If you are looking for BLI-222 IGNOU Solved Assignment solution for the subject Information Sources and Services, you have come to the right place. BLI-222 solution on this page applies to 2022-23 session students studying in BLIS courses of IGNOU.
BLI-222 Solved Assignment Solution by Gyaniversity
Assignment Code: BLI-222/AST/TMA/Jul.2022/Jan.2023
Course Code: BLI-222
Assignment Name: Information Sources and Services
Year: 2022-2023
Verification Status: Verified by Professor
I) Answer the following questions in 700 words each. (4X10=40 Marks)
1. Discuss in detail non-documentary sources of information with suitable examples
Ans) There are three types of non-documentary sources of information, i.e., humans, organisations, and World Wide Web.
Humans as Source of Information
Information Generator: Some examples of information generators are researchers, inventors, innovators, discoverers, thinkers, authors, planners, policy makers, decision makers, and judges. All of these professionals are knowledgeable about the content they have produced inside and out, making them reliable sources of information. Let's examine their information generation process.
Information Gatherers: Information gatherers by trade include journalists, reporters, investigators, spies, police, compilers, enumerators, etc. For their jobs, each of these individuals receives training. Of course, there are a lot of people in society who collect data for a variety of reasons. For instance, a student gathers data to increase their knowledge, a lawyer gets data from a client to support their case, a doctor takes data from a patient to determine the patient's health, etc.
Information Processor: In this category, we'll talk about editors in all their forms as well as information technologists, particularly software developers that create data processing applications. There are frequently many errors, omissions, repetitions, incompleteness, etc. found in books, articles, reports, etc. that are submitted for publication. The editorial procedure becomes crucial in order to give the writing its final form.
Information Recorders: Most of the time, the first person to record information was the author or the reporter. Other specialists in this field include engravers, scribes, calligraphers, printers, data entry operators, typists, stenographers, compositors, proofreaders, videographers, photographers, painters, sculptors, etc.
Organisations as Source of Information
Government Ministries and Departments: The numerous government ministries are reliable sources of first-hand data and information. The Indian government, including the executive, legislature, judiciary, states, union territories, and districts, has a systematic system for carrying out its many tasks and providing vital information through its different institutions and organisations. For instance, the Ministries of Agriculture, Chemicals and Fertilizers, and Civil Aviation
Academic Institutions: In addition to imparting knowledge, schools, colleges, and other specialised academic institutions are crucial in shaping young people's lives in order to prepare them for successful jobs and active citizenship. Universities and other higher education institutions are academic institutions that serve as sources of a variety of information.
Learned Society: A group that exists to further a particular academic discipline or set of disciplines is known as a learned society. The majority of scholarly societies are non-profit institutions. Their customary activities include producing or funding scholarly journals in their field as well as conducting regular conferences for the presentation and discussion of new research findings. Some also serve as professional organisations, policing the conduct of their members in the public good or the common good of the society's members as a whole.
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web, also referred to as the Web, is an information system that makes it possible to access papers and other web resources via the Internet. Programs like web browsers can access documents and other downloaded media that are made available to the network through web servers. Uniform resource locators are character strings that are used to locate servers and resources on the World Wide Web.
A web page with Hypertext Markup Language formatting is the first and most widely used type of document. This markup language enables simple text, graphics, video and audio files that are inserted, as well as scripts that implement sophisticated user interaction. Hyperlinks are another feature of the HTML language that allow for quick access to other web sites. Following such hyperlinks across many websites is known as web navigation, sometimes known as online surfing. Web pages that serve as application software are known as web apps.
2. Discuss the Categorisation of information sources as given by Subramanyam.
Ans) sources of information are numerous and diverse. Humans have been creating knowledge from the beginning of time through observation, experimentation, imagination, reasoning, and sensory organ experience. They typically shared the knowledge they produced with others in order to survive and advance their own interests. When a wild animal was spotted in the past near a human's home, that person would instantly alert others so that the animal could be slaughtered to protect themselves and provide for their daily needs. Even now, this practise is still common in the Amazon basin, distant African jungles, etc.
Humans still have an ingrained desire for information; therefore, they continue to be potent suppliers of information. Grogan, Boon and Smith, and Giljarevskij focused primarily on macro documents while categorising, such as books, journals, etc. Additionally, Subramanyam has included micro documents, such as journal articles, preprints, etc. His classification, which is more thorough than others, is given below:
Primary Sources
Laboratory Diaries.
Diaries.
