15 Management of Reference and Information Services in Special and Research Libraries

Dr Meghna Dhar

1. INTRODUCTION

 

The supreme and the ultimate function of Special & Research library is Reference and Information Service as it exists to serve the needs of special clientele which are highly specialized in nature. The main objective of Library and Information Professionals is to enable the users to understand where the recorded information exists and to help them by providing right information to right user at right time. JamesWyer, defined term reference service as “that part of library administration which deals with the assistance given to the readers in their use of the resources of the library”. Wyer further stated that “it is a direct or sympathetic and informed personal aid in interpreting library collection for study and research. The prime aim of the library is to promote the use of reading material contained in it. General techniques like open access system, classification of documents and their arrangement on shelves in a helpful sequence, use of card catalogue and OPAC, RFIDsystem, book drop system etc., are all indirect forms of assistance given to thereaders by the Reference Librarians. According to D.J.Foskett, reference service is currently humanism in practice because the aim is to help people, in one way or other, to secure great happiness through the possession of knowledge.According to Margaret Hutchins “reference service includes the direct, personal aid within a library to persons in search of information for whatever purpose and also various library activities especially aimed at making information as easily available as possible. Samuel Rothstein defines reference service as “the personal assistance given by the libraries to individual readers in pursuit of information. Dr. S.R. Ranganathan defines reference service as “the process of establishing contact between right reader and the right book at the right time and in a personal way.” He has further stated that reference service is a personal service to each reader in helping him to find the documents answering his interest at the moment pin-pointedly, exhaustively and expeditiously, there by converting them into habitual users.

Thus, the term reference service may be classified broadly as:-

(a)  assistance to readers in making them acquainted with the reference tools of the library,

(b)  instruction to readers in the most effective methods of using library materials and rendering personalized service to readers by interview and queries, and preparation of bibliographies etc.

A special and research library is the one which is specializing in a particular subject or group of subjects or a particular form of documents. It has to offer specialized services to its specialized users. Reference section is the image building section of R&T library. The image of the library regarding its service depends upon the reference service provided in the reference section .The users are engaged in research work of the institution with which the library is concerned. They work under great time pressure, so they require specialized information service. The users of Special & Research library are rarely given any instruction regarding the use of literature sources. Moreover lots of preparations are required by the reference staff to provide adequate and exact information to the user of Special & Research library.

The purpose of reference work in Special & Research libraries is to bring together the reading materials and the readers so that the latter lay their hands upon the requisite reading in an effective manner. The organization of the Reference Section of a library has evolved from the efforts of the librarian to help readers in finding books for reading and finding facts for information. In case of Special & Research libraries, there is a separate reference section with a number of persons on its staff. The quality of reference service greatly depends upon proper organization of a reference section. The internal organization of reference department depends upon the total space available for the reference section. The organization should be such that each staff member gets sufficient space to work, consult the required reference books, organize the records and get sufficient space to place various reference tools.

 

2. Equipment Required For Reference Section

 

The following equipment should be made available in the reference section:-

(i)  Reference desk,

(ii)   Telephone for receiving the enquires and maintaining internal exchanges with other section of the library.

(iii)  Vertical files for maintenances of press and clippings, pamphlets etc.

(iv)  Computer terminals for online search.

(v)  Cupboard for keeping records.

(vi)  Reprographic machine.

(v) Few spare titles and book-racks of small size to organize exhibitions and displays on important occasions.

(vi) Audio-visual equipment.

(vii) Card cabinets to maintain the records of different inquires, record of unanswered questions and the record of those questions the information for which was located with great difficulty and after long search. 

(viii) Stands for dictionaries and maps.

(ix) Separate tables for all the staff members and enough space for work.

(x)  Constantly required reference sources placed on Reference desk

(xi) Various standard tools for selection of books, periodicals and other special material should be kept readily available.

3. Reference Tools and Their Organization

 

For providing quick and standard reference service a proper reference section should be set up. Reference tools can be categorized into four parts:-

 

3.1 Fact Finding Tools

 

As far as fact finding tools are concerned they are organized near the reference desk. Fact finding tools contain factual information. These tools are Scientific and Technical dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories, handbooks, manuals, gazetteers, statistical tables, bibliographies, telephone directories etc. The latest editions of these fact finding tools are organized near the reference desk while the old editions of such collection are sent to the general stock of reference collection.

 

3.2 Literature Searching Tools

 

Literature searching tools are very important in research and technical libraries. They are arranged in a separate sequence in the reference section so that users as well as staff may get it immediately whenever they require.

