Criteria of

UNIT 4 CRITERIA OF EVALUATION Evaluation

Structure

4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Checklist of Evaluation
4.2.1 Past Record
4.2.2 Authority
4.2.3 Scope
4.2.4 Treatment
4.2.5 Arrangement
4.2.6 Special Features
4.2.7 Format
4.2.8 Book Reviews
4.2.9 Limitations
4.2.10 Conclusion
4.3 Reference Sources
4.3.1 Bibliographies, Abstracting and Indexing Periodicals
4.3.2 Dictionaries
4.3.3 Encyclopaedias
4.3.4 Yearbooks and Almanacs
4.3.5 Directories
4.3.6 Geographical Sources
4.3.7 Biographical Sources
4.4 Other Sources
4.4.1 Textbooks
4.4.2 Handbooks and Manuals
4.4.3 Trade Catalogues
4.4.4 Statistical Information Sources
4.4.5 Sources of Information on Current Affairs
4.4.6 Primary Periodicals
4.4.7 Reviewing Periodicals
4.5 Summary
4.6 Answers to Self Check Exercises
4.7 Keywords
4.8 References and Further Reading

4.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you will be able to:
• explain that evaluation of a book is a systematic intellectual process;
• state that librarian’s evaluation of a book is different from the reviewers
evaluation; and
• describe the process involved in evaluating the reference books.

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Documentary
Sources 4.1 INTRODUCTION
A library receives various types of documents. Of these documents, some are
in printed form, some in electronic form, some in typed or mimeographed
form, etc. These documents are received through purchase, exchange and gift.
Some libraries which have been declared legal depositories by virtue of an act
passed by the government to receive documents from publishers free of cost.
University libraries usually receive a copy of the thesis free of cost which is
submitted for PhD or such other degree by a student.

The question arises whether all documents being received by the library are to
be evaluated. The answer is – No. Suppose, the manuscripts of all books
written by a famous author are being donated to a library with the consent of
the library authority. In such a case the librarian is to accept all the
manuscripts – even if some of them are incomplete or damaged, for the
simple reason that they are of national importance. Similarly, a college or
university library is to procure the textbooks that have been prescribed for a
particular course by the authority. There is little choice for evaluation. While
working in a library you will find numerous practical cases where there is no
option for evaluation. You are simply to go for the book.

In most cases readers fill in book selection slips for the procurement of books.
Some slips are also prepared by the library staff going through book reviews
or bibliographies. A list is prepared based on these slips and the same is
placed before the selection committee. Order is placed for the books that are
selected by the book selection committee. Thereafter, the books are received
and processed. Only after the book reaches the library, the librarian gets a
chance to see the book. There is practically no chance for evaluation of any of
these books. A librarian does not have the choice or the time to evaluate all
documents being procured for the library.

Many distributors/vendors/publishers deposit some books every week to

various libraries with the expectation that some of the books will be purchased
by the libraries. It is really these books which need to be evaluated by the
librarian before they are placed in front of the book selection committee.

For evaluating a book you are not to read the whole book like a book
reviewer. You are to follow the checklist and gather relevant data. Based on
the data gathered you are to give your conclusion.

Now the question arises which documents are to be evaluated by a librarian.

Though many types of documents can be evaluated by well-established
procedures, however, in BLIS courses, evaluation of reference books is
usually taught. In this Unit, we shall try to cover reference books that usually
form part of primary and secondary sources and also textbooks and primary
periodicals.

The question that may generally crop up in the mind of a student is that why
do we undertake evaluation of reference books at all? The information
provided in a reference book may be (i) backdated, (ii) inadequate, (iii)
biased, and (iv) wrong. The book may be (i) very highly priced, (ii) poorly
printed or bound, (iii) written in a difficult language, (iv) without an index,
etc. For example, India 2010 – A Reference Annual (New Delhi: Publications
Division, 2010) – a vital and authentic reference source of information on
70 India is without an index. As a result, to ferret out a piece of information from
this book of about 1300 pages proves to be extremely difficult and time Criteria of
consuming. Often, a reference librarian fails to retrieve the information even Evaluation
though the information is available. However, it is still the most authentic and
heavily used source.

4.2 CHECKLIST OF EVALUATION

For evaluation of a reference book, the authorities have prepared a checklist
which includes past record of the publisher, authority, scope, treatment,
arrangement, index, special features, book reviews, limitations, format, and
conclusion. Now we shall discuss all these components one by one.

4.2.1 Past Record

Reference books in most cases are very costly publications. For example, the
library price of The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010 edition is around
$1500.00 (Rs.70,000.00/-) and that Webster’s Third New International
Dictionary (hardbound) is about Rs. 3500.00/-. Moreover, abstracting and
indexing services are periodicals for which one year subscription is to be paid
in advance. If an indexing service or abstracting service ceases publication
before the expiry of the subscription, the library loses some money. If a
reference book does not provide authentic, detailed and up-to-date
information, the users’ purpose will not be served. Reference books are
heavily used. Hence, paper, printing and binding of the book should be of high
quality. There are many publishers like Oxford University Press, Wilson,
Europa, and McGraw-Hill who are bringing out well-known reference books
for decades or centuries. If the past record of a publisher is found to be good,
then it becomes easy to decide about the procurement of the book. On the
other hand, if the publisher is new, little known or unknown, then it becomes
essential to read the reviews about the book before taking a final decision. It is
to be remembered that past record of the publisher is an important element in
the selection of a reference book.

4.2.2 Authority
The authoritativeness of a reference book is usually judged on the basis of the
qualifications, reputation, and experience of the author, compiler, and the
editor responsible for the book, and the reputation, experience, and the past
record of the publisher/corporate body. For example, Encyclopaedia
Britannica, Inc. is publishing The Encyclopaedia Britannica since 1768. The
publisher is in existance for about 250 years. During this period it has brought
out 15 official editions of the Britannica and various versions of Britannica
such as Children’s Britannica and Encyclopaedia Britannica India. The 15th
edition of the Britannica brought out under the title The New Encyclopaedia
Britannica in 1974 was in 30 volumes. All encyclopaedias brought out by this
publisher are considered to be top grade encyclopaedias. Whenever a new
encyclopaedia or any other reference book is brought out by this publisher, the
librarians all over the world will naturally consider it a standard publication
and would like to go for it. For the publication of standard reference books,
the well-known publishers employ knowledgeable compilers, experienced
editors and reputed authors. For example, some of the articles of the
Britannica are written by Nobel laureates.

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4.2.3 Scope
When we talk of scope, we generally take into account the subject,
geographical area, time span, forms of documents, language, target user, etc.
We shall clarify these points with an example. Let us take for example, Indian
National Bibliography (INB) [Kolkata, Central Reference Library, 1958-.].
This bibliography covers publications on all subjects, published from India. It
includes mainly books published during a particular period in major Indian
languages. For example, in INB 2010, books published in 2010 will be
generally covered. Mostly librarians, publishers, distributors, etc. are the
target users of INB. From this you find that the scope of INB relates to books
published from India in Indian languages during a particular period. It does
not cover periodicals other than the first issue, patents, standards, etc. Neither
it covers books published from India in tribal languages. A librarian has to
examine whether the book adheres to its stated scope. There may be cases
where the declared scope may be global, in reality the book may cover a
particular country only and provide some sketchy information about other
parts of the world.

