The book titled ‘Information Sources and Services’ has been written keeping the syllabi of various universities imparting library science education in mind. This book deals with the essential topics only related to the information sources and services from the beginning to the end. The first chapter deals with information sources. It discusses the basics of information sources and major types and ends with their advantages and limitations. The second chapter entitled ‘Reference Sources’ is one of the most crucial aspects in a library perspective, and is discussed in detail it merits. The chapter talks about the types of reference sources in great detail leaving no stone unturned. The next chapter, entitled ‘E-Resources’, is entirely about the online sources used for reference. The current era is called the era of information and with the advent of the internet the landscape of information has totally transformed. Apart from the basics, the authors have also emphasised on the e-resource websites used in the present. The fourth chapter is titled ‘Information Service’ and it enlightens the readers about the information and reference services a library provides. Origin of these services has been discussed in this chapter. The fifth and final chapter of the book is titled ‘Online Services’ which provides insight in to the online services provided by the library. It is hoped that besides serving as a textbook, the book will also be a handbook to know all about the library and its services. Contents Preface Acknowledgements 1 Types of Information Sources 1 1.1. Introduction 1 1.2. Objectives 1 1.3. Information sources: concept and need of information 2 1.4. Types of information sources: Documentary 5 1.5. Characteristics of Primary Sources 13 1.6. Secondary Sources 14 1.7. Features of Secondary Sources 18 1.8. Types of information sources 18 1.9. Reference sources 26 1.10. History of Information Sources 34 1.11. Development of Printed Books and Other Sources 35 1.11. Current Awareness Services (CAS) 39 Review Questions 42 2 Reference Sources 43 2.1. Introduction 43 2.2. Objectives 43 2.3. Reference Sources 44 2.4. Evaluation of biological information sources 47 2.5. Yearbooks 49 2.6. International Yearbooks – General 51 2.7. Reference Sources: Directories and Handbooks 52 2.8. Handbook 58 2.9. Statistical - Bibliographical Sources 59 2.10. Union Catalogues, Indexing and Abstracting Journals 63 2.11. Union Catalogues: Indian Perspective 64 2.12. Indexing 66 2.13. Problem of how to use the ‘index assignment data’ 68 2.14. Abstracting Journals 71 2.15. Qualities and Qualification of a Reference Librarian 72 2.16. Competencies, Knowledge and Skills 73 2.17. Physical Demands 74 2.18. Working Environment 75 2.19. Non-Print Media 75 Review Questions 78 3 E-Resources 79 3.1. Introduction 79 3.2. Objectives 79 3.3. E-Resources 80 3.4. Advantages 81 3.5. Disadvantages 82 3.6. Managing e-resources: 83 3.7. E-documents, E-books, E-Journals 85 3.8. Accessible PDF Documents 89 3.9. Accessible Spreadsheet Documents 92 3.10. Accessible PowerPoint Documents 94 3.11. E-Books 96 3.12. Advantages 101 3.13. Disadvantages 102 3.14. E-Journals 104 3.15. Referencing Style 105 3.16. E-Databases 106 3.17. ETD-Electronic Thesis and Dissertation 115 3.18. Shodhganga 119 3.19. Shodhsindhu 121 3.20. Anticipatory Information Services: 122 3.21. Condensation Type 125 3.22. Readers Advisory Service 126 Review Questions 128 4 Information Services 129 4.1. Introduction 129 4.2. Objectives 130 4.3. Reference Service and Information Services: concept, need, types, theories, trends 130 4.4. Origin of Information Service 136 4.5. User education 138 4.6. Nature and Characteristics of Information 140 4.7. Importance and Need of Information 142 4.8. Dissemination of Information 144 4.9. Difference between Information Service and Reference Service 146 4.10. Types of Information Systems 164 Review Questions 174 5 Online Services 175 5.1. Introduction 175 5.2. Objectives 175 5.2. Bibliographic databases, Citation databases, Full-text databases, ETD. 190 5.3. Portals and Gateways, Multimedia based information products, Open access knowledge system: products and services 195 5.4. Web Services 208 5.5. Social Media services 214 Review Questions 245 References 246 About the Author Dr. P. Balasubramanian is presently working as University Librarian and Head of the Department of Library and Information Science in Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. He has done M.C.A., M.B.A., M.A., (Eng.), M.A., (His)., M.L.I.Sc., M.Phil., PGDPR and Ph.D. He is a life member of various professional associations. He has contributed 75 books (in Tamil and English) and around 175 papers in seminars, conferences and refereed journals. He has organized many national and international seminars and workshops in various emerging topics of library and information science. He has produced 9 M.Phil., and 33 Ph.D. scholars and is presently guiding 8 Ph.D. scholars. He has been teaching library and information science for the past 22 years. Dr. A. Arogia Mary, M.L.I.Sc., M.Phil., Ph.D. is currently working as Librarian at Auxilium College (Autonomous), Gandhi Nagar, Vellore, Tamil Nadu. She is a life member of various professional associations. She has authored a book in the field of library and information science and also contributed about 10 research papers on various aspects of library and information science, of which 9 have been published in peer reviewed journals and 1 in a refereed journal. She has also presented around 8 Papers in various national and international conferences and has also participated in more than 20 seminars, workshops and orientation training programmes.