 

3.3 General Reference Tools

 

General reference works include encyclopedias, dictionaries, yearbooks etc., they are placed in the stack area were reference collection is organized.

 

3.4    Reports, Pamphlets, Newspaper Cuttings

 

The reports, pamphlets, newspaper cuttings etc. are the tools internally generated by the reference section. They are usually placed near the reference desk because these tools may satisfy specific queries.The reference collection should be arranged in a classified manner that is reference collections pertaining to Science and Technology should be separately arranged from the collection of Social-Sciences and Humanities. Recent trends demand further division of reference collection into subdivisions such as physical sciences, biological sciences, education, management etc. Along with the reference collections at a particular subject area, bibliographic publications, indexing and abstracting tools and general collections are also arranged but in a separate order.

4. Selection and Acquisition of Reference Material in Special & Research Libraries

 

In Special & Research libraries, a great variety of material is needed. Books are often the least important part of a Special & Research library collection. The books in various fields of Science soon become outdated and their research value diminishes. Periodicals and technical reports, patents, standards, proceedings, reviews in professional journals etc. are the most important part of the collection in Special & Research library.

 

For acquisition of material, theLibrarian must know the demands of various groups of users. He should know the research projects in hand and should attend policy, planning and review meetings to know the present and future programmes of the organization. He must keep himself abreast with the annual reports, research reports, and progress reports in respect of various projects of the organization. He should also be familiar with the various publications. Some collections inter-related fields should also be built up. It is better to acquire the material direct from publisher to avoid delay. Anyhow, the documents must relate to the core interest of the organization, and all the material needed to answer the enquiries should be purchased.

 

5. How to Study Reference Works

 

In order to study reference works the following points should be kept in mind:-

(i)  First of all examine a reference publication, study the title page, carefully to find out the scope of the work as indicated in the title, the author‟s name, the author‟s background(qualifications, positions held, titles of earlier works), the publisher and the date of publication.

(ii)     Read the preface or introduction for further information about the scope of the work, special features, limitations if any, and comparison with other publications on the subject.

(iii)  Examine the publication by its arrangement, the types of entries, information on the use of cross references, any supplementary lists, indexes and the quality and kind of articles, noting whether they are popular or scientific, signed or unsigned and whether bibliographical reference are included.

(iv)   Finally compare the publication with earlier editions and check whether this edition supersedes earlier editions or should be used in conjunction with earlier editions.

5.1 Different Types of Reference Queries Anticipated from Users of R&T Library

 

Reference queries may be classified according to the nature of the information requested. Generally queries are divided into four, general categories, namely, directional, fact or ready reference, specific search and long range search.

 

5.1.1 Directional Type of Questions

 

In directional type of question, a user only needs to be directed. He may ask, Where is the periodical section? Where is the acquisition section? Where are newspapers? Where are dictionaries? Where are encyclopaedias? Where are general – books? Where are indexes and abstracts? Where is the Catalogue? And so on.

   5.1.2. Factual or Ready Reference Type of Questions

 

Ready Reference Service is more or less fact finding service. Normally, sources of information used for fact finding consists of reference books of different types. These include encyclopedias, dictionaries geographical dictionaries, biographical dictionaries, yearbooks etc. In fact type of questions, the answer can be found readily. The reference librarian would be able to find the answers from reference books placed on the reference desk. In routine the following questions are asked from reference librarian:-(a) Geographical queries,(b) Historical Facts ,(c) Statistical data (d) About Universities and their Courses. It may take only few minutes to locate a formula, a publication date, address, a physical constant etc. For example:-

 

(a) Which vitamin we need to build bones?

(b)   Name of Scientist who invented ball point pen?

(c)  What is Density of Silver?

(d) What is Chemical formula of Carbon?

(e)  Name of National Laboratories in India?

(f)   Who won noble prize in Physics in 2013?

(g)   What is the Address of American Chemical Society?

(h)   Which is the smallest planet?

 

There are the typical ready-reference or date queries which require only a single, usually uncomplicated straight forward answer. The requested information is normally found without difficulty in standard reference works, ranging from encyclopedias to almanacs and indexes. Many of these may be accessed through Internet.

 

5.1.3. Specific Type of Questions

 

In questions requiring specific search, one may be required to find limited amount of information on the topic, involving search into number of sources of information. The queries may be as:-

(a) Importance of Vitamin – C

(b) Short description of natural waste management.

(c) How are volcanoes formed?

(d) What is surface tension?