4.2.4 Treatment
Here the term ‘treatment’ implies thoroughness, completeness, reliability,
bias, style, illustrations, etc. Let us take two dictionaries – The Concise Oxford
Dictionary [10th ed. Oxford: OUP, 1999] and Webster’s Third New
International Dictionary of the English Language [2nd ed. Springfield,
Webster’s, 1971] popularly known COD and Webster’s Third International
respectively. COD contains 240,000 words, phrases and definitions, and
Webster’s Third International contains 450,000 entries. The first edition of
Webster’s dictionary published in 1934 included 600,000 entries. From the
data we find that Webster’s Third International is more thorough and
complete compared to COD. The aforesaid two dictionaries include only
words. On the other hand The Random House Dictionary of the English
Language [Unabridged edition New York, Random House, 1966] includes not
only words but also important personages, place names, important biblical and
other characters as well as illustrations. In this way the treatment of reference
books differs and no two reference books will be the same.

Apart from thoroughness and completeness, reliability of information

contained in a reference book is of great importance. In the reference books
brought out by well-known publishers generally you will not find any factual
error, grammatical error, stylistic error, etc. Data from these books are freely
quoted by people without any hesitation. As far as biasness is concerned most
reference books have some bias. For example, Encyclopedia Americana [New
York: Grolier, 1976] is biased towards America and Encyclopaedia Indica
[New Delhi, Chand, 1975] is biased towards India. The target users of
reference books at times differ. Accordingly the style of writing differs. For
example, Children’s Britannica [4thed. Chicago: Encyclopedia
Britannica,1988] is written in a completely different style compared to The
New Encyclopaedia Britannica. In children’s encyclopaedias difficult words
are generally avoided. Whenever jargons are used the meaning is given in
simple language immediately after the jargons. Moreover, these
encyclopaedias contain plenty of colourful illustrations.

72
4.2.5 Arrangement Criteria of
Evaluation
Variety of arrangements are noticed in reference books. Alphabetical
arrangement is quite common. You should know that there are two types of
alphabetical arrangement: letter-by-letter, and word-by-word. Let us take the
following terms — back bench, backbone, backdate, backdoor, back
focus, backpack, and back pass and arrange them in both the ways. On
arranging they will be in the following order:

Letter-by-letter arrangement Word-by-word arrangement

back bench back bench
backbone back focus
backdate back pass
backdoor backbone
back focus backdate
backpack backdoor
back pass backpack

In a letter-by-letter arrangement, a term composed of two or more words is

considered as one word as if there is no gap in between. On the other hand, in
a word-by-word arrangement each word of the term is considered separately.

Arrangement differs depending on the type of reference books. In

bibliographies you may find entries are arranged in classified, alphabetically
subject-wise, alphabetically author-wise, chronological or in some other order.
In most dictionaries, encyclopaedias, subject indexes, author indexes, the
arrangement is alphabetical. In most handbooks and manuals, there is no
alphabetical arrangement. These books are usually divided into chapters
which are arranged in some logical order.

4.2.6 Special Features

Many reference books have some unique features which others do not have.
For example, The Random House Dictionary of the English Language
includes a directory of colleges and universities of the United States and
Canada, and a basic style manual which other English language dictionaries
do not provide. Some reference books are updated at regular intervals, others
irregularly. There are some which are not updated at all. For example,
Newman’s Indian Bradshaw [Kolkata: Newman, 1886-.] is updated monthly.
Yearbooks and almanacs are updated annually. Some directories are updated
annually, but many are updated at irregular intervals. For example, Directory
of Scientific Periodicals (New Delhi: INSDOC (now NISCAIR), 1964-.) was
first brought out in 1964. Thereafter, it is being updated at irregular intervals.
Apart from unique features and mode of updation, presence of bibliographies,
supplements, appendices, etc. are also considered as special features.

4.2.7 Format
Format takes into account binding, quality of paper, font, page makeup, and
illustrations. We shall consider all these points one by one.

73
Documentary Binding – There are various types of binding such as paper binding, cloth
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binding, Rexine binding, half leather binding, full leather binding, etc. Books
that are used heavily and for a longer period of time require durable binding,
such as half leather binding or full leather binding. On the other hand books
that are used less often and for a shorter period of time, for example, a railway
time table, usually require less costly binding such as paper binding. Here the
librarian has to decide which binding s/he would prefer for which type of
books. Suppose a dictionary is available in card-board binding as well as in
leather binding. As a dictionary is heavily used for a longer period of time, it
is preferable to go for leather binding.

Quality of paper – Books are printed on various types of papers such as

newsprint, bond paper, book paper, and magazine paper. For short durable
publications and cheaper editions, usually newsprint is used. On the other
hand, fine quality book papers are used for long lasting books. As reference
books are used very heavily and for a long time since the new editions appear
at longer intervals, they should be printed on a high quality book paper. A
librarian has to keep in mind how long the book will be in heavy use. A
yearbook remains in heavy use for a year only. A yearbook of 2010 will
remain in heavy use till the yearbook of 2011 comes out. The moment the
yearbook of 2011 is in the library the use of 2010 yearbook will immediately
come down. Hence, even if the yearbook is printed on low quality paper, it
can be procured. The same is not true for an encyclopaedia or a dictionary as
the new edition of an encyclopaedia or a dictionary comes out at longer
intervals of even 50 years or more. The books printed on good quality paper
should always be preferred.

Font – Fonts of numerous types and sizes are used for printing. Books printed
with such fonts which are soothing to the eye should be preferred. Smaller
font size strains the eyes and therefore, a book printed with smaller fonts
cannot be read for long. Similarly all types of font are not soothing to the
eyes. For example, the font called Courier New of size 9 is quite soothing to
the eye but the same size of Times New Roman is not. For this type of font,
bigger size is preferable.

Page makeup – A page is made up of textual matter and illustrations. To

accommodate more matter in a page some publishers print books with
minimum inter-line space as well as inter-word space. This also strains the
eyes. Only such books as are printed with optimum inter-line and inter-word
space should be preferred.

In every printed page there are left margin, right margin, top margin and
bottom margin. The margin should be sufficiently wide. If the left margin is
too narrow, then some portion of the matter or illustration may not be visible
if the pages are sewn for rebinding. During binding, the top, bottom and right
margins are also cut off to make the edges totally uniform. If the margins are
narrow, some portion of the matter may get cut. Thus, books with wide
margins are preferable compared to books with narrow margins.

Illustrations – There are various types of illustrations such as frontispiece,

plate, photograph, portrait, map, plan, facsimile, table, chart and diagram that
are found in books. These illustrations may be in black and white or in colour.
In many cases coloured illustrations serve much better purpose than black-
and-white illustrations.
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 Criteria of
Evaluation
4.2.8 Book Reviews
Book reviews are published in newspapers, journals, magazines, etc. There are
even book review periodicals which publish only book reviews. Book reviews
are written by scholars and many people of eminence. Hence, book reviews
must be given due importance while evaluating a book.

4.2.9 Limitations
All reference books have some limitations however comprehensive they may
be. Take for example, Webster’s Third International. This dictionary is one of
the most comprehensive English language dictionaries currently available. Yet
this dictionary does not contain any phrase or idiom. Moreover a dictionary
cannot cover all the words that have come into use very recently.
Encyclopaedias are also not free from limitations. The comprehensive
encyclopaedias that are published in many volumes cannot be updated at short
intervals. The 14th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica was brought out in
1929, and the 15th edition in 1974. The gap between the two editions is 45
years.