Notes.
Health Records.
Personal communication.
Videos of experimental and surgical techniques.
Graphs, charts, and tables are frequently generated automatically during trials.
recordings of audio and video, as well as transcripts of lectures and discussions.
In scholarly journals, brief remarks or letters to the editor are acceptable.
diary entries for the initial correspondence.
preprints and reproductions of conference papers.
Proceedings of a conference.
specialised reports.
Dissertations and Theses.
Preprints, reprints, and journal articles
Newsletters.
Domestic Organs.
Reports on internal research.
Memoranda.
Company Records.
Specifications for patents.
Computer applications.
Standards, requirements, and codes of conduct.
Industry literature
Comments – The scope of Subramanyam's classification is broad and encompasses a number of micro documents like medical records, videotapes, and audiotapes. Journals and a few other things, though, seem to be missing. Instead of naming journals as such, he has listed the journal's contents, including journal articles, early communications in "letters" journals, letters to the editor in main journals, as well as preprints, reprints, newsletters, and house organs, all of which adequately take care of journals. There are no anthologies, research monographs, government publications, brochures with information, personal files, data files, etc. Newspapers, information cards, etc. are not included because this categorization solely considers scientific and technical publications.
Secondary Sources
Bibliographies.
Indexes.
Abstracts.
Services for current awareness.
Dictionaries.
Directories.
Tables.
Handbooks.
Catalogues.
Yearbooks.
Almanacs.
Reviews.
Monographs.
Textbooks.
Encyclopaedias.
Comments: The range of topics is broad. It should be noted that the author has placed "abstracts" here rather than abstracting journals. A systematic collection of abstracts is all that makes up an abstracting periodical. Naturally, express information service is absent because it is essentially unknown outside of Russia. Additionally, there are no lists of ongoing research, manuals, formularies, treatises, translations, etc.
Tertiary Sources
A catalogue of catalogues.
A listing of listings.
The literature guides.
Comments – Listed under the secondary sources are library catalogues. The fact that "guides to reference sources" are included under "guides to literature" may be the reason they are not included individually. The "guides to literature" and "guides to reference sources" differ slightly from one another. One can discover a list of original sources as well as secondary sources in "guides to literature." Guides to reference sources, on the other hand, are not likely to include primary sources.
3. Explain the importance of institutions as sources of information. Describe different types of institutions.
Ans) Institutions are a significant source of information among the numerous non-documentary sources. An institution is a sizable, significant organisation with a goal. An example of an educational institution is a university, while a bank is an example of a financial institution. The institution is a rich source of knowledge since, in addition to the people who manage and operate it, it also consists of other elements like its varied resources, which include files, documents, and the organization's website. The acquisition, organisation, and satisfaction of users' information demands are the main goals of many big libraries, which are information institutions. In addition to libraries and information centres, there are a large number of other organisations with a wide range of goals. These organisations could be government agencies, businesses, international organisations engaged in development work, or research institutes. We will talk about various organisations that serve as information providers in this Unit.
Publishing Houses
Publishing houses work in the information industry by disseminating a wide range of documentation sources, primarily books but also other materials including atlases, maps, and other written materials. A method of producing and disseminating literature or information, publishing is an activity in and of itself. Historically, publishing has been used to describe printed works. However, publishing is changing as a result of the development of ICT applications, particularly the Internet. An individual, such as the author themselves, is capable of publishing. However, there are sizable publishing houses that disseminate a wide range of content, including journals and books. The publishing houses are an essential source of information because they are in the information industry.
Newspaper, periodical, book, directory, and academic publishing are some examples of publishing types. Academic publication disseminates scholarly work and research. Journal articles, books, and these are the most common formats for academic publications. The term "grey literature" refers to the portion of academic writing that is printed or posted but not formally published. Peer review or editorial refereeing is used by the majority of academic and scholarly journals as well as many, but not all, academic and scholarly books to choose which works should be published. The quality and selectivity requirements for peer reviews vary widely from journal to journal, publisher to publisher, and subject area to subject area.
Press
The press, often known as print news media, is an institution in the information industry, much like the publishing house, but with the distinction that it concentrates on current news and events. Newspapers are a great source of current information for archival purposes. Sports, business, trade, scientific, and other specialised publications exist alongside regular newspapers and news magazines with the same goal of informing readers. Press are crucial to the preservation of information. For those looking for information, such as students, researchers, investigators, filmmakers, authors, etc., such stored information is extremely valuable.