(e) How can we protect nature?

(f) Why is water essential for life?

(g)Meaning of micro-light?

   5.1.4. Long Range Type of Questions

 

Long range reference service is a special feature of special and research library where all the readers are specialists .They require intensive assistance in their research work. The reference librarian will carry out literature search for them on demand or in anticipation of demand. The researchers have to be kept informed about the latest developments and publications in their subjects of specialization through Current Awareness Service (CAS) or SDI Service. The special library for this purpose will provide various facilities such as reprography, translation and Inter-Library Loan services. The Long Range search query would be the one, which cannot be answered from one or two sources. It would require the use of many specialized sources of information. One may have to consult periodical articles, manuscripts, pamphlets, unpublished documents, books etc.

 

For example:-

(a)  Meteorological record of Jammu &Kashmir State since 1996.

(b)  Flora and Fauna of Gujarat.

(c)   History of Zoology, Library Science and Biochemistry.

(d)  Description of water, air and noise pollution.

(e)  Current developments in the manufacturing of motor-bikes.

Given below are some of the reference queries and types of reference sources:

 

 

6 . Reference Staff and Its Qualities

 

It has been stated that a good reference librarians are born and not made. The image of the Special & Research library greatly depends upon the quality of reference service. For this purpose competent and qualified reference staff is extremely important.

Reference staff in Special & Research library must possess some basic qualifications matching the area of the interest of the institution with which the library is concerned. The reference librarian appointed should be well qualified and efficient. He should possess the following qualities:-

  • He/She should be a scholar possessing encyclopedic mind, retentive memory, judgment and quick decision making.
  • He/She should have thorough knowledge of the collection of the library especially reference sources.
  • He/She should be well-informed and should keep himself up-to date regarding the latest developments.
  • He/She should possess adequate knowledge of online reference sources.
  • He/She should have adequate knowledge about the electronic sources that is e-books e-journals,e-newspapers and e-magazines.
  • He/She should not only be an expert in human relation work but should have good manners and sympathetic approach towards his readers.
  • He/She have the ability to systematize knowledge.
  • He/She should be able to understand the needs of the users.
  • He/She must be able to search for the answers quickly and efficiently. He must have the knowledge of classification and cataloguing for easy location of material.
  • He/She should be well informed in his own specific field of knowledge.
  • He/She should not be bookish, but scholarly, not superficial, but informed.
  • He /She should be courageous and self –confident.
  • He/ she should have through knowledge of the collections of library especially the reference sources pertaining to research and technical libraries.
  • He/She must be in the habit of reading latest literature of the subject for which services are to be organized.
  • He/She should be able to translate various languages.

Apart from having a good educational background and good professional degree, he should be able to adapt himself to new techniques. The reference librarian must supervise the reference staff for organizing proper reference service. The experience makes a reference librarian perfect. A good memory and an encyclopaedic mind plays a vital role in making reference service a success. The experience grows with time and with the result reference service is rendered efficiently. Reference staff is assigned with the duties of preparation of bibliographies, abstracts, indexes, management of ILL, translation facility, book display, exhibition etc. Thus, organization of reference staff involves acquisition of proper reference collection and appointment of well qualified reference staff with sufficient with subject specialization.

 

7. Services of Reference Section in Special & Research Libraries.

 

In order to make reference service successful, various types of information services have to be introduced in the reference section of Special & Research libraries :-

 

7.1. Information Services

 

A good number of reference and information enquiries are received by Special & Research libraries from time to time. The range of these enquires is also usually very large, from generic to specific. There may be fact-finding questions, the answers to which are normally available in ready reference sources. Normally a large majority of reference and information questions received at the reference desk can be answered through ready reference tools such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories, handbooks and manuals, atlases and gazetteers, indexes and bibliographies etc. The main function of Special & Research library is to make information available. In the Special & Research library which has been particularly established for the research and development wings of various industrial and technical organizations, the information at the right time is of vital importance. It could advance the economic growth, thereby enhancing the economic resources, could result in better production and greater output. Lack of vital piece of information can result in various delays in the completion of the projects in hands, resulting in financial loss of the organization.

 

7.2. Bibliographical and Documentation Services

 

Bibliographies and documentation lists are the basic instruments of research. While organizing reference and information services in a modern Special & Research library, the provision of bibliographical and documentation services should also be made available. Documentation services may include the following:-

(i)  Monthly list of Additions.

(ii)  Documentation List of Contents.

(iii)  Various unioncatalogues, reading lists, documentation list, subject bibliographic etc. on the topics of seminars, conferences, research projects etc.