Due to the dynamic nature of knowledge, encyclopaedias become outdated in

no time. The accumulation of new knowledge demands the coverage of new
subjects in encyclopaedias. The coverage of new subjects demands addition of
more volumes. The publisher cannot add any number of volumes to
accommodate all new subjects. To maintain a balance it has to compromise
by dropping out many articles of the older edition. The article on Toru Dutt
which figured in the 14th edition of Britannica does not figure in the 15th
edition.

In this way, examples of limitations can be given for all types of reference
books. This very particular phenomenon obliges libraries to procure more than
one reference book of the same type with the hope that what is missing in one
will be found in the other.

4.2.10 Conclusion
The overall judgment on a reference source is to be reflected in the conclusion
whereby the authorities concerned will be able to take a decision about its
procurement. The conclusion may be written point-wise.

Self Check Exercise

Note: i) Write your answers in the space given below.
ii) Check your answers with the answers given at the end of this Unit.
1) Describe how the authoritativeness of a reference book is judged.
……………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………
75
Documentary 2) Differentiate between letter-by-letter and word-by-word arrangement
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with suitable examples.
……………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………

4.3 REFERENCE SOURCES

Now we shall discuss how reference books are evaluated. Among the
reference books, we shall cover bibliographies including abstracting and
indexing periodicals, dictionaries, encyclopaedias, yearbooks and almanacs,
directories, geographical sources and biographical sources. This Unit also
includes the evaluation of textbooks, handbooks and manuals, trade
catalogues, statistical information sources, sources for current affairs, primary
periodicals and reviewing periodicals.

4.3.1 Bibliographies, Abstracting and Indexing Periodicals

In this Unit, we shall discuss systematic bibliography. A systematic
bibliography lists bibliographical details of documents in a particular order.
When these bibliographies are brought out periodically they are called
indexing periodicals, e.g. Index Medicus [Washington, National Library of
Medicine, 1960-2004]. Some bibliographies include abstracts along with
bibliographical details of documents. They are called abstracting periodicals,
e.g. Indian Science Abstracts [New Delhi, NISCAIR, 1964-.]. The third type
is usually a one-off publication. For example, International Bibliography of
Rice Research compiled by International Rice Research Institute [ New York:
Scarecrow Press, 1963] is a one-off bibliography.

Past record – For one-off bibliographies, the question of past record does not
arise. It applies to indexing and abstracting periodicals which are published
periodically, at regular intervals, and generally continue for long. For the
purpose of selection, the past record may be examined to see whether there
have been frequent changes in the periodicity, or frequent interruptions in the
publication, etc.

Authority – In this case the publisher and sponsor are to be examined. In the
three examples given above, in all the cases, the publishers/sponsors are
famous. If need be, any of the above mentioned publications can be
purchased/subscribed without any difficulty. The problem will arise if the
bibliography is recent or not. Abstracting and indexing periodicals with
international scope are usually costly publications. If these periodicals are
brought out by a less known publisher or sponsor, adequate care has to taken
before finally selecting the periodical for a library.

Scope – The scope of bibliographies varies. For example, the scope of Indian
Science Abstracts is national, and that of Chemical Abstracts is international.
Many bibliographies cover various types of documents in diverse languages.
76 For example, Chemical Abstracts covers journal articles, patent specifications,
technical reports, conference proceedings, monographs, reviews, dissertations, Criteria of
etc. in about 50 languages of the world. Evaluation

Treatment – In an abstracting periodical the abstract may be informative or

indicative. Its coverage may be exhaustive or selective. The same is applicable
to an indexing periodical.

Arrangement – The arrangement of entries varies from bibliography to

bibliography. In Chemical Abstracts [Columbus, Ohio: American Chemical
Society, 1907-.] entries are arranged under broad headings. Even under the
broad headings entries are not arranged alphabetically. On the other hand, in
Indian Science Abstracts entries are arranged according to Universal Decimal
Classification and alphabetically author-wise under the main class. In Indian
National Bibliography, entries are arranged under Dewey Decimal
Classification number.

Items of information – An entry in an indexing periodical differs from

document to document. For a journal article, an entry usually comprises of
name of the author/s, title of the article and other bibliographical details like
year, volume number, issue number, page number/s, etc. In indexing
periodicals, the language of the article is also mentioned if it is other than
English. In the case of a book, apart from the names of author/s and
collaborator/s, the title, edition, imprint, collation, etc. are mentioned. For
patents and standards, bibliographical details apart, patent and standard
numbers are also mentioned. An entry in an abstracting periodical, apart from
bibliographical details, also contains an informative or indicative abstract.

Special features – Usually bibliographies provide indexes. Indexes vary from

bibliography to bibliography. Author index and subject index are quite
common. Apart from these, substance index, place name index, patent index,
etc. are also provided.

Format – See the format as discussed under sub-section 4.2.7.

Limitations – For international abstracting and indexing services, achieving

exhaustivity in terms of coverage is a difficult task due to various factors.
Still, Referativnyi Zhurnal (Moscow: VINITI, 1953-.) and Chemical Abstracts
have been making mighty attempts to achieve exhaustivity. Most other
services are selective in coverage. National indexing and abstracting
periodicals definitely make attempts to be exhaustive. For various reasons, in
many cases, they cannot achieve that. For example, the goal of Indian
National Bibliography is to be exhaustive. It is failing to be so because of the
non-cooperation of publishers.

There are other limitations also. Language limitation is quite common. In

many bibliographies, documents only in one language are covered. For
example, Indian Books in Print [Delhi: Indian Bureau of Bibliographies,
1969-.] covers only English books published in India. Some bibliographies
may cover only one type of documents, or documents originated from only
one place, or documents pertaining to a particular period only. In indexing and
abstracting periodicals, the issue of time lag is an important factor. Time lag
means the time that elapses between the appearance of a publication and its
coverage in a bibliography. For example, if an article published in the
February issue of Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Physics is covered in
the June issue of Indian Science Abstracts then the time lag will be four
77
Documentary months. In quite a number of indexing and abstracting periodicals published
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from abroad, the time lag in the case of Indian publications is found to be
quite high, sometimes more than one year.

Conclusion – Most indexing and abstracting periodicals, originating abroad,

are very costly publications. It is very difficult for a single library to subscribe
to such a costly periodical. Hence, it is advisable to see whether such
publications can be subscribed through a consortium. In that case, the library
gets the benefit of the periodical at a lesser cost. Many abstracting and
indexing periodicals have turned into databases. For evaluating a database the
checkpoints discussed above will be highly useful.

4.3.2 Dictionaries
For the evaluation of dictionaries we shall discuss past record of a dictionary,
authority, scope, arrangement, word treatment, specific features, revision,
format and conclusion.

Past record – Some authors have dubbed ‘past record’ as ‘history’. We have
chosen ‘past record’ because we feel it is more expressive than ‘history’.
Most dictionaries of the world have got a past record. Many dictionaries have
started in a modest way and gradually became more voluminous. In some
cases, utilising the same base sprang up different dictionaries. Quite contrary
to this, Oxford English Dictionary abbreviated as OED [Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1933. 12 vols. + Suppl.] started in a big way. Originally it appeared as
New English Dictionary on Historical Principles between 1888 and 1933 in
10 volumes. Supplements were issued thereafter to keep it updated. Using the
same base came out Shorter Oxford English Dictionary in two volumes in
1971. Now there are a variety of Oxford dictionaries such as The Concise
Oxford Dictionary (COD), Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus, Oxford
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, The Oxford English Mini Dictionary, etc.
Now ‘Oxford Dictionary’ has become a well-known brand name in the world.
Because of the brand name, any new Oxford Dictionary will attract the
attention of the user.