Broadcasting Stations
Radio and television stations that transmit news and entertainment programming are referred to as broadcasting stations. Particularly in the present, one's life has become increasingly reliant on television as a source of pleasure and information. From humble beginnings, radio and television stations have exploded in India, making it one of the nations with the biggest concentration of news channels. Many broadcasting channels, including a number of private ones, air programmes nowadays, many of which are extremely valuable sources of information. Through the numerous radio and television programmes, broadcasting stations support education in addition to providing amusement. Gyan Vani and Gyan Darshan, for instance, are educational radio and television stations operated by the IGNOU. Through interviews with specialists, India's regional radio programmes promote the tradition and culture of the relevant state.
4. While analysing marketing opportunities, discuss the various factors that affect external environment of an organisation?
Ans) It is typical practise to examine the surroundings for marketing opportunities while taking various factors into consideration. SWOT analysis, which entails identifying the strengths and weaknesses of an organisation or service and the opportunities and threats represented by environmental trends, is a common tool for gathering information on external forces and internal capabilities.
External Environment
The changes occurring outside the library community are what put libraries under external strain. It can be viewed in the perspective of its effects on libraries and information centres locally, regionally, and globally. The various dimensions, such as the economic, technological, and socio-political ones, represent situations and occurrences that could have a variety of effects on the organisation.
Dimensions of technology: Technology is the foundation of every organization's operations. Technologies offer items with higher features, require less space, but require more money and skill. The domains of information communication and networking technology have seen the most notable advancements. They are used to quickly transmit a high volume of information across geographical zones and process, store, retrieve, and transmit it. In a number of ways, new technologies provide new and improved services, including:
The development of new or enhanced services.
By providing a self-service system, users and customers are more actively involved in operational duties.
In order to utilise the resources, services, and goods from remote locations through resource sharing and networking, it is bridging the gap between small and large libraries.
Accessible data store that would aid in more accurately identifying consumers' information demands. Recognizing needs aids in improving relationships with users.
Access to information is now more convenient around the clock and on a global scale because to globalisation. For the free flow of information, there are numerous national and international information networks. Users now have a greater awareness of quality, and their expectations have significantly increased as a result of the globalisation of information. Technology has a significant impact on service strategies like:
Service delivery on a worldwide scale is made possible by modern communication infrastructures.
The increased reliance on IT for service delivery not only facilitates globalisation but also offers opportunity to learn about the services provided globally.
The ways that libraries and information centres can globalise their services are drastically changing due to technological advancements, which are changing the nature of services.
Economic Dimensions: Numerous changes have been brought about by new economic ideas. The governments of the majority of the countries now choose to enable privatisation as a matter of social as well as economic policy, as public sector firms involved in health, insurance, banking, telecommunications, public transport, universities, and libraries are at risk. With state agency funding that has been reduced or kept constant for many years, modern libraries and information centres are unable to sustain their acquisition and services at a previous level. With a small budget for acquisitions and a large percentage of the library budget going toward staff salaries, it has become extremely challenging for libraries and information centres to keep up with the escalating cost of books.
Socio-political Dimensions: People's attitudes, behaviours, values, and beliefs are changing as a result of the process of democratisation at the grassroots level, which takes the form of local bodies at the village, block, and district levels, policies to uplift the weaker segments of society, the concept of social justice, a total literacy campaign, etc. At the same time, government disinvestment policies have an impact on the ownership stake in the company, and libraries are required to conduct measures in line with the organisations they support. Goal-setting, defining a vision, fostering teamwork, responding to and adapting to the new situations in the new environment all require such actions.
II) Answer the questions in 250 words each. (6X5=30 Marks)
1. Explain why there is a lack of unanimity in the categorisation of text books
Ans) Giljarevskij categorises it as primary, Grogan and Subramanyam categorise it as secondary, and Bonn and Smith categorise it as tertiary. A textbook cannot be classified as a primary source, which is expected to contain something original, if we closely adhere to those characteristics. When a textbook's material is examined, it becomes clear that much of the information it presents is previously known and has been published in primary sources. It must be a secondary source because it is dependent on primary sources. Of course, some textbooks also include innovative ideas, such as Ranganathan's Prolegomena to Library Classification. Such instances could be considered the exception rather than the rule.