7.3.Document Delivery Service (DDS)

 

Document Delivery Service (DDS) isanother important service which is gaining popularity due to budgetary constraints and rising prices of documents.DDS is concerned with the supply of documents to the users on demand, either in original or its photocopies in print or non-print form.DDS actually locates the required document and supplies it to the users.DDS is needed due to exponentialgrowth in the volume of published information ,increase in the number of users and availability of large number of online and CD-ROM bibliographic databases .In the recent years ,due to advances in computer and telecommunication technology the access to original literature has vastly improved. A large number of information services ranging from broad disciplines to highly specialized subject fields have emerged .DDS helps to inform the users about what is happening in their areas of interest and this has resulted in increase in document delivery service.Hence, it is a basic service for any library to supply the needed documents. In case, the required documents are not available in the host library collection, the same may be borrowed on inter-library loan from other libraries in the neighbourhood and supplied to the users at the earliest. The British Library Lending Division (U.K), National Lending Library for Science and Technology (U.K), National Library of Medicine (USA) and others are already providing excellent service of this type. Today, DDS has changed with the emergence of a number of electronic databases and establishment of telecommunication networks. In other words, electronic document delivery systems are emerging. Some of the Electronic Document Delivery Systems (EDDS) are offering services commercially. Forexample: Article Delivery Over Network Information System (ADONIS) is an organization of bio-medical journal publishers that supplies full-text journals on CD-ROM for document delivery purposes,Pro-Quest InternationalPowerpages is a   full-text journal database on CD-ROM,offered commercially by the publishers UMI.Two publishers ,namely Springer-Verlag and Elsevier Science, have launched online document delivery service that is Right Pages and Science Direct respectively on Internet and other commercial and academic networks from where users can access it easily.

 

7.4. User Education

 

User education aims to acquaintthe freshman to provide knowledge and skills necessary for users to make the users aware of various services available in the library.The users introduced to the general techniques of library usages, services andvarious facilities available in the library, basic library holding records, and physical layout of a particular libraryThere is the necessity of organizing user education through the reference section. The basic objective of user education is to infuse information seeking habits among the users, so that they can search the information sources independently without the help of reference librarian.

7.5 Abstracting and Indexing Service

 

Abstract is a condensed form of original document. It acts as a current awareness tool. For any kind of information service abstracting and indexing journals are the basic access tools. It is most frequently used tools by researchers. Abstracting services are the extension of indexing services, though basically both perform the same function of locating an item of information from a variety of sources. While preparing an abstract the important data given in original document is to be abstracted. The abstract is very brief in size and express the basic aim and conclusion of the document with simple and easy language. Therearevarious popular abstracting services such as Chemical Abstract, BiologicalAbstract, and Physics Abstractetc. Various indexing and abstracting service available on Internet are:-

  • COMPENDEX-Engineering Index (http://www.CPXWeb.ei.org) Indexing  Service
  • Index Medicus-NLM (http://NIM.NIH.gov.)— Indexing Service
  • INFLIBNET(http://www.Inflibnet.ac.in)—Abstracting Service
  • OCLC(World cat)(http://www.OCLC .org)—- Abstracting Service

7.6. Reprographic Service

 

Reprographic techniques are considered as an excellent opportunity for Special Libraries as it not only saves the space and currency but also preserves the rare and withered material from destruction. A reprographic facility fulfills following basic information service purpose:-

  • Reprography acts as a space saving device .Since libraries are growingorganisms, so it becomes difficult to store ever-growing collection. It increases the storage capacity of the library. For example- Newspapers and back-volumes of the periodicals may be kept in microform;
  • Preserving reading material issued on poor quality paper;
  • Increasing the accessibility of documents which are unique or a few in number;
  • Helps in Inter-library loan (ILL) facility. The parent library can retain the original document and may provide a number of copies of it to other libraries;
  • Current Awareness Service (CAS) can be provided quickly by photocopying the contents. The contents of the newly received periodicals may be duplicated and sent to the readers for their information.
  • Reprography enables a person to obtain an exact replica of original documents. It does not require retyping, rewriting or redrawing process so it saves the labour as well as time of the readers.
  • Providing a means of publication for specialist material which is uneconomic to publish commercially.
  • When original documents are in poor conditions or physically not durable, their new permanent copies can be prepared from it.

