Categorisation of

UNIT 1 CATEGORISATION OF SOURCES Sources

Structure

1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Information Sources : Categories
1.2.1 Documentary Sources
1.2.2 Non-documentary Sources
1.2.3 Print Sources
1.2.4 Non-print Sources
1.2.5 Published Sources
1.2.6 Unpublished Sources
1.2.7 Primary Sources
1.2.8 Secondary Sources
1.2.9 Tertiary Sources
1.2.10 Macro and Micro Sources
1.2.11 Conventional and Non-conventional Sources
1.3 Categorisation of Sources by Grogan
1.4 Categorisation of Sources by Bonn and Smith
1.5 Categorisation of Sources by Giljarevskij
1.6 Categorisation of Sources by Subramanyam
1.7 Categorisation by Ranganathan
1.7.1 Macro and Micro Documents
1.7.2 Conventional and Non-conventional Documents
1.8 Lack of Unanimity in Categorisation
1.9 Usefulness of Categorisation
1.10 Summary
1.11 Answers to Self Check Exercises
1.12 Keywords
1.13 References and Further Reading

1.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you will be able to:
• explain that information sources can be categorised;
• describe that there are specific criteria for categorisation of information
sources such as type, content, media and publication status;
• identify that there is lack of unanimity in categorisation;
• summarise that this type of categorisation generally applies to scientific
publications; and
• find out that categorisation has some uses.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Information sources are many and varied. Since time immemorial human
beings are generating information by observation, experimentation,
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Documentary imagination, reasoning, and experiencing through sensory organs. The Cat
Sources
information they generated were generally communicated to others for their
own interest and survival. In olden days when a human being used to spot a
wild animal in the vicinity of her/his habitation, immediately s/he used to
inform others so that the animal could be killed to save their own lives and
earn a day’s meal. Even today this practice may be seen in remote forests of
Africa, Amazon basin, etc. The ancient habit of human beings relating to
information still exists and thus they are still powerful sources of information.

In the long path of human progress, a time came when humans started
recording information by painting or carving on cave walls and stones.
Gradually the media and methods of recording changed. From cave walls and
stones they advanced to clay tablets, papyrus, palm leaves, parchment, vellum,
paper and finally to electronic media. Also, there was transition from
paintings to pictographic writings to letters and alphabets.

Prior to the invention of printing from movable types in 1450s, handwritten

books were the order of the day. Scribes in many parts of the world used to
copy the books and sell them. Obviously, this particular process could not
generate a huge number of books. With the invention of printing, production
of books increased manyfold. This change gave birth to a variety of
documentary sources like books, pamphlets, journals, newspapers, etc.
Institutions like libraries and universities started emerging more than two
thousand years ago. Even by today’s standard, the library in Alexandria that
flourished from 3rd century BC to 3rd century AD was a huge library as it
contained about four hundred thousand documents. The library harboured
almost the entire knowledge generated by human beings till that time in the
world and served as a great source of information. It was more or less like
today’s Internet which is an unthinkable, huge reservoir of information
generated from all parts of the world. In brief, this is the story of the birth of
documentary and non-documentary sources of information.
We are all familiar with printed sources like books, newspapers, magazines,
and others. Similarly we have seen hand-written documents called
manuscripts, letters, notes, and electronic sources like CDs, microfilms, etc.
They are non-print sources.

Some sources are produced and distributed by publishers. They may be

printed, electronic or micro-documents (i.e. documents in micro-forms). They
are usually priced. These are published sources. Typed sources like a thesis,
hand-written sources like a letter, are unpublished sources.

When we go through the content of a documentary source, we find that all of

them do not contain the same type of information. Some sources provide
totally new information that was not known before. They may inform about
new discoveries, new inventions, new ideas, new concepts, etc. These are
called primary sources. Take for example a research periodical which
includes research articles that always report new findings.

Another type of information source is generated by gathering information

from primary sources. The information gathered from primary sources is
compiled in systematic order and published in the form of a book, journal, etc.
These types of sources are known as secondary sources. Indian Science
Abstracts is an example of secondary sources of information.

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Publications pertaining to tertiary sources are sometimes produced based on Categorisation of
Sources
secondary sources. A bibliography is a secondary source. Now, if a
bibliography of bibliographies is produced, it will be a tertiary source.
Guides to reference sources are also tertiary sources as reference sources are
secondary sources.

Ranganathan divided documents in two different broad groups – macro

documents and micro documents as well as conventional and non-
conventional documents. We shall discuss them at relevant places in this Unit.

