 |
| Bibliographies as secondary Sources of information library science |
TOPIC: BIBLIOGRAPHIES AS SECONDARY SOURCES OF INFORMATION (UGC NET LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE NOTES)
Definition:
A bibliography is a systematic list of books, periodicals, and other documents on a particular subject, by a particular author, or published in a particular country or period.
It is a secondary source because it does not provide the original document but gives reference or access to primary sources.
According to ALA Glossary (1983):
> “A list of written, printed, or otherwise produced records of publications, together with descriptive or critical notes.”
TYPES OF BIBLIOGRAPHIES
Bibliographies are broadly classified on the basis of scope, form, purpose, and arrangement.
Each type below includes notable examples with complete details (origin, organization, launch year, frequency, changes, and other notable details).
1. National Bibliographies
A National Bibliography lists all documents published in a particular country.
Its purpose is to record the nation’s intellectual output.
Notable National Bibliographies
1. British National Bibliography (BNB)
Origin/Country: United Kingdom
Organisation: British Library
Date of Launch: 1950
Frequency: Weekly (earlier monthly)
Changes: Initially printed; later available online via the British Library’s database; merged with MARC21 records.
Other Details: Includes books and serials published in the UK; arranged by Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC).
2. Indian National Bibliography (INB)
Origin/Country: India
Organisation: Central Reference Library (CRL), Kolkata under the Ministry of Culture
Date of Launch: 1958 (first issue covers 1957 publications)
Frequency: Monthly; cumulative annual volume issued yearly.
Changes: From 2002, also issued electronically.
Other Details: Follows ISBD and AACR-II; classified using DDC.
3. Cumulative Book Index (CBI)
Origin/Country: USA
Organisation: H.W. Wilson Company
Date of Launch: 1898
Frequency: Quarterly with annual cumulations
Changes: Continued till 1999; merged with “Book Review Digest Plus” (online).
Other Details: Includes all English-language books published globally.
2. Trade Bibliography
Trade bibliographies are lists of books and other materials prepared by publishers, booksellers, or trade associations, mainly for sales and acquisition purposes.
Notable Trade Bibliographies
1. Books in Print (BIP)
Origin/Country: USA
Organisation: R.R. Bowker Company
Date of Launch: 1948
Frequency: Annual (now updated continuously online)
Changes: Transitioned to online platform booksinprint.com; includes e-books and out-of-print titles.
Other Details: Divided into subject, author, and title indexes; used worldwide for book selection.
2. British Books in Print
Origin/Country: United Kingdom
Organisation: Whitaker’s
Date of Launch: 1958
Frequency: Annual (later monthly supplements)
Changes: Now merged into “Nielsen BookData” system.
Other Details: Lists books published in the UK, with ISBN and publisher information.
3. Indian Books in Print (IBIP)
Origin/Country: India
Organisation: Kapoor Book Depot (later Indian Publishers’ Association)
Date of Launch: 1984
Frequency: Annual
Other Details: Lists books published in India, arranged by subject; also includes publisher directory.
3. Subject Bibliography
Subject bibliographies list documents on a particular subject or discipline.
They help researchers locate all materials published in that subject area.
Notable Subject Bibliographies
1. International Bibliography of Social Sciences (IBSS)
Origin/Country: UK
Organisation: London School of Economics; now under ProQuest
Date of Launch: 1951
Frequency: Quarterly (now continuously updated online)
Changes: Initially published in 4 parts – Economics, Sociology, Political Science, Anthropology; later merged digitally.
Other Details: Multilingual; indexed by subject and author.
2. Bibliography of Indian Literature
Origin/Country: India
Organisation: Sahitya Akademi
Date of Launch: 1958
Frequency: Irregular (issued in volumes by language)
Other Details: Lists literary works in Indian languages; includes translations and critical works
3. Bibliography of Library and Information Science (LISA)
Origin/Country: United Kingdom
Organisation: Bowker–Saur (now ProQuest)
Date of Launch: 1969
Frequency: Monthly
Changes: Online database now called LISA (Library and Information Science Abstracts).
Other Details: Covers journals, conference papers, and reports in LIS.
4. Author Bibliography
Lists all works written by a particular author, including various editions, translations, and criticisms.
Notable Examples
1. A Bibliography of Dr. S. R. Ranganathan
Origin/Country: India
Organisation: Documentation Research and Training Centre (DRTC), Bangalore
Date of Launch: 1965 (compiled by P.N. Kaula)
Other Details: Includes books, papers, lectures, and unpublished works of Ranganathan.
2. A Bibliography of Mahatma Gandhi’s Writings
Origin/Country: India
Organisation: Publications Division, Government of India
Date of Launch: 1958
Other Details: Includes works by and on Gandhi; arranged chronologically.
5. Universal Bibliography
Covers the entire world’s publications irrespective of country or subject.
Notable Universal Bibliographies
1. Universal Bibliographic Control (UBC)
Origin/Country: International initiative
Organisation: IFLA
Date of Launch: Concept introduced in 1974
Changes: Promoted use of MARC and ISBN/ISSN systems for global standardization.
Other Details: Aims to create a universal bibliographic record accessible worldwide.
2. World Bibliography of Bibliographies
Origin/Country: International
Organisation: Theodore Besterman
Date of Launch: First edition 1939
Frequency: Periodic updates (4th edition in 1965)
Other Details: Lists bibliographies from all fields and countries.
6. Current Bibliography
Lists the most recent publications in a subject or field, updated periodically.
Notable Examples
1. Current Bibliography of Social Sciences
Origin/Country: International
Organisation: UNESCO
Date of Launch: 1953
Frequency: Annual
Other Details: Covers recent publications in sociology, anthropology, political science, and economics.
2. Current Bibliography of Indian Books
Origin/Country: India
Organisation: Central Reference Library, Kolkata
Date of Launch: Ongoing as part of Indian National Bibliography
Frequency: Monthly
Other Details: Lists the latest Indian publications.
7. Retrospective Bibliography
Lists documents published in the past over a fixed period, useful for historical research.
Notable Example
A Bibliography of Indian Publications, 1800–1950
Origin/Country: India
Organisation: National Library, Kolkata
Date of Launch: Compiled post-independence
Other Details: Includes pre-independence publications in all Indian languages.
8. Period Bibliography
Covers works published during a specific time span, such as a decade or century.
Example
Bibliography of 19th Century Indian Literature
Organisation: Sahitya Akademi
Date: 1970s
Other Details: Lists Indian literary works from 1800–1900.
9. Bibliography of Bibliographies
Lists other bibliographies; also called meta-bibliographies.
Notable Example
Besterman’s World Bibliography of Bibliographies
Already noted above under Universal Bibliography.
Considered the most authoritative compilation.
Thank you and don't forget to share with your circle!