7.7 Referral Service

 

The basic purpose of a referral service is to tell the users about the experts, specialists, institutionsetc. who may be able to provide desired information to them. It is distinctly different from reference service. While giving reference service library personnel provides answers to queries of users or provide documents containing answers; whereas in referral service neither any document nor any answer of that type is provided.Instead,the library personnel gives a list of institutions,associations,subject experts, other specialists pertaining to a particular area who can help the researchers in more than one way. Thus, researchers are directed by the information staff to contact other information centers, persons etc., thereby saving their valuable time.

7.8 Inter Library Loan (ILL)

 

Due to literature explosion and rising price of documents,it has become difficult for any special library to be self –sufficient in its documentary sources. Inter Library Loan (ILL) is an activity where cooperation, at a high-level is necessary because in it one library lends material to an individual through another library, thereby helping its users and satisfying their information needs. After satisfying the needs of the users the documents are returned back to the parent library.

 

7.9. Current Awareness Service (CAS)

 

Information is a great national and international resource .Today, Special libraries and information centres offers a variety of new documentation and information services to provide support to research and development, management, industrial productivity, marketing and trade, all programmes of development of governments and institutions etc. For any active research it is absolutely necessary that he keeps himself up-to-date in the field of his work. In addition to this he is also required to know the developments taking place in other broader areas .There has been tremendous increase in the volume and variety of publications coming out from all corners of the world in different languages, especially in the scientific, technical and specialized journals, in the research reports, researchmonographs, trade literature etc. If a reader wishes to keep himself abreast with the latest information being published in his area of specialization and closely related areas he/she has to depend on “Current Approach” to information. Any service intended to meet this current approach is generally known as Current Awareness Service (CAS).Hence, it is the duty of reference librarian to make the members of its organization aware of latest information relating to their field of work. Such services can be introduced in the following ways:-

  • Display of currently received documents on display boards as soon as they are received by the library;
  • Notifying the receipt of new arrivals. The Librarian informs the users about various arrivals particularly the journals of research importance to the users as he/she is aware of the needs and interest of library users;
  • Routing or regular circulation of periodicals in special fields;
  • Maintaining “Newspaper Clippings file” on important topics so that the information is completely up-to–date. Newspapers are awareness media, since they publish recent happenings all over the world. Newspapers are considered as valuable sources of information. current
  • Reproduction of table of contents of journals,i.e. Current Content List;
  •  Abstracting or indexing of articles in periodicals in specified subject fields for information of its users.
  • Conducting surveys of literature on specific topics on demand for its users.
  • Circulation of Accession lists of newly acquired documents.
  • Library bulletin containing all types of useful and current information.
  •  Creation and maintenance of Research-in -Publication Bulletin. Examples of CAS available on internet are :-
  •  Amazon Books(http://www.Amazon .com)
  • Elsevier Science(http://www.elsevier.on/homepage/alert.htt) Current  Contents(http://www.isinet.com)
  • World Wide News(http://www.worldwidenews.com)

7.10. Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI)

 

The Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) is an extension of CAS.SDI is the most dynamic information service which helps in maximizing the use of resources and informs the individual user about the latest developments in his/her specific subject field. It is a highly personalized service directed to individuals so as to cater to individual requirements. It is refinement of Current Awareness Service. To keep users abreast of latest information, many Special & Research libraries, use computerized methods for disseminating the selective information for the users to keep them well informed.

 

7.11 Translation Service

 

Translation service is one of the important facets of documentation which plays a very important role in dissemination of information. Translation is the conversation of text from one language into another without affecting the meaning. Language barrier is a great barrier for disseminating scientific and technical information .Translation by its nature is expensive and time consuming. Due to this reason some agencies at national and international levels have taken the task of translation services at co-operative basis. For this purpose so many translation centers, translation banks and translation institutes have been established. For example at international level, National Translation Center (NTC) in America provides translation services on cooperative basis in John Creter Library,Chicago.It is a center for translated books and information tools in English language for scientists of English speaking countries working in the fields of Natural Science, Social Science, Medicine and Physics. In Britain, British Library Lending Division (BLLD) is the largest collector of translations whose most of the translations are in Russian language, not only collects the translations from a number of sources but also motivates the translation services including all translated periodicals. At national level Indian Science Institute, Bangalore provides translation into English From the languages such as French, German, Polish, Italian, Russian, Spanish etc. The rate per page is charged from the users of translation DESIDOC provides a translation of large number of Defense articles published in Russian, Chinese, French, German, Japanese languages etc. into English language .Apart from this DESIDOC translator scans articles on foreign languages on defense subjects and translates these articles in English language. These abstracts are circulated to the defense scientists through the Quarterly publication entitled “Science Abstracts from Foreign language Journals.”

