Summary AIS1501_ Study Notes.

AIS1501_ Study Notes. AIS1501 - Introducing Applied Information Science. Information control Information control refers to the activities performed by various organisations and information institutions to exercise control over existing information sources and to make it possible to retrieve information from such sources. Information control takes place in a number of different ways, including through bibliographic control. In this context, “control” relates to the function whereby the information institution arranges information and sources of information; it does not relate to “control” in the sense of prohibiting the publication, possessing or use of information. By exercising control over information and sources of information, the information institution is enhancing and ensuring optimal use of information. In modern society, there are a number of different institutions that supply information. These include banks, travel agents, tourist information bureaus and libraries. Would these all be information institutions in terms of our description? The answer is no. We need to distinguish between those institutions that supply information as a by-product of their activities, and those that have the supply of information as their primary purpose. Banks and travel agencies, for example, supply information incidentally to supplement their main purposes, namely finance AIS1501/1/4/2017 5 and travel respectively. A bank has to supply information on account balances, interest rates on investments, and so forth because these form part of its functions. EXERCISE 1.2 With the example of a bank in mind, list other institutions that provide consumers with information. Use the space provided. ____________________________________________________________ Libraries and information services, archives, museums, information centres, the publishing industry and the book trade are regarded as information institutions. In contrast with banks, these are the social institutions that primarily supply and control information in society. In this module, we will focus on library and information services. EXERCISE 1.3 Take another look at the institutions you listed in exercise 1.2. Now indicate whether each of them qualifies as an information institution. 1.3 LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES There is no consensus on what the term “library” means. If we were to ask a number of people on the street what they understood by the term, they would give us widely divergent answers. Some people would say that a library is a building filled with books, others might mention the types of books in a library: books read for leisure and/or books used for study. Other people might mention that in libraries books are arranged in a particular way. It is unlikely that many people would describe a library as a collection of information material arranged or categorised for use – and yet this is the description that most librarians would prefer. Traditionally, a library was referred to as a collection of books and periodicals. It can also refer to an individual’s private collection, but more often it is a large collection that is funded and maintained by a city, institution or municipality in countries such as South Africa. The books or periodicals are shared and consulted by many people who could not afford to purchase them themselves. However, with the invention of media other than books for storing information, many libraries are now also repositories and/or access points for maps, prints or other artwork, microfilm, microfiche, audiotapes, CDs, LPs, video tapes and 6 DVDs, and provide public facilities to access CD-ROM databases and the internet. Thus, modern libraries have been redefined as places where one can access information in any format, whether it be stored inside the building or not. Harrod’s librarians’ glossary of terms used in librarianship, documentation and the book crafts and reference books (2000:440) gives the following description of a library: (1) A collection of books and other literary material kept for reading, study and consultation. (2) A place, building, room or rooms set apart for the keeping and use of a collection of books, etcetera. (3) A collection of films, photographs and other non-book materials, plastic or metal tapes and disks, computer tapes, disks and programs. All of these, as well as printed and manuscript documents, may be housed in departments of one large library or they may be found in collections restricted to one type of material. In the report by the Arts and Culture Task Group (1995:6), a library is described as an agency which collects, organises, preserves and makes available books and other information material (eg periodicals, audiovisual materials and electronic media). It helps its users to find and use information in its collection or obtains information for them from other sources. Libraries are mainly concerned with information materials that have been produced for general distribution, in other words published material. EXERCISE 1.4 Study the quoted definitions of “library and information service”. Make a list of the similarities between the two and another list of the characteristics mentioned in only one of the definitions. These aspects will represent the differences in the definitions. In short, we could say that a library is a collection of information material that is organised to be used. A library is an information agency or institution concerned chiefly with all forms of published records. Such records include books, compact dics and DVDs. When we speak of published records, we mean that multiple copies are made of the records for distribution to all who wish to read, watch or listen to them – in contrast to records in archives and objects in museums, which are frequently unique. AIS1501/1/4/2017 7 EXERCISE 1.5 Think of the library you know best or often visit. Tick off different types of records kept there in the space provided: Books  Magazines  Newspapers  CDs  Videotapes  DVDs  The modern view of a library and information service is that of a collection of information material in various forms, such as printed material like books and magazines; audiovisual material like compact discs, sound cassettes, CDs and DVDs; and other electronic information