Authority – The authoritativeness of a dictionary is judged form the history

of the publisher and the band of lexicographers and editors the publisher has
for the compilation of dictionaries. If the lexicographers and editors are well-
known, highly qualified as well as experienced then the selection of a
dictionary becomes easy.

Scope – The scope of a dictionary is judged by its coverage. A dictionary,

apart from common words, includes some scientific and technical terms, terms
belonging to other subjects, idioms and phrases, colloquial words, obsolete
words, slang, etc. Also, some dictionaries like Random House also includes
important personal names, place names, etc. The comprehensiveness of a
dictionary is evidenced by the number of entries. An unabridged English
language dictionary with more than 400,000 entries can be called fairly
comprehensive. A desk dictionary with a coverage of around 200,000 words
can be considered of satisfactory coverage. The 10th edition of COD has
covered around 240,000 words leaving out place names, personal names,
slang, obsolete words, etc. Every publisher of a dictionary follows some basic
principles as to the selection of words and other elements like place names.
This principle differs from publisher to publisher. As a result, no two
dictionaries are the same.
78
Arrangement – In general, the arrangement of entries in dictionaries is Criteria of
alphabetical, either letter-by-letter or word-by-word. In COD, the arrangement Evaluation
is letter-by-letter.

Word treatment – Here, we take into account, spelling, pronunciation,

syllabification, part-of-speech, inflexion, definition, quotation, synonym and
antonym, subject, usage label, phrases, derivatives, etymology, gender, etc.

Spelling – In English language, American and British spellings are prevalent.

Dictionaries published in UK and Commonwealth countries use British
spelling, and those produced from USA use American spelling. It is to be
noted that British dictionaries include words with American spellings and vice
versa.

In many languages of the world a number of spellings have been simplified.

Some dictionaries use only simplified spelling, others use both conservative as
well as simplified spelling. Those dictionaries which include both are
preferable.

Pronunciation – The pronunciation of certain words in the same language

varies from region to region and from country to country. For example, the
word ‘schedule’ is pronounced in UK as shedyool, and in US as skejool. The
standard dictionaries indicate pronunciation with diacritical marks or phonetic
alphabet.

Syllabification – For ensuring correct pronunciation a word is broken into

syllables by space/s, hyphen/s or centered periods and stress is indicated by
the accent mark or some other marks.

Part of speech – It is indicated by an abbreviation, for example, the alphabets

a. n. and v. are used to indicate adjective, noun and verb respectively.

Inflexion – A word usually undergoes change while forming a plural, present

participle, past tense or past participle. Irregular inflexions are normally
indicated. For example, the plural of ‘genus’ will be indicated as ‘pl. genera’
as the inflexion is irregular.

Definition – The definition given in a dictionary should be accurate and easily

understandable. Keeping in view the level of users, lexicographers try to
define a word. If a dictionary is for children, the word will be defined with
easy words which the children can understand.

Quotations – Quotations are used in a dictionary to make the meaning of a

word clear.

Synonyms and antonyms – To express the meaning of a word, many

dictionaries use one or more synonyms along with or without the definition. In
some dictionaries the synonyms and antonyms are given at the end of the
main entry. In Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus [Oxford: O.U.P., 2001]
synonyms are given at the end of the word entry. In Random House both
synonyms and antonyms are given at the end of the word entry.

Subject – A particular word may figure in a subject with a particular meaning

or in many subjects with different meanings. In a dictionary, usually the name
of the subject precedes the definition.

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Documentary Usage label – In the usage label it is indicated whether the word pertains to
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slang, colloquial or some other usage.

Phrases and idioms – Many dictionaries include phrases and idioms which
occur under the headwords.

Derivatives – The derivatives of heavy are heavily, heaviness and heavyish.

All these derivatives will generally occur under the headword heavy in a
dictionary. Usually, derivatives are not defined.

Etymology – It provides ‘an account of the origin and the history of the
developments in meaning of a word’ For example, the word ‘zero’ has
originated from the Arabic word ‘sifr’.

Gender – In certain languages like Hindi, the gender of the word is usually
mentioned in dictionaries.

Special features – These differ from dictionary to dictionary. However, two

features are generally found common in dictionaries: guide to the use of the
dictionary, and list of abbreviations used in the dictionary. Many dictionaries
add a number of other features. For example, The Random House Dictionary
of the English Language [College edition. Bombay: Allied, 1972] has a
number of special features some are listed below:

i) Signs and symbols (in astronomy, biology, etc.),

ii) Directory of colleges and universities (in United States and Canada),
iii) English given names, and
iv) Basic manual of style.

Encyclopaedic dictionaries include quite a number of elements of reference

value such as personal names with a bit of biographical element, place names
with short description, biblical characters, some characters of world famous
classics, illustrations, etc.

Revision – Every now and then, new words are springing up. Hence, keeping
a printed dictionary updated is a difficult task. Usually new editions of
dictionaries are issued after long intervals. The 1st edition of COD was
published in 1911, and the 10th edition in 1999. On an average, ten years have
elapsed before the advent of a new edition. Dictionaries are in great demand.
To meet the demand a number of reprints are printed before bringing out a
new edition.

Format – The points discussed under Section 4.2.7 are also applicable in the
case of dictionaries.

Conclusion – It is to be remembered that all that has been discussed about a

dictionary will not be available in a single dictionary. A dictionary may give
definitions of words and not the synonyms. Another may include only the
words (single or compound) and not the phrases and idioms. When there are
options we can use the checklist and decide which one is to be taken.

80
4.3.3 Encyclopaedias Criteria of
Evaluation
Encyclopaedias are generally costly publications. The number of
encyclopaedias are also many. The multi-volume general encyclopaedias in
English are quite a few in the market such as The New Encyclopaedia
Britannica [15th ed. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1974. 30 vols.],
Encyclopedia Americana [New York: Grolier, 1976. 30 vols.], World Book
Encyclopedia [Chicago: World Book, 2009. 22 vols.], Chambers’s
Encyclopaedia [London: International Learning Systems, 1969. 15 vols.],
Collier’s Encyclopedia [New York: Macmillan Educational, 1976. 24 vols.],
etc. The cost of all these encyclopaedias run into thousands of dollars which
most libraries cannot afford to purchase all of them. In such a situation,
checklist for the evaluation of encyclopaedias is of real help.

Past record – It has been already discussed under Dictionaries. The way it is
applicable for dictionaries, the same way it is applicable for encyclopaedias.
Possibly, it is more applicable in the case of encyclopaedias.

Authority – It has already been discussed in Section 4.2.1 which is very much
applicable for encyclopaedias. Moreover, in standard encyclopaedias, the
name and qualifications of the contributors, editors, editorial board members
are given. All the articles in such encyclopaedias are signed. Going through
the names of the authors of some articles, and the names and qualifications of
the editors, it is possible to decide roughly to what extent the articles in the
encyclopaedia will be authoritative.

Scope – Apart from noted personalities, a general encyclopaedia covers all

important objects produced by nature and created by human beings. Checking
the coverage of an encyclopaedia is not easy. Still, for checking the coverage
of persons, you take ten Indian names such as Ashoka, Kalidasa, Akbar, C V
Raman, Tulsidas, Rabindranath Tagore, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi,
Vinoba Bhave, Raja Rammohun Roy, and S Chandrasekhar. Find out whether
all of them have been covered or not. The number of persons covered will
give you an idea of the coverage. You can carry out the same exercise with
some of the Indian states as well.