 

Fig 1.1: Information Sources and Services of Reference Section of Special and Research Libraries

 

7.12 Online ReferenceService

 

Internet is an excellent medium for accessing and using reference sources. In a short period of time, it has become quite popular as a source of information. One can get information about an event, within few minutes.

 

Online reference sites or resources play a very important role in providing reference and information service to the users. The most popular categories of online sites available on the Internet are:-

  •   Popular Reference Books
  •  Britannica Online (available at http://www. britannica.com)
  • Dictionary of Science and Biotechnology
  • (availableat http://www.biotec.chem.indiana.ed/pages/dictionary/html)
  • Dictionary.com (http://www.dictionary.reference.com)
  • Thesaurus.com (http://www.thesaurus.com)
  • Columbia Encyclopaedia.
  • Encyclopaedia Britannica Online  (http://www.britannica.com)
  • World of Facts (http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html)
  • The World Wide Gazetteer (http://www.c-allen.dircon.co.uk)
  • Encyclopedia Britannica Online (available at http://www.eb.com).
  • Mc-Graw Hill Encylopaedia of Science &Technology (http://www.mhrefrence.com/EST/est.htm)
  •  Specialist Websites
  • National Aeronautics and Space Agency (available at http://www.nasa.gov). Houses of Parliament (available at http://www.parliament.uk)
  • Catalogues
  • The Library of Congress (available at http://www,loc.gov/catalog)
  • Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. Web Opac of Central Library (availableat http://www.library.iitb.ac.in/newsearchbook/opac_s.php?m_memchk_flg= &_summary=N)
  •  University of Calcutta (available at http://www.caluniv.ac.in/opac/index.html
  • The British Library (available at http://www.loc.gov/catalog)
  •  Portals
  •   RDN: The Resource Discovery Network.
  •  SciGate-The IISc Science Information Portal.
  •  SOSIG : Social Science Information Gateway (available at http://www. sosig. ac.uk.)
  •  Search Engines
  •  Google (available at http:// www. google. com.)
  • Altavista (available at http: //www.altavista. digital.com).
  • The Librarian‟s Index to the Internet.(LII) (available at http://www.lii.org).
  • Comprehensive Index of Internet sites. (available at http://www.refdesk. com),

8.  Reference Service in Information Technology Era

 

Reference service is much more influenced by the developments in IT than any other services of library and information centers. In the present information technology era reference service is not only confined to the library users but also to remote users.Sometimes,it is termed as electronic reference(e-reference)service,virtual reference(v-reference)service, digital reference(d-reference)service,etc. The increasing awareness about the value-added services at different spheres of lives, like education,health,agriculture,commerce and industry etc., have compelled the professionals to acquire and put into service the specialized skills of computer and networking technologies. Information technology reduces the response time for reference query. E-mail is considered to be more effective means in transmitting of referencequeries,requestsand answers .One need not to visit the libraries to get the information on certain topics.Answers can be easily transmitted through e-mail. Internet is an ocean of Information and is considered to be excellent medium for accessing and using reference sources. The major reference sources are readily available in optical discs as well as on-line databases and a lot of information can be searched by using the Internet resources. Internet can be successfully utilized for providing short range and long range reference service because various primary, secondaryand tertiary sources of information are available online from many sites. The electronic versions of reference books are available for reference directly from the websites for their publishers or from libraries that have them in their electronic storage systems and have network license from publishers to permit users to access those source online. A computer also help in maintaining reference collection, prepare bibliographies for research workers and performs comprehensive literature search service by searching various information sources in print and non-print form within the library, outside the library or at national or international level, in a short time with accuracy. Other activities which are related to the reference service in library are:-

  • Public access/ computer literacy.
  • Access to electronic databases available on CD-ROM‟s and Internet.
  • Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) for individuals has been developed in many fields especially Physics, Chemistry, Electronics, Engineering and Nuclear Engineering.
  •  Online Reference Service.
  • Database construction,
  • Online database searching,
  • Indexing and abstracting,
  • Current Awareness Service (CAS)

