WHAT ARE SOME TYPICAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION?
Libraries contain a wide variety of sources of information. Just as a skilled craftsman uses the most appropriate tool for the job, skilled information seekers use the most appropriate source for the type and amount of information they require. By learning about the most widely available types of information sources, you can better identify the best tool for locating the answers to your information needs.
reference sources
Reference sources are usually defined as works that contain a collection
of useful facts or information. These kinds of materials are not meant
to be read from cover to cover as you would novels or instructional materials,
but are used to locate facts or specific information quickly and usually
concisely. They include such things as:
- Dictionaries
Books containing words usually alphabetically arranged along with information about their forms, pronunciations, functions, origins, meanings, and uses. Along with standard dictionaries there are also subject specific dictionaries, which focus on terms or jargon associated with a particular field such as medicine or law. There are also foreign language dictionaries, which usually provide words and their equivalent in another language.
- Handbooks
A handbook is a concise reference book that contains instructions about how to do something or information about an organization. A common example is a government handbook such at the Florida Handbook, which provides concise entries on the structure and function of the different levels and institutions of Florida government as well as names and phone numbers of important people and agencies.
- Atlases
An atlas is a bound collection of maps. It usually includes data on various features of a country, e.g., its topography, natural resources, climate, and population, as well as its agriculture and main industries. There are a number of different kinds of atlases, including historical atlases; and in astronomy, a star atlas is a collection of maps or photographs covering much or all of the celestial sphere and showing the locations of stars and other objects.
- Encyclopedias
Encyclopedias generally offer articles that provide a compact overview of a topic written by a variety of authors who have extensive knowledge in that subject area. There are two types of encyclopedias - general and subject. General encyclopedias provide concise overviews on a wide variety of topics. Subject encyclopedias contain in-depth entries focusing on one field of study.
additional sources
In addition to Reference sources, libraries
contain additional resources for locating information on diverse subjects.
These include:
- Books
Books offer information on virtually any subject. Books often are the best source for the historical context of a subject. They are also an excellent choice for collections of diverse viewpoints or an in depth analysis of a topic. Books often provide a bibliography or list of consulted sources. Books are print sources.
- eBooks
While all books are available in print, some books are starting to be published in an online format known as eBooks. The content and organization of these eBooks is the same as their print counterpart. However, some eBook interfaces allow you search options that the print version does not.
- Magazines
A magazine offers articles about subjects of interest to the general public. Magazines can cover a vast range of topics from popular culture to scientific and medical issues. The articles often contain pictures and are written at a level that everyone can understand. Many magazines are accessible through online databases.
- Journals
A journal or scholarly publication offers articles written by researchers and other knowledgeable people in a specific field or profession. These articles are written mainly for other professionals and are often published by professional organizations or associations. Journal articles will invariably contain footnotes or bibliographies and few if any pictures, although they may contain charts and graphs to illustrate statistical information. Some journals are accessible through online databases.
- Newspapers
A newspaper offers articles of interest to the general public, usually focusing on information relevant to current events or a specific local area. Because newspapers are usually published on a daily basis, the information found in newspapers is generally the most current information available at the time of publication. Many newspaper articles are also available through online databases and some newspapers offer a Web version of their current edition; often however, not all articles available in the print version will be included in the Web edition.
- Online Resources
An online resource is something that can be accessed via the Internet and includes information from an almost endless variety of sources through individual Web pages or online databases. A database is a collection of documents that have been organized and made searchable. Online databases containing quality, previously published information usually require a subscription fee. As a student at SJRCC, you have free access to several online databases that provide magazine articles, journal articles, newspaper articles and reference materials.