Treatment – In the treatment you are to see to what extent the information
provided is thorough, authentic and complete in terms of facts and figures,
whether the article is free from bias, and the user group the article has
targeted. Here you can also attempt a test. Compare the biography of a person,
say William Shakespeare, in two encyclopaedias. Immediately you will realise
how the matter has been treated in both the sources.

Arrangement – As in dictionaries, in most encyclopaedias alphabetical

arrangement is followed. It may be a letter-by-letter or word-by-word
arrangement. The Webster’s New International Encyclopedia [Richmond Hill,
Ontario: Max, 1996] follows letter-by-letter arrangement, and Compton’s
Concise Encyclopedia [1996. 25 vols. CD] follows word-by-word
arrangement.

Index – The index is an indispensable part of an encyclopaedia. Initially, The

New Encyclopaedia Britannica was without an index as it was hoped that the
Micropaedia will serve the purpose. In reality, it did not. Finally, in order to
meet the demands of the users an index was provided.

81
Documentary Special features – Each encyclopaedia has some special features. For
Sources
example, The New Webster’s International Encyclopedia has a separate
section of maps and an index of place names figuring in the maps, illustrative
survey of world history, declaration of independence [of the United States],
the Constitution of United States of America, list of the Presidents of the
United States, U.S. Supreme court justices, national parks of the United
States, chemical elements, electrical resistivity and temperature coefficients of
elements, periodic table, and metric measurement conversions.

Format, Limitations, and Conclusion – These points have been discussed

under Sections 4.2.7, 4.2.9 and 4.2.10 and are also applicable in the case of
encyclopaedias.

4.3.4 Yearbooks and Almanacs

Past record – There are many yearbooks in the world which are coming out
for a long time such as Statesman’s Yearbook (London: Macmillan 1864-.),
Europa Yearbook (London: Europa, 1959-.), Whitaker’s Almanack (London:
Whitaker, 1869-.), and India: A Reference Annual (New Delhi: Publications
Division, 1953-.). All these yearbooks have earned a name in the world and a
library without any hesitation will procure them. When a new yearbook
appears in the market, then the below mentioned checking elements should be
used to evaluate the book.

Scope – The scope of yearbooks varies. They may be international, regional

or national in scope. Depending upon the requirements of the users, the
librarian is to decide which yearbook is to be obtained for the library.

Treatment – A huge amount of matter is condensed within a yearbook or

almanac. As a result, information given in most cases is brief. The amount of
information on a country in a yearbook may be much smaller compared to the
information given in an encyclopaedia of the size of The New Encyclopaedia
Britannica. However, the information given in a yearbook is updated every
year which cannot be done in an encyclopaedia.

Arrangement – Most yearbooks and almanacs do not follow alphabetical

arrangement. The textual matter in the yearbook is divided into various
chapters. For example, in India: A Reference Annual, 2010 there are 32
chapters titled as Land and the People, National Symbols, The Polity, etc. On
the other hand, in Europa Yearbook there is alphabetical arrangement within
each part.

Special features – India: A Reference Annual provides information only

about India. It does not have practically any special feature. On the other hand
Manorama Yearbook 2006 [41st ed. Kottayam: Malayala Manorama, 2006]
not only provides information about India but also of the world. In addition, it
provides information about 100 books, 100 literary characters, 100 eminent
persons, a dictionary of 600 terms, 500 places of interest, and other things.

Limitations – All yearbooks will have some limitations. Manorama Yearbook

is biased towards India. On the other hand Statesman’s Yearbook is biased
towards UK. Moreover, every year such a huge amount of information is
generated which is impossible for a yearbook to cover. As a result they are
selective. They include only those items which people require most.

82
Other checking elements like authority, format, etc. as described in Section Criteria of
4.2. are applicable in the case of yearbooks and almanacs also. Evaluation

4.3.5 Directories
Past record – Some directories are coming out for a long time. For example
Ulrich’s International Periodicals Directory [New York: Bowker, 1932-.],
and World of Learning [London: Europa, 1947-.]. Such directories have
earned a name for themselves in the world. Not many directories appear every
year. Usually, they appear after short or long intervals. If several editions of a
directory had already come out, it gives an indication that the directory is
popular. If required, it may be acquired for the library.

Authority – Directories are brought out by well-known publishers,

government bodies, institutions, associations, etc. The authoritativeness of a
directory can be gauged from the corporate body bringing out the directory.
For example, Universities Handbook is brought out by Association of Indian
Universities, New Delhi. One can take it for granted that the information
contained in the directory will be authentic.

Scope – Most directories are generally devoted to a subject, for example,

telephone directories, library directories, periodicals directories, etc. From
geographical coverage point of view, they may be international, e.g. World
Guide to Libraries [New York: Saur, 1989-.], national, e.g. Libraries in the
United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland [London: Library Association,
c2001] and local e.g. Directory of Libraries and Who’s Who in Library
Profession in Delhi [Delhi: Library Association, 1964].

Compilation – A directory is usually compiled on the basis of the replies to

questionnaires mailed to the concerned persons or institutions. This method
ensures a great degree of authenticity.

Treatment – It differs from directory to directory. For example, the

information given on a periodical is much more in Ulrich’s International
Periodicals Directory compared to Directory of Indian Scientific Periodicals
[4th ed. New Delhi: INSDOC, 1991]. For a periodical, the former provides
around 20 items of information, and the latter around 10.

Arrangement – The arrangement of directories differ. For example, the

entries in Directory of Indian Scientific Periodicals is arranged according to
UDC class numbers. On the other hand, entries in Ulrich’s International
Periodicals Directory is arranged under subject headings which are
alphabetical in order. Some directories like Times of India Directory,
Yearbook and Who’s Who [1914-1983]followed alphabetical order only in
some portions, e.g. in Who’s Who portion. This publication has ceased but is
consulted very often for old information. Entries in a directory may be
arranged in chronological or geographical order as well.

Information content of an entry – It also differs according to the type of a

directory. The information content of a telephone directory is – name of the
person/institution/organisation, address and the telephone number. On the
other hand, an entry in an institutional directory may contain much more
information such as name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, fax
number, year of foundation, name of the head of the institution, staff strength,
brief history of the institution, objectives, functions, achievements,
publications, library and other facilities available.
83
Documentary Indexes – A telephone directory generally is without an index. Many
Sources
directories in which the entire gamut of entries is not in alphabetical order,
usually provide one or more indexes to ensure easy location of information.

Special features – Some directories have some special features. For example,
Ulrich’s International Periodicals Directory includes information on
abstracting and indexing services, money symbols, and list of periodicals that
had ceased publication, etc.

Limitations – Generally directories are compiled on the basis of information

obtained from the concerned people, institution, organisation, etc. Sometimes,
some persons, institutions or organisations do not provide the required
information. As a result, either the particular entry is dropped from the
directory or an old entry is given with backdated information. A large number
of directories are not updated annually, allowing entries to get backdated.
Because of many constrains many directories fail to become exhaustive.

Format and conclusion as described under Section 4.2 are also applicable
here.

4.3.6 Geographical Sources

Introduction – Geographical sources usually comprise of geographical
dictionaries, geographical encyclopaedias, gazetteers, guidebooks, atlases,
maps and globes. At times, a gazetteer has been termed as a geographical
dictionary. For example, Webster’s Geographical Dictionary [Rev. ed.
Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1984] is out and out an international
gazetteer. You should know the difference between a geographical dictionary
and a gazetteer. In a geographical dictionary you will find the definitions of
geographical terms such as island, river, valley, and mountain. Librarians in
general do not consult a gazetteer to find the definitions of geographical
terms. On the other hand, you will find in a gazetteer the descriptions of
specific places, rivers, valleys and mountains. It is to be noted that a great deal
of geographical information is found in general encyclopaedias,
encyclopaedic dictionaries like Random House and the World Wide Web.