Many references in textbooks, such as those to dictionaries, encyclopaedias, and other secondary sources, could be contested. As a result, textbooks belong in the category of tertiary sources. For instance, the Indian Standard Glossary of Classification Terms, a secondary source, is cited in Krishan Kumar's book Theory of Classification. Textbooks are frequently cited as well. Consider Newton's laws of motion as an illustration. Originally, they were written down in Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, also referred to as Principia, which was published in 1687. After Principia's publication, authors of physics textbooks cited Principia in their works. Principia is no longer mentioned by authors because it is difficult to access and written in Latin.
They only cite current publications of legitimate textbooks that contain the "rules of motion." In countless instances, information was taken directly from the original source when preparing a textbook. In many cases, rather than the original source, they are taken from reliable textbooks. With very few exceptions, the information found in textbooks is actually derived from primary sources. So, it makes sense to classify textbooks as secondary sources.
2. What criteria will you adopt to evaluate a dictionary?
Ans) We will talk about a dictionary's past performance, authority, scope, arrangement, word handling, unique features, revision, format, and conclusion while evaluating dictionaries.
Past record: Past records have been referred to as "history" by some authors. Since "previous record" is more expressive than "history," that is the term we have chosen. The majority of dictionaries have historical data.
Authority: A dictionary's authority is assessed based on the history of the publisher and the team of lexicographers and editors the publisher employs to create dictionaries. The choice of a dictionary becomes simple if the lexicographers and editors are well-known, highly qualified, and experienced.
Scope: By its coverage, a dictionary's reach can be assessed. A dictionary comprises slang, colloquial words, obsolete words, scientific and technical terminology, terms from other subjects, idioms, and phrases in addition to ordinary words.
Arrangement: In dictionaries, entries are often organised alphabetically, either word-by-word or letter-by-letter. The arrangement in COD is done letter by letter.
Word treatment: Here, we include factors like subject, usage label, phrases, derivatives, etymology, gender, and spelling, pronunciation, syllabification, part of speech, inflexion, definition, quote, synonym, and antonym.
Spelling: American and British spellings are the two most common in English. American spelling is used in dictionaries produced in the USA, while British spelling is used in those published in the UK and Commonwealth nations. It should be noted that American and British spellings of nouns are also included in dictionaries.
Pronunciation: Even within the same language, there are regional and national variations in how some words are pronounced.
Syllabification: A word is divided into syllables for proper pronunciation using spaces, hyphens, or centred periods, and stress is denoted using the accent mark or other marks.
Definition: A dictionary definition must be precise and simple to comprehend. Lexicographers attempt to define a word while considering the proficiency of users. If a dictionary is intended for kids, the definition will use simple terms that kids can grasp.
3. Describe the importance of virtual reference service in present society
Ans) Virtual Reference Service is defined as reference service that is initiated electronically, frequently in real-time, when users use computers or other Internet technology to communicate with reference staff without being physically present, according to the Machine Assisted Reference Section of the Reference and User Services Association of the American Library Association. Virtual reference often uses chat, videoconferencing, Voice over IP, co-browsing, email, or instant messaging as a communication method.
The terms digital reference, e-reference, online reference, and remote access reference are frequently used to describe virtual reference services. Virtual reference service is a relatively new phenomena, but telephonic reference service has been acknowledged and used in libraries for a long time to address the requirements of remote customers.
Virtual reference services that may be accessed electronically by remote users have been implemented as a result of the growing accessibility of the Internet and electronic resources. Today's libraries make a range of electronic materials accessible via their websites, including online catalogues, indexes, abstracts, digitised collections, e-journals, and full-text databases. The capacity to access electronic resources remotely necessitates that users be given assistance by the library in order to make appropriate use of these resources. The internal use of libraries has steadily decreased as more people use personal computers with Internet connection at home, at work, or at cybercafés. As a result, librarians are looking into different ways to interact with their users. They've begun to provide a virtual reference service.
Users and librarians can rapidly exchange brief written messages through real-time chat. Using chat software, librarians can build up a situation where communication with users is live but only involves written exchanges of information. The following are benefits of using internet conversation as a reference:
Similar to a live reference, User and librarian can speak directly.
By exchanging a series of brief messages, a librarian can perform an on-the-spot reference interview to better understand the user's needs.
The issue of mishearing what is spoken is resolved.
For people who have difficulty speaking or hearing, it is beneficial.
Users can save chat session text for further reference.