sources. The concept of the electronic library is clarified in section 1.4 below. The term “library” also refers to a place where material is stored and from where it may be borrowed, consulted or retrieved. A library is an institution that offers a service and which performs a variety of functions to put the information material at the user’s disposal. The word “collection” has appeared repeatedly in definitions. An additional common theme is the organising of records for use. In the past decade, there has been a definite shift in emphasis from collection to use to service. The following key components can be identified from the definitions: collection, information material, organisation and use. These are all related and interactive parts of any effectively functioning system. EXERCISE 1.6 Formulate your own definition of a library and information service using the four components mentioned above. __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ 8 Please note: When asked to define or describe a term or concept, do not merely copy definitions from the study guide, internet or other sources. We prefer you to study and understand the definitions. Once you have done this, you should be able to write down the meanings of the terms or concepts in your own words. Note the similarities and the differences between the definitions you have studied and then comment on them. In conclusion, note the following elements that distinguish a library and information service from other information agencies: (1) A library and information service collects, stores, organises and preserves records for use. (2) A library and information service fulfils a cultural role whereby cultural experiences in fixed forms, such as books, tapes, CDs and other materials that capture cultural experiences are made available to people. 1.4 THE “ELECTRONIC LIBRARY” The above definitions mainly incorporate the notions of a physical entity. However, as we have mentioned, the library of the 21st century contains not only traditional materials but also provides access to information in electronic form not locally held, but available from outside or remote sources (offsite). An electronic library contains information in the following formats:  digital information, which exists in a form that a computer can store, organise, transmit and display without any intervening conversion process  analogue information in any format (print, microfilm, sound and video recordings), which requires an intervening conversion process before a computer can store, organise, transmit or display the information  digitised information of any type or format that has been converted from an analogue source (e.g. a scanned page or image) to a digital form You are all familiar with analogue coding. An example is the traditional gramophone record on which sound (the information) is captured in a track that assumes the same shape as the sound wave. A computer cannot handle analogue information unless it is first converted to binary coding. Binary coding uses two numbers (0 and 1) to represent information. Computers use digital (binary) techniques to store data electronically. AIS1501/1/4/2017 9 The analogue information in a traditional library collection includes books, periodicals, microfilms, analogue sound recordings, maps, manuscripts and so on. The library’s digital resources will include analogue material that has been digitised, digital information, and access via electronic gateways to remote digital and digitised databases. The latter is also known as networked information. Networked delivery mechanisms include online services and internet applications such as the worldwide web. You will learn more about the internet and other electronic information sources in other modules. The virtual library is discussed in the last study unit (study unit 9) of this module. 1.5 ASPECTS STUDIED IN APPLIED INFORMATION SCIENCE From the above discussion of concepts, it should be clear that in Applied Information Science we study information institutions and related aspects, such as their aims, types, activities and history. Information is contained in and on concrete objects such as books, magnetic tapes or records or, increasingly, in a “virtual” form such as computer databases. Such information objects are called records and form the basis for the existence of most information institutions. Applied Information Science therefore also looks at aspects such as the origin, nature, types of and uses for records. To control information, certain activities or tasks need to be performed. It is necessary, for example, to become aware of the existence of information and sources of information such as books, to locate and acquire these and to retrieve information from such sources. All these activities are studied in Applied Information Science. The activities referred to here involve people who perform certain tasks. Practitioners who work in information institutions are therefore also discussed in Applied Information Science. We also discuss a variety of related information occupations such as those of librarians, archivists, publishers and booksellers. Information is not only collected. It is also made available and accessible to users. The ways in which users use information and the reasons that they do or do not use information are studied in Information Science. This knowledge of the user is applied in developing user guidance programmes and offering information services to users in library and information services. User guidance programmes and services are thus an important field of study in Applied Information Science. In information institutions, records are collected, organised, made available for use and used by users. All these processes need to be coordinated, and this 10 exercise is known as “management”. Management is also studied in Applied Information Science. EXERCISE 1.7 Explain what you understand by the term “information control”. List all the aspects that are relevant to the concept of information control. ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Applied Information Science may therefore be defined as the discipline that studies information institutions and their:  sources (stock)  activities  (functions) user  services  management 1.6 CHARACTERISTICS OF APPLIED INFORMATION SCIENCE