Past record – Many publishing houses in the world have earned a name as
publishers of gazetteers (Columbia University Press), guidebooks (Fodor’s),
atlases and maps (Hammond, Rand McNally, etc.), etc. They are publishing
standard geographical sources for many decades or centuries. If any of them
bring out a new geographical reference book, it will be considered of value.
Hence, for geographical sources as well the past record of the publisher is
worth examining.

Authority – Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World has been brought

out by the Geographical Research Staff of Columbia University Press in
cooperation with the American Geographical Society. Needless to say, the
Gazetteer is considered as one of the topmost gazetteers of the world. Even
though it has been brought out about half a century ago, still, it is one of the
most used reference books in a library. Here lies the importance of the
authority which a librarian should always take care of.

Date – Throughout the world different types of geographical changes occur

around the year. The birth of a new country (e.g. Bangladesh) or a new state
(e.g. Jharkhand), the change in the place name (e.g. Calcutta to Kolkata),
84 alteration of boundaries of some places (e.g. Bihar after the formation of
Jharkhand), change in the course of a river (e.g. Kosi), development of a new Criteria of
area (e.g. Greater Noida), etc. are but common geographical phenomena. A Evaluation
backdated geographical source will not be able to include the latest changes.
A geographical encyclopaedia published before 2000 AD, will not show
Indian states like Uttarakhand or Jharkhand as these states came into existence
in 2000 AD. Hence, for geographical sources, date is an important checkpoint.

Scope – The scope of geographical dictionaries and encyclopaedias is

universal. However, the scope of gazetteers, guidebooks, atlases and maps
usually relate to the areas they cover. For example, the coverage of Gazetteer
of India – Indian Union [Delhi: Publications Division, 1965-1978. 4 vols.] is
restricted to India only. There are also gazetteers that cover only individual
districts. For example Bihar District Gazetteers - Purnea [Patna: Secretariat
Press, 1963] is devoted to Purnea district only. Similar is the case with
guidebooks, atlases and maps. You will find guidebooks covering cities and
maps covering villages. It is to be checked whether the book adheres to its
stated scope.

Treatment and limitations – International gazetteers are mostly selective

compared to Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer. Guidebooks, atlases and maps -
all are selective. For example, a guidebook covering India as a whole cannot
record all hotels at a tourist place. Similarly, in a map or atlas of India you can
find only important places. Another important point to be taken care of is that
how the publication has marked the disputed areas of the world.

Arrangement – In geographical dictionaries and international gazetteers the

arrangement is usually alphabetical. In state and district gazetteers, maps and
atlases, the arrangement may not be alphabetical.

Items of information – A geographical dictionary like any other dictionary,

provides the definition of geographical terms. An international gazetteer may
provide against the place name, the variant name/s of the place, pronunciation,
population, geographic and political location, altitude, trade, industry,
agriculture, mineral and other natural resources, irrigation works, river
lengths, communications, history, cultural institutions and monuments, battles
and other facts pertinent to the place. A national gazetteer, state gazetteer,
district gazetteer, etc. may describe land and people, history and culture,
economic structures and activities, administration and public welfare. A
guidebook usually includes such information as when to go, how to go, how
to roam about, what to see, where to stay, where to shop, etc. Atlases and
maps with colourful drawings show continents, countries, regions, provinces,
counties, cities, towns, islands, lakes, mountains, deserts, seas, rivers, canals,
dams, capes, etc. Checking the items of information you can find out the
strengths or weaknesses of the source.

Special features – In all geographical sources, black and white and colourful
maps are usually provided. The more the number of maps, the more useful
will be the source. This should be borne in mind while selecting a source.

Format – Maps, atlases and globes are usually produced in colour. Maps in
many cases are of big size and meant for hanging on the wall. A map of Delhi
brought out by T. T. Maps and Publications Ltd. in 1991 measures 27 inches x
40 inches. Usually these maps are stored in the form of rolls. Oversize maps
provided with books are usually folded. Atlases, almost in all cases, are
oversized. Special shelves are needed to store them. A globe is a miniaturised
85
Documentary form of the earth. Hence, it is always spherical in shape. In some globes and
Sources
maps you may find even relief features showing mountains, hills, etc.

Conclusion – Geographical sources are of varied types. Even for small

libraries, geographical sources like maps, atlases and globes are necessary. It
has been observed that in the past many schools were without libraries but
they were having a few maps and a globe. This underlines the importance of
geographical sources. Whichever library you may work at, some geographical
sources will be necessary. Using the checkpoints discussed above, if right
sources are selected, they will be highly useful for the users of the library.

4.3.7 Biographical Sources

Introduction – Biographical sources are also of various types, of which,
biographical dictionaries are most important. These dictionaries are published
as who’s who, who was who, biographical dictionary, etc. The scope of these
dictionaries may be national or international, they may be devoted to
particular subjects, particular gender (e.g. women), particular class of persons
e.g. presidents, kings and queens, prime ministers, parliamentarians or they
may be current or retrospective or both current as well as retrospective. In
addition, there are individual biographies written by the person herself/himself
or by a biographer.

In the case of selection of biographical sources, the problem of choice arises

only when there is more than one source. In many cases there is just a single
source. In such a situation, there is no alternative. The library has to procure
the source if there is a real need. At present, there is no current who’s who of
librarians in India. If such a biographical source is brought out many librarians
would like to go for it, since something is better than nothing.

Past record – Some publishers in the world such as Wilson, Europa, Adam
and Charles Black, Charles Scribner’s, G&C Merriam and Marquis have
excelled in bringing out biographical sources. They are bringing out
biographical sources since long, some of them at regular intervals. If such a
publisher brings out a new biographical source, it is expected that the source
will be of good quality.

Authority – Dictionary of National Biography (DNB) has been brought out

by Institute of Historical Studies, Kolkata in four volumes under the editorship
of S P Sen during 1972-1974. As DNB has been brought out by an institute of
national repute, the facts given in the biographies are considered authentic.
The reputation of the sponsor, publisher, biographer, etc. needs to be taken
great care of while selecting a biographical source.

Scope – The scope of a biographical source varies as has been briefly

described above in the Introduction.

Method of selection – Biographical dictionaries, in general, are selective. The

criterion of selection is an important point. Suppose a who’s who of librarians
in India is being compiled. The question will arise who should be included in
the biography. Suppose in a library, there is the librarian, deputy librarian,
assistant librarian, cataloguer, classifier, reference librarian, and others. The
compiler of the who’s who will have to take a decision of all these persons
who should be covered in the publication. S/he may decide to include only the
librarian, or all those who are in the officer’s grade. S/he may not like to cover
86 anybody below the officer’s grade considering economic viability of the
publication. A criterion of selection is an important checking element for a Criteria of
biographical source. Evaluation

Method of compilation – Current who’s who is compiled on the basis of

filled in questionnaires received form the biographees. This authenticates the
information given in the source as the information is given by the biographee
herself/himself. This method also has some drawbacks since many
biographees do not return the questionnaire resulting in serious gaps in the
source. To reduce this, attempts are made to compile a biographical sketch
gleaning data from secondary sources.