4. Explain how information generators and information compilers act as sources of information.
Ans) Researchers, innovators, discoverers, thinkers, writers, planners, policymakers, decision-makers, and judges are a few examples of information generators. These experts are all well-versed in the material they have created, making them trustworthy sources of information. To understand how researchers create knowledge, let's use them as an example. A researcher collects data, keeps track of what they see, thinks up theories, designs and runs tests, records the findings, and then comes to conclusions. He or she may conduct surveys, tabulate data, and analyse the data. New information is produced by all of these.
Among the group of compilers, lexicographers, encyclopaedists, reviewers, and bibliographers take centre stage. Compilers are also information gatherers. As an illustration, consider how a bibliographer collects the bibliographic information for papers that interest them from various sources. After gathering the information, the person creates a standard record for each of the items. The entries are then arranged in a useful order, which could be author-, subject-, or year-based. As a result, a bibliographer gains knowledge of the subject matter relevant to the bibliography as well as the sources from which information can be acquired.
A lexicographer collects words, phrases, idioms, proverbs, etc. from spoken and written sources of a language before recording the meaning and other information for each and every item. In many instances, s/he must seek the advice of specialists to clarify the meaning of a specific word or phrase. In some circumstances, s/he must rely on her/his own discretion to determine a word's meaning. In addition to this, s/he must complete numerous tasks, such as word derivation and definition, to give a dictionary its final form. A lexicographer is a great resource for knowledge about the creation of dictionaries and a master of words as a result.
5. What are the negative influences of the information generated by mass media?
Ans) The most crucial aspect of reporting is ensuring that the data is gathered from reliable and trustworthy sources, and nothing should ever be interpreted incorrectly. But this idea is frequently disregarded.
Because mass media is persuasive by its very nature, it may transcend the moral bounds to which it is required to adhere and turn prejudiced, manipulative, and propagandistic. A political party or agency frequently manipulates reports to their advantage, which would suggest political control. To get a good outcome, reporting may be biased. The personal preferences of a journalist or reporter may be used to help a political party. A certain occasion or celebrity may be given excessive weight, which could influence young people to act improperly. It could demonstrate an opulent lifestyle that fosters unhealthy ideas in children.
Unnecessary sensationalization of an ordinary incident could exaggerate its significance and cause panic among the population. An issue with law and order can arise from misinterpretation of the news, which can even exaggerate events and spark unrest or even bloodshed at any time or location. When there isn't much essential news to report, a certain event or news item might get too much attention. The public would once more experience needless and unneeded anxiety as a result of this.
The mass media will continue to be a powerful influence in society as long as they provide what people want or need. But as soon as they start giving what they believe the public wants because they have gained power and influence, they turn manipulative and seek to change people's thoughts, which results in brainwashing. This holds true for every show they produce. Therefore, in order for the media to be trusted as agents of social change, they must operate responsibly and within the bounds of established laws, rules, norms, and customs.
6. List the basic information literacy skills necessary for undergraduate and graduate students.
Ans) A variety of programmes aid in teaching information literacy. These can be standalone programmes, course-related programmes, or programmes that incorporate many courses. A straightforward information literacy curriculum can include explanations of information sources, their range, and search strategies, followed by practise using databases and other sources. Information literacy abilities in various subjects and fields are covered in course-related programmes. Course integrated programmes are offered for a certain topic or field.
Programs for information literacy can be either non-credit or credit. Information literacy programmes are thought to be non-credit, similar to other non-subject programmes. A non-credit program's disadvantage, however, is that it is not regarded seriously. It might not be taken seriously by students or given much weight. Even though there is a requirement to pass it, the seriousness of the learner is restricted to passing it.
The advantage of course-integrated information literacy programmes is that the learner cannot ignore them. An integrated information literacy programme has been proposed by Smith as a curriculum for the sciences. It is divided into four sections, namely,
Undergraduate-Beginning/ General: It provides an introduction to the various resource categories, key resources in a field, the fundamentals of scientific research, the use of basic search techniques and database applications, the evaluation of resources, and citing sources.
Undergraduate- Advanced: It covers the function of information in the research process, an extensive introduction to the different types of resources, the fundamental sources of information, the introduction and use of more sophisticated search strategies, searching online resources, scientific information on the Web, portals, searching and evaluation, the process of publishing scientific information and peer review, evaluating a scientific paper, evaluating information, and critical thinking.
Graduate Students: It covers the stages of scientific research and the information sources used at each one, information tools used by working scientists, the process of scientific publication from the standpoint of the scientist or producer in depth, key sources and databases in the field, the process of gathering information with a focus on in-depth research for theses and research proposals, information management, evaluating scientific information and journal articles, citation indexing, etc.
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