Major computerized information services are CAS, SDI and Retrospective searches. The current awareness services are designed to provide information regarding current literature, generated through different sources received in the library. It helps the users to keep themselves up-to-date in the field of his work. The Selective Dissemination of Information is an extension of CAS. The method of automating the current awareness service is known as selective dissemination of information. SDI is a service that uses computers to enable current information occurring in variety of sources to be disseminated to users based on their present interest or work. The tools available for current awareness on the Internet are tables of contents of journals and document delivery agencies. The content pages of the journals by e-mail are mostly free of cost. SDI service can be organized by a library either by having its own computer system or available on rental basis. Research and development activities have been revolutionized through the process of document reproduction. The reprographic and micrographic technology includes photocopying, micro copying, duplicating and printing. It has a great impact on the document delivery system. Electronic Document Delivery System is one of the important functions of an information system is to provide material requested by its users. When the required material is not available in-house, the system may try to obtain the same from other information center or document supply centers. An electronic document delivery system can provide immediate access to the information to the user, provided that the system is connected to the Document Supply Centre and the required information is stored in electronic media, magnetic, tape, video-disc and CD-ROM etc. can effectively be used as electronic document delivery systems. This eliminates the delays in the supply of documents by conventional means.The tools available for current awareness on the Internet are tables of contents of journals and document delivery agencies. Today deliveries of content pages of the journals by e-mail are mostly free of cost. For example, “Contents Direct” Service by Elsevier (http://www.elsevier.ni/) delivers content pages of about 900 journals by e-mail over the Internet much earlier than the full journals. Blackwell Scientific (http://blacksci.co.uk/online/) along with 8 other publishers have put contents of 250 journals on WWW,for which full text is also available since January 1997.The e-journal Gateway (http://www.j-gate informindia.co.in) provides access to database-cum-Gateway for 12,000 e-journals and free access to 2,800 full-text journals. Some e-journals covered under this are Annual Review, Emerald, Springer, World Scientific etc. Science Direct is fully searchable and offers immediate desktop access to the journals, abstracts, references and full-text articles needed for research. (http://www.science direct.com) provides over 6 million articles, nearly 60 million abstracts, over 1800 journals and 110 book series,20 references works and links to over 170 publishers.SDI service can be organized by a library either by having its own computer system or available on rental basis. Because of Web Technology, these days virtual reference librarian is available 24 hours either through e-mail or through web to answer the reference queries to the users. The Librarian needs to play the role of Information Analysist in a Special library by identifying, evaluating and organizing the information whether available in print or electronic form.

9. Source of Information Available on Internet

 

Following are the various sources of Information available on Internet:-

  • Scientific and Engineering Network News, a fee based monthly guide to internet resources for scientists and engineers. (http://www.senn.com/)
  • History of Science, Technology and Medicine, is an excellent biographical dictionary,documents on every area of technology, a directory of scientific institutions and electronic journals.(http://www.ascap.unimelb.edu, au/hstm/hst move. htm).
  • NASA  Homepage  is  the  homepage  for  the  National  Aeronautics  and  Space Administration. While clicking on “Gallery” one can see photographs taken from space. (http://www fsfc. nasa. gov/ NASA_homepage. html).
  • Planet Science, site contains selected news and feature stories of selected topics from the pages of world famous science weekly „News Scientists‟(www.newscientist.com)
  •  Bee keeping in India provides information on beekeeping under Indian conditions including the resources needed, the potential,apiculture,technology and Indian Market, (http://www.tiwanabeefarm.com/beekeping-india.html.)
  • Science Daily, site provides latest science research news (www.sciencedaily.com).
  • Volcano World brings modern and near real time volcano information to the Internet using remote sensing images and other data collections. (http://volcano. und >nodakedu/vw.html).
  • Dictionary of Science and Biotechnology (http:// biotech. chem.indiana. ed/pages/dictionary/html.)
  •   Mc-Graw-Hill Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology. (http://www.mhreference,com/EST/est.htm)
  • Encylopaedia Britannica Online, the world‟soldest, most authoritative and famous Encyclopaedia is available in 30 volumes. (http:/www.eb.com).
  • National Air and Space Museum has a largest and unique collection of document on all media about everything.(www. Nasm.si.edu)
  • Animal Veterinary Medical Association, site is an excellent source for caring for our pet. (www. arma. org).
  • Tree Doctor, site helps to find out about tree diseases and pests, tree topping etc. (www.1 stresource. com/t/treedoc/.)
  • Apiculture,Lac Culture and Sericulture-Economic Biology. It includes 112 notes on Apiculture,Lac Culture and Sericulture on European and Indian bee (http://ww.nios.ac.in/srsec.31.31newE/PDF L35B pdf)
  • CDC Home Page, give information on diseases, health risks, prevention and guidelines. (http://www.cdc.gov/)
  • TIPTOP, the Internet pilot to Physics (http://www.tp.umu.se/TIPTOP/);
  • Chemistry Center of the American Chemical Society (http:/www.Chem Center.org/).
  • Forestry (http://www.fao.org/forestory/en.
  •  WWW Virtual Library-Engineering (http://arioch.gsfc.nasa-gov/wwwv. engineering.html);
  •  Mathematics on the Internet (http://w-math.ams.org/).
  •  WWW Virtual library –Medicine (http://www. ohsu. educ/ cliniwebwwvl/);
  •  Biology-National Biological Information Infrastructure(http://www.nbs.gov/nbii/)
  •  Britannica Online (available at http://www. britannica.com)
  • Dictionary of Science and Biotechnology (available at  http://www.biotec.chem.indiana.ed/pages/dictionary/html)
  •  Encyclopedia Britannica Online (available at http://www.eb.com) .It is the world‟s oldest, most authoritative and famous encyclopedia in 30 volumes.
  •   Mc-Graw Hill Encylopaedia of Science &Technology (http://www.mhrefrence.com/EST/est.htm)
  • National Aeronautics and Space Agency (available at http://www.nasa.gov).
  • The Librarian‟s Index to the Internet.(LII) (available at http://www.lii.org).
  •  Comprehensive Index of Internet sites. (available at http://www.refdesk. com),
  • Some other popular Subject or Web Directories are :-