Compilation of who was who or retrospective biography is pretty difficult. For

such a biography competent professionals/biographers are assigned the job of
writing biographies. They write biographies gleaning data from secondary
sources, including persons related to the biographee. Method of compilation is
also an important criterion for selecting a biographical source.

Treatment – The size of the biographical details of a person varies from a

single line to a few pages. In biographical dictionaries, the size of all
biographical sketches is uniform. Take for example, Chambers Biographical
Dictionary [Centenary ed. Edinburgh:. Chambers, 1997]. In this source almost
all biographical sketches are of the size of a medium size paragraph. On the
other hand, the Dictionary of Scientific Biography [New York: Charles
Scribners, 1970-1976. 14 vols.] contains biographical essays which runs from
a single page to several pages. The point to be checked is whether a
biographical sketch or essay has been written with adequate weightage as the
biographee deserves.

Arrangement – In many biographical dictionaries, entries are arranged

alphabetically according to biographees. There are other biographical sources
which are arranged according to subject e.g. India Who’s Who [New Delhi:
INFA, 1969-.], or by dates (date of birth or death). It is to be checked whether
the arrangement is in order and more helpful than A-Z arrangement.

Items of information – Usually the following items of information are found

in a sketch type entry figuring in a biographical dictionary: name,
pronunciation of the name, highest qualification, present position, date of
birth, parent’s name, education, services, publications, recreation or hobbies,
address, telephone number, e-mail address, etc. In an essay type entry usually
more information is found. A few entries may be checked to see if information
has been provided on all the items uniformly in all the entries.

Indexes – Biographical sources that are arranged alphabetically do not usually

provide any index. If it is arranged otherwise, usually biographee index is
provided. At times, geographical index and/or, chronological index are also
provided.

Special features – Some biographical dictionaries provide a photograph or a

portrait or a sketch of the biographee along with her/his biographical details.
Apart from this, some biographical sources provide list of abbreviations,
who’s who of the royal family of the country wherefrom the publication
originates, necrology, etc. All these add value to the biographical source.

Format – Format as discussed under Section 4.2.7 is also applicable here

87
Documentary Limitations – All biographical sources have some limitations. The coverage
Sources
of none of these sources can be considered to be comprehensive. One has to
select biographees on the basis of some criteria, whereby, many others are left
out. There is also bias in selection. An international who’s who produced from
UK will obviously try to cover more celebrities from UK. There is no single
source wherefrom biographical details of all the celebrities of the world can be
obtained. To a certain extent the World Wide Web is fulfilling this need.

Updation – There are some biographical sources which are appearing

annually, they are being updated regularly. Other biographical sources are
updated after long intervals. As a result, information contained in them is
often outdated.

Conclusion – It has already been said that no biographical source is

comprehensive enough. Hence, by purchasing a single biographical source all
the users’ need might not be fulfilled. That is why big libraries procure a large
number of biographical sources. For locating a biography, if one source fails,
others may be of help. If there is considerable demand for biographical
information in a library, it is advisable to go for more than one source.

Self Check Exercise

Note: i) Write your answers in the space given below.
ii) Check your answers with the answers given at the end of this Unit.
3) Describes the items of information usually found in an entry of an
indexing periodical.
……………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………

4) Describe the method of compilation of a current and a retrospective

biography.
……………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………

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88
4.4 OTHER SOURCES Criteria of
Evaluation

Under this heading, textbooks, handbooks and manual, trade catalogues,

statistical information sources, sources for current affairs, primary periodicals,
and reviewing periodicals are being discussed. In this group there are primary
as well as secondary sources including reference books. They are being
treated separately for the fact that BLIS textbooks and course materials are, by
and large, silent about their evaluation. The checklist of evaluation, as
described under Section 4.2 of this Unit, in many cases will be applicable for
these sources as well.

4.4.1 Textbooks
Textbooks are the backbone of school, college, university and other
educational institution libraries. Numerous authors write textbooks and
known, little-known and well-known publishers publish them. As such, they
are of varying quality.

The first thing that should be checked in a textbook is whether the textbook
covers the prescribed syllabus adequately. This apart authors, publishers, the
edition, and error-freeness are to be given greater importance. About 50 years
ago, many of us studied J C Nesfield’s English Grammar. S. L. Loni’s
Trigonometry, Hall and Stevens Geometry, K.P.Basu’s Algebra, Shanti
Narayan’s Calculus, etc. Even today, these books are used by school and
college students. Gray’s Anatomy is a bible for MBBS students. Who can
forget Krishan Kumar’s textbooks that we all studied while doing BLIS or
MLIS.

Students know textbooks by the name of the authors. Hence, for procuring a
textbook for a library, the first checking element is the author. If the author is
famous, the textbook may be procured without any problem. The corporate
body is no less important. You all know that National Council of Educational
Research and Training (NCERT) brings out a large number of textbooks every
year. It has earned a name as a publisher of good textbooks for school
education. Any book by NCERT and other similar bodies may be selected for
purchase without much scrutiny. If several editions of a textbook have already
been published, the textbook is worth procuring.

The problem arises in selecting the first edition of a textbook by a new author
and a new publisher. It may contain lot of grammatical and factual errors. A
glance through the first few pages may reveal the quality of the book. If you
fail to judge the purchase-worthiness of a book, take the help of a good
teacher. The judgment of a teacher will be valuable for making a decision. A
glance through the reviews may also help.

4.4.2 Handbooks and Manuals

The checklist enumerated under Section 4.2 will be highly useful for
evaluating these types of books.

4.4.3 Trade Catalogues

Trade catalogues are distributed free of charge. They contain a lot of
information not available elsewhere. Their evaluation is generally not
necessary as you are not purchasing them. If you find some information
missing in the catalogue, you may suggest to the producer to include them.
89
Documentary
Sources
4.4.4 Statistical Information Sources
Statistical information sources are generally brought out by international
bodies like United Nations, UNESCO, and FAO, government bodies and
departments like Central Statistical Office, Great Britain, Central Statistical
Organisation, India, Office of the Census Commissioner, India, State
Statistical Bureaus of Indian states, etc. The information they provide is
authentic and the authority is unquestioned. Hence, procurement of a
statistical publication, if required by the library, does not pose any problem.
Data contained in the statistical publications generally cannot be updated
every now and then. Hence, they may be backdated by a year or at times a
decade. You know that our population census is taken once in ten years. It was
taken in 2011. Next it will be taken in 2021. Hence till 2021, books will
provide our population data based on 2011 census only.

4.4.5 Sources of Information on Current Affairs

Newspapers are the primary sources of information on current affairs. Based
on newspapers, various types of secondary sources are being published in the
world which has considerable reference value. Some of the types of sources
are as follows:

i) Indexing service based on individual newspapers. Example: The New

York Times Index. New York: New York Times, 1851-.
ii) Indexing service based on many newspapers. Example: Canadian Index.
Toronto: Micromedia, 1993- .
iii) News digests. Example: Keesing’s Record of World Events. London:
Longman, 1987-.

All such sources can be evaluated using the checking elements given under
Section 4.2.

4.4.6 Primary Periodicals

Checking elements discussed under Section 4.2 can be applied in this case
also for the purpose of evaluation. However, they can be evaluated much
better using bibliometric indicators like impact factor, immediacy index, etc.
You will learn about these indicators while doing MLIS.

4.4.7 Reviewing Periodicals

There are two types of reviewing periodicals. Let us call them Type I and
Type II. Type I publishes book reviews. These periodicals can be evaluated
using checklist given under Section 4.2. Type II publishes trend reports, state-
of-the-art reports, progress reports, critical reviews, etc.

