26. Information tools
Information tools:
Information tools are those documents which contain information in a systematic way and in a well-organized structure
for later retrieval. This is not for continuous reading.
Types of information tools:
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Catalogue (is a directory of information about data sets, files, or a database)
Bibliography
Database (is a collection of information that is organized so that it can easily be accessed, managed, and updated)
Bibliography
A bibliography is “a reference list often with descriptive or critical notes of writings relating to a particular subject,
period, or author.” or “the description and identification of the editions, dates of issue, authorship, and typography of
books or other written material”. Bibliography, also known as works cited, reference list is basically an orderly study and
referencing of books and source materials used in academic research. The word bibliography is originated from New
Latin bibliographia, from Greek, the copying of books, from bibli- + -graphia -graphy meaning “book writing”.
Types of Bibliographies
An annotated bibliography has entries which include " ... note[s] ... intended to describe, explain, or evaluate the
publication referred to" ( ALA Glossary, p. 8).
A current bibliography records currently or recently published material, with the intent of reporting the recent literature
as it appears.
A national bibliography is "A bibliography of documents published in a particular country and, ... documents ... written
in the language of the country" ( ALA Glossary , p.151).
An international bibliography provides a list of works, sources, publications, manuals, books, notes, articles and
websites collected from worldwide sources.
A period bibliography lists works about a given time period.
A retrospective bibliography "... lists documents or parts of documents, such as articles, published in previous years, as
distinct from a current bibliography ... . Retrospective bibliographies are frequently divided into two types ... [one of
which is] research-oriented, [and] are intended as jumping-off points for those doing research in the topic covered ..." (
ALA Glossary, p.194).
A serial bibliography appears at fixed intervals of time, e.g. weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, and has as its mission
the reporting of titles, often both book titles and article titles (as well as dissertations, book reviews, pamphlets, and other
types of material) as they appear.
A subject bibliography lists works about a given subject.
Analytical bibliographies refer to the collection of sources and material for the purpose of critical study and evaluation
and refers to the following categories:
Descriptive (Physical) Bibliography: A descriptive bibliography provides a list of detailed facts for a book analysis by
listing its size, format, binding, and publication details.
Historical Bibliography: A historical bibliography provides a list of contextual factors related to the production of a book
i.e. printing details, publishing, bookselling and binding etc.
Textual Bibliography: A textual bibliography provides a list of literary materials, concerned with identification and
editing of transcription errors from manuals, manuscripts, transcripts, scribes and inscriptions.
Enumerative bibliography provides a list of the list of books according to some system, common theme or reference plan
and includes information on by author, by subject, or by date.
Contrary to a descriptive bibliography, an enumerative bibliography only provides minute details on books and sources.
Hungarian National Bibliography
The Hungarian National Bibliography is an ongoing record of new books and book-type documents published in
Hungary. The titles are organized into 49 broad subject categories. A name index lists names of authors, contributors, and
persons as subjects. The title index contains titles proper, original, and variant and parallel titles.
The purpose of the library was clearly defined from its inception and has changed little. Its mission is to collect:
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All works published within the borders of Hungary at a given time, in whatever language they may be written.
(By the expression 'the borders of Hungary at a given time' we mean the territory of Hungary and Transylvania up
to 1918 (with the exclusion of Croatia and Slavonia), including the counties of Pozsega, Verőce and Szerém up to
1868, and including Fiume between 1779 and 1918; the newly formed territory of Hungary after 1919,
considering the temporary change of borders that took place in 1938 and 1941, respectively.)
All works published in Hungarian.
All works written by Hungarian authors, or with the collaboration of Hungarians, in other languages and
published outside of Hungary.
All works published abroad in foreign languages with a Hungarian aspect.
Information resources
Periodicals, journals, magazines, newspapers, and annual publications are all examples of serials. Serials are publications
issued at intervals over a period of time in successive parts bearing numeric or chronological designations that are
intended to be continued indefinitely. When they are issued frequently and more or less regularly, they are called
periodicals, journals, or, more popularly, magazines. Most serials are shelved alphabetically by title.
Periodical and serial indexes and abstracts are invaluable resources. In fact, most of these sources cover more than just
periodicals. They include items such as articles in festschriften (anthologies published to honor an individual); exhibition
catalogues; conference and symposia reports; reviews of books and exhibitions; obituaries; articles in museum bulletins
and annuals; monographs; catalogues raisonnés; Ph.D. dissertations; and occasionally M.A. theses.
An INDEX gives only bibliographic citations, while an ABSTRACT gives in addition a summary of the item.
Although editorial guidelines differ, most of the major sources give the summary in English. Thus, for items in languages
you do not read well or not at all, you can determine whether looking at the full article, the review, etc., is worthwhile.
Indexing and abstracting publications are invaluable resources, but one should always remember that they have
limitations: currency of coverage; geographic, historical, and format limitations; timeliness and frequency of publication;
sources and titles indexed/abstracted; and ease of use. And, despite the essential research value of these sources,
remember that no matter how useful the bibliographic entry or abstract may seem, a citation is no substitute for
the full article, review, etc.
Online catalogs – computer databases
They have enhanced usability over traditional card formats because:
1. The online catalog does not need to be sorted statically; the user can choose author, title, keyword, or systematic
order dynamically.
2. Most online catalogs offer a search facility for any word of the title; the goal of the grammatic word order
(provide an entry on the word that most users would look for) is reached even better.
3. Many online catalogs allow links between several variants of an author name. So, authors can be found both
under the original and the standardised name (if entered properly by the cataloguer).
4. The elimination of paper cards has made the information more accessible to many people with disabilities, such
as the visually impaired, wheelchair users, and those who suffer from mold allergies.