(i) Yahoo: Yahoo is a comprehensive directory of over 80,000 Internet resources. It provides comprehensive online products and services to consumers and businesses worldwide. (http://www.yahoo.com).

(ii) Look Smart (http://www.looksmart.com)

(iii)Open Directory Project (http://www.Dmoz.org)

  • Some other popular search engines are:-

(iv) Alta Vista: Featuring web and newsgroups search engine as well as paid submission services. Indexes over 30 million web pages. (http:// altavista. digital.com).

(v) Lycos : Lycos is a largely automated index, just like altavista. It is one of the earliest web search systems. (http://www.lycos.com).

(vi) Hotbot : It indexes web pages as well as multimedia, audio, FTP, PDF and MS-Word files from around the world. (http://www.hotbot.com).

(vii) Northern light: The Northern light searches and also automatically categorize the pages they find displaying a listing of folders from integrated web and article searching. (http://www.Northernlight.com).

(viii)Infoseek:Infoseek is an index similar to Altavista. Some keywords are given to find relevant pages and finds the first 10 web (http://www infoseek.com)

(ix) Excite:- Excite is an index like Altavista with a concept search which is supposed to find relevant pages even if we don‟t type exactly the same words the pages used. Excite also has sections with reviews of web pages, city directories, white pages and many more. (http://www excite.com)

(x) Web crawler: Web crawler is an automated indexer that crawls around the web cataloguing indexing of every page it comes across. It offers minimal context for each page it returns that is just, the name of the page and a link to it, without the contents of the page. (http://www webcrawler.com)

(xi) MSN Search (http://www.search.msn.com/)

  • Real Time Digital Reference Services:In real time digital reference the exchange of information takes place between thereference librarian and user. Some of its examples are as follows:-Ask Now !, Ask The Librarian, Ask A Question, Reference Chat, Librarians OnlineAsk Us Nowand Virtual Reference Desk.
  • E-Mail Reference Services:In this service, the user sends e-mail to the library with a reference question,seeking whatever information he feels necessary. Thelibrary in return sends reply by e-mail.Some of its examples are as follows:-Ask me, Reference Desk, Info please etc.

 

Summary

 

From the above detailed discussion, it can be summarized that the Reference section is the image building section of Special and Research library and is considered as an important component part of the entire organization of the library. The prime aim of the library is to promote the use of reading material contained in it. Reference library service demands special skill. Unless a reasonable standard of qualified staff is maintained, efficient reference service cannot be ensured. For this purpose the possession of the right reference collection in certain specialized fields constitutes one of the important segment of the whole scientific-technical literature and the knowledge of how to use them are two essential things to the reference section of a Special and Research Libraries.Internet has helped to remove barriers of distance and time. The modern technology is applied in speedy retrieval of information most consistently. Information technology provides greater avenues for easy access to information, improving efficiency of functioning of libraries education system and ultimately to improves the quality of life. For researchers, Internet is the library of the present and future. A growing number of users are using the Internet for research for searching information concerned with their research field based on latest facts. Thus, the Reference Librarian in Special and Research library plays a significant role in rendering quantative as well as qualitative service to the users.

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