To a certain extent these periodicals can also be evaluated using the checklist
described under Section 4.2. However, using bibliometric methods they can
be evaluated much better. Sometimes expert opinion may be necessary before
finally selecting such a periodical for a library.

90
Self Check Exercise Criteria of
Evaluation
Note: i) Write your answer in the space given below.
ii) Check your answer with the answer given at the end of this Unit.
5) How will you evaluate a textbook?
…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….

4.5 SUMMARY
In this Unit, we have dealt mainly with the evaluation of documentary
reference sources. For evaluation, authorities have decided certain points
which are to be checked while evaluating a book. The points that are generally
applicable for all types of reference books, are, past record of the publisher,
authority, scope, treatment, arrangement, special features, format, book
reviews, limitations and conclusion. The writers of reference books have not
considered book reviews as one of the elements of evaluation. This has been
included here as book reviews at times help a lot in the evaluation of a book.
All these have been discussed generally in the beginning in one section and
then under each type of reference sources. Certain points like method of
selection, method of compilation, items of information, etc. have been
described at relevant places. The types of reference sources covered are:
bibliographies including indexing and abstracting periodicals, dictionaries,
encyclopaedias, yearbooks and almanacs, directories, geographical sources
and biographical sources. In addition, handbooks and manuals, trade
catalogues, statistical information sources, sources for current affairs have
also been touched upon. Evaluation is usually discussed in books on reference
service, where evaluation of reference books are only discussed. It has been
thought that librarians of academic libraries are to purchase a large number of
textbooks every year. Keeping this in view, evaluation of textbooks has been
briefly discussed. Using bibliometric methods, primary periodicals and
reviewing periodicals are evaluated. Bibliometric methods are beyond the
scope of BLIS curriculum, hence only a brief mention about bibliometric
evaluation has been made.

4.6 ANSWERS TO SELF CHECK EXERCISES

1) The authoritativeness of a reference book is usually judged on the basis
of the qualifications, reputation, and experience of the author, compiler,
and the editor responsible for the book, and the reputation, experience,
and the past record of the publisher/corporate body. For example
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. is publishing The Encyclopaedia
Britannica since 1768. The publisher is in existance for about 250 years.
During this period it has brought out 15 official editions of the
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Documentary Britannica and various versions of Britannica such as Children’s
Sources
Britannica and Encyclopaedia Britannica India. The 15th edition of the
Britannica, brought out under the title The New Encyclopaedia
Britannica in 1974 was in 30 volumes. All encyclopaedias brought out
by this publisher are considered to be top grade encyclopaedias.
Whenever a new encyclopaedia or any other reference book is brought
out by this publisher, the librarians all over the world will naturally
consider it a standard publication and would like to go for it.

2) In a letter-by-letter arrangement, a term composed of two or more words

is considered as one word as if there is no gap in between. On the other
hand, in a word-by-word arrangement each word of the term is
considered separately. The following example clarifies the difference.

Letter-by-letter arrangement Word-by-word arrangement

airbase air brake
airborne air conditioning
air brake air cushion
air conditioning airbase
aircraft airborne
aircrew aircraft
air cushion aircrew
3) Items of information – An entry in an indexing periodical differs from
document to document. For a journal article, an entry usually comprises
of author/s, title of the article and other bibliographical details like year,
volume number, issue number, page number(s), etc. In English language
indexing periodicals, the language of the article is also mentioned if it is
other than English. In case of a book, apart from author/s and
collaborator/s, the title, edition, imprint, collation, etc. are mentioned.
For patents and standards, bibliographical details apart, patent and
standard numbers are also mentioned.

4) Method of compilation – A current biography (who is who) is compiled

on the basis of filled in questionnaires received from the biographees.
This authenticates the information given in the source as the information
is given by the biographee herself/himself. This method has some
drawbacks also since many biographees do not return the questionnaire
resulting in serious gaps in the source. To reduce this, attempts are made
to compile a biographical sketch gleaning data from secondary sources.

Compilation of retrospective biography (who was who) biography is

difficult. For such a biography competent professionals/ biographers are
assigned the job of writing biographies. They write biographies gleaning
data from secondary sources including persons related to the biographee.

5) The first thing that should be checked in a textbook is whether the

textbook covers the prescribed syllabus adequately. Apart from this,
authors, publishers, the edition, and error-freeness are to be given greater
emphasis because students know the textbooks by their authors. If a
textbook is brought out by a renowned publisher, or a corporate body
like NCERT, it is likely to be a good textbook. The number of editions
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 of a particular textbook that has been brought out in a particular span of Criteria of
time is also to be checked. It is a good indicator of the popularity of the Evaluation
textbook. It is better to take the help of a teacher to check the error-
freeness of a textbook.

4.7 KEYWORDS
Biographee : One about whom a biography is written,
the subject of a biography.
Collation : It comprises of pagination, illustration,
size and series.
Diacritical Mark : It is a sign placed above or below a letter
to indicate a different pronunciation of the
letter. For example, ā is pronounced as आ.
The bar above a is the diacritical mark.
Encyclopaedic Dictionary : A dictionary having some features of an
encyclopaedia.
Frontispiece : An illustration that faces the title page of a
book.
Headword : A word with which a separate entry is
made in a reference work. For example,
the phrase by heart will be found under
the headword heart in a dictionary.
Headwords in dictionaries are normally
printed in bold letters.
Imprint : It includes place of publication, publisher
and year of publication.
Inter-line Space : Space between two consecutive lines.
Inter-word Space : Space between two consecutive words.
Necrology : A list of persons who died during a
particular period.

4.8 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

Ansari, S. “Biographical Sources”. BLIS 05 -Unit 11. New Delhi: Indira
Gandhi National Open University, 1999. Print.

---. “Dictionaries”. BLIS 05 -Unit 6. New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Open
University, 1999. Print.

---. “Encyclopaedias”. BLIS 05 -Unit 7. New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National

Open University, 1999. Print.

---. “Geographical Sources”. BLIS 05 -Unit 10. New Delhi: Indira Gandhi
National Open University, 1999. Print.

---. “Handbooks, Manuals, Yearbooks, etc”. BLIS 05 -Unit 8. New Delhi:

Indira Gandhi National Open University, 1999. Print.

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Documentary ---. “Statistical Information Sources”. BLIS 05 -Unit 12. New Delhi: Indira
Sources
Gandhi National Open University, 1999. Print.

“Biographee”. Web. 24 March 2010. <http://en.wiktionary.org/>.

“Etymology”. The Concise Oxford Dictionary. 10th ed. Oxford: OUP, 1999.
Print.

Grogan, Denis. Science and Technology: An Introduction to the Literature.4th

ed. London: Bingley, 1982. Print.

Jagannathan, Neela. “Reviews, State–of-the-Art Reports, Trend Reports, etc.”

BLIS 05 -Unit 5. New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Open University, 1999.
Print.

Katz, William A. Introduction to Reference Work. 6thed. New York: McGraw,

1992. Print.

Krishan Kumar. Reference Service. 5th ed. New Delhi: Vikas, 1996. Print.

National Library of Australia. Catalogue. 2010. Web. February/March 2010.

Subramanyam, K. Scientific and Technical Information Sources. New York:

Dekker, 1981. Print.

The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. Web. 22 March 2010. <http://www.

leabooks.com>.

Webster’s Third New International Dictionary. Web. 22 March 2010. <http://

www.amazon.co.uk>.

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