OAI-PMH as part of their Sitemap Protocol, and they are using
OAI-PMH to harvest information from the National Library of Australia Digital Object Repository. In
2004, Yahoo! acquired content from OAIster (University of Michigan) that was obtained through
metadata harvesting with OAI-PMH. The mod_oai project is using OAI-PMH to expose content to web
crawlers that is accessible from Apache Web servers. A number of large archives support the protocol
including arXiv and the CERN Document Server.
c) Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR): OpenDOAR is an authoritative directory of
academic open access repositories. It provides the facility to search for repositories or search
repository contents. It also provides tools and support to both repository administrators and service
providers in sharing the best practice and improving the quality of the repository infrastructure.
Website: http://www.opendoar.org/
d) Richard Matthew Stallman: Richard Matthew Stallman often abbreviated as rms
(http://stallman.org/) is an American software freedom activist and computer programmer. In
September 1983, he launched the GNU Project (http://www.gnu.org/gnu/initial-announcement.html)
to create a free Unix-like operating system. In October 1985 he founded the Free Software Foundation
(FSF). Stallman pioneered the concept of copyleft and he is the main author of several copyleft licences
including the GNU General Public Licence, the most widely used free software licence.
e) Application Programming Interface (API): An Application Programming Interface (API) is an interface
implemented by a software programme which enables it to interact with other software. It facilitates
interaction between different software programmes similar to the way the user interface facilitates
interaction between humans and computers. An API is implemented by applications, libraries, and
operating systems to determine their vocabularies and calling conventions, and is used to access their
services.
f) The Digital Library Federation (DLF): The Digital Library Federation (DLF) is an international
consortium of libraries and related agencies that are pioneering the use of electronic-information
technologies to extend collections and services. Since its formation in 1995, DLF has made a number of
significant contributions to the academic library and library services vendor communities. Website:

Content Management System (CMS): A Content Management System (CMS) is a computer application
used to create, edit, manage, search and publish various kinds of digital media and electronic text.
CMSs are frequently used for storing, controlling, versioning, and publishing industry-specific
documentation such as news articles, operators' manuals, technical manuals, sales guides, and
marketing brochures. A CMS may support the following features-
a) Identification of all key users and their content management roles;
b) Ability to assign roles and responsibilities to different content categories or types;
c) Definition of workflow tasks for collaborative creation, often coupled with event messaging so that
content managers are alerted to changes in content (for example, a content creator submits a story,
which is published only after the copy editor revises it and the editor-in-chief approves it.);
d) Ability to track and manage multiple versions of a single instance of content;
e) Ability to capture the content (e.g. scanning);
f) Ability to publish the content to a repository to support access to the content through different
search and retrieval techniques;
Besides the above, a CMS may also have the following provisions:
g) Communication application such as video conferencing;
h) Administration components such as whiteboards for brainstorming, appointment scheduling, project
management, etc.
A CMS has the following advantages over other paper based information sources
a) Reduction of paper handling and error-prone manual processes;
b) Reduction of paper storage;
c) Reduction of lost documents;
d) Faster access to information;
e) Online access to information that was formerly available only on paper, microfilm, or microfiche;
f) Improved control over documents and document-oriented processes;
f) Streamlining of time-consuming business processes;
g) Security over document access and modification;
h) Providing reliable and accurate audit trail;
i) Improved tracking and monitoring, with the ability to identify bottlenecks and modifying the system
to improve efficiency.
In the following paragraphs a few widely used CMS are discussed in brief.
a) Drupal: Drupal is a free and open source content management system (CMS) written in PHP and
distributed under the GNU General Public License. The Drupal contains basic features common to most


Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Consortium


Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Consortium: The Council of Scientific
and Industrial Research (CSIR) in India has 40 scientific laboratories involved in basic and
applied research in various disciplines. Many of the laboratories have well equipped libraries,
and some of them act as the main information centers in different subjects functioning as
consultant libraries at the national level. Access to electronic journals through the use of state-
of-the art technology is possible in many of the libraries belonging to these laboratories. Each of
the laboratories have a well established library or documentation centre that is also backed up
with strategic information support from the National Institute of Science Communication and
Information Resource (NISCAIR), a constituent establishment of CSIR formed with the merger
of INSDOC and (NISCOM).
To augment CSIR research and development activities, NISCAIR implemented agency for the
process of providing access to globally available Electronic Journals to entire S & T staff
of CSIR and its constituent units through a consortia approach. As a first step, in recent
past NISCAIR on behalf of CSIR has entered into an agreement with M/s. Elsevier
Science to access its odd 1,500 e-journals and further intends to strengthen its
information resource base by subscribing e-access of more and more journals published
globally. CSIR consortium extended its access by creating appropriate agreements on
consortium basis with the other providers of E-journals.

Criteria for Selection and Evaluation of Library Software Packages


Criteria for Selection and Evaluation of Library Software Packages: In any endeavour in which we make
a substantial investment of money, energy, and time or other resources, we like to know what kind of
return we are getting. The ability to evaluate the return on our investment gives us the basis on which
to choose between alternatives. So an evaluation is basically a judgment of worth, it is a matter of
comparison of actual result with external standard, in the light of existing institutional realities which
may be relevant to evaluating the future trajectory of the programme or services and provide an
objective basis for decision making. Like any evaluative process, library software evaluation is also quite
a difficult task. It mainly involves four basic aspects i.e.
a) Whether software will be commercial;
b) In-house developed software packages;
c) Freeware
d) Open Source Software
In case of commercial software, it will cost a huge investment. In case of In-house developed software
packages, it will consume much of the library budget, time from the library staff (in the form of
constant evaluation and modification to the library software packages to become stable) and create
problem in retrospective conversion. In case of freeware, there is a problem with technical support. But
the Open Source Software has not any major disadvantages, if it has a online community for technical
support. But in all cases, we have to consider the following procedure, features and aids to evaluate the
software package.
A) Preliminary Steps
a) Consulting Others: No one wants chosen software to stop unexpectedly, slow down on large
network, report error message. So, before making a choice, it will be better to consult a person who has
already used the software in the same way or consult people who have already gained experience on
that software package.
b) Reputation of the Referrer: The reputation of a person or the institution, his/her/its experience on
that particular software is the next point to be considered. The relation between the evaluator and the
referrer should also be justified at this point.
c) Existing Literature: It is better to go for the software after carefully examining the existing literature
and documentation on the particular software packages.
B) Manufacturers and Vendor
a) Reputation of the Manufacturer and Vendor: What is the reputation of the software vendor or
manufacturer in the market or for how long they are working in the field is the next important thing to
consider.
b) Training: Does the company or authority of the particular software provide training? Where and how
the training is conducted, whether it is online, onsite? It is another point to be considered.
c) Documentation / Manual: Is training accompanied by easy-to-follow supporting print material or
manual. How good the manual is? It is also an important point to consider.
d) Updating: Does the library automation system company from their own website help to install,