1.2 INFORMATION SOURCES: CATEGORIES

From the discussion above we have got a fair idea about various types of
information sources such as documentary and non-documentary, print and
non-print, published and unpublished, macro and micro, conventional and
non-conventional. We have also noted that documentary sources can be
further subdivided as primary, secondary, tertiary according to content. We
shall just enumerate the sources here as they will be discussed in detail in
subsequent units of this Block.

1.2.1 Documentary Sources

All sources in the form of documents are documentary sources. The
connotation of the term ‘document’ has undergone sea change in recent years
and now includes books, periodicals, manuscripts, videotapes, computer files,
and databases. A selective list of documentary sources is given below:

• Books • Reports (technical,

Treatises administrative, trip)

Monographs • Articles (popular, technical,

Textbooks research)

Reference Books • Globes
• Manuscripts • Diaries
• Periodicals • Letters
• Patents • Office Files
• Standards • CD-ROM Recordings
• Theses • Video Recordings
• Conference Documents • Databases
• Souvenirs • Computer Files
• Festschriften • Laboratory Notebooks
1.2.2 Non-documentary Sources
We have three types of non-documentary sources of information, i.e. humans,
organisations, and World Wide Web.
Humans • Representatives of Firms
• Information Professionals • Technological Gatekeepers
• Consultants • Invisible College
• Experts • Common Men, etc.
• Resource Persons
• Extension Workers

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Documentary Cat
Sources
Organisations • Broadcasting Houses
• International Agencies • Libraries and Information
• Government Ministries and Centres
Departments • Museums
• Research and Development • Archives
Organisations • Exhibitions
• Academic Institutions • Trade Fairs
• Societies • Database Vendors
• Publishing Houses • Information Analysis Centres
• Press • Referral Centres, etc.
World Wide Web

1.2.3 Print Sources

All sources that are in print form are print sources. Some of the examples of
print sources are given below:
• Books • Festschriften
• Periodicals • Reports (technical,
• Patents administrative, trip)
• Standards • Articles (popular, technical,
research)
• Conference Documents
• Souvenirs

1.2.4 Non-print Sources

Documentary sources that are not printed are all non-print sources, such as the
following:
• Manuscripts • Microforms
(typed or hand-written) • CD Recordings
• Theses • Video Recordings
• Project Reports (typed) • Databases
• Diaries • Computer Files
• Letters • E-publications
• Office Files • Humans
• Laboratory Notebooks • Organisations
• World Wide Web, etc.
1.2.5 Published Sources
These sources are documentary sources, both printed and non-printed. They
are brought out by publishers in large number of copies, usually priced and
sold. Some of the examples are as follows:
• Books • Souvenirs
• Periodicals • Festschriften
• Patents • CD Recordings
• Standards • Video Recordings
• Conference Documents • Databases, etc.

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 Categorisation of
1.2.6 Unpublished Sources Sources
These documentary sources are neither published nor produced in large
number of copies, and usually are not for sale. Unpublished sources, at times,
can turn into published sources as well. For example, letters written by
Rabindranath Tagore have been published in book form by Visva Bharati at a
later date. Some of the examples of unpublished sources are given below:
• Manuscripts (typed or hand- • Office Files
written) • Laboratory Notebooks
• Theses • Memoranda
• Project Reports (typed) • Medical Records, etc.
• Diaries
• Letters

1.2.7 Primary Sources

A source will be considered as a primary source in case it carries newly
generated information, original work of research, or new interpretation of
already known facts. The document is the first and often the only published
record of original research. The information contained in primary sources is
generally scattered and unorganised. Take for example, the case of swine flu,
a new disease for human beings. Ever since the first case was reported in
Mexico in April 2009, a lot of research work is going on in the world to find
out a vaccine to contain it, medicines to cure those who are already affected,
etc. The literature on this is being published in the world in hundreds of
sources and scores of languages. Hence, it is highly scattered and unorganised.
Another fact is that literature that appears in the primary sources takes time to
get assimilated in the universe of knowledge, since results of experiments are
double-checked, all findings, new explanations, new ideas, etc. are deliberated
upon by peers. When their opinion is favourable, then only these find a chance
to enter into the universe of knowledge.

1.2.8 Secondary Sources

A source which is more or less completely dependent on primary sources for
its existence is a secondary source. Information in secondary sources is
organised and arranged according to a definite plan. Indexing and abstracting
periodicals are one of the examples of secondary sources. Indexing
periodical, indexes the contents of periodicals or some other type of
publications usually on regular basis, whereas abstracting periodical along
with the contents also gives the abstract. The abstract can be indicative or
informative. Indexing and abstracting periodicals may be either general in
nature or on a specific theme. In any abstracting and indexing periodical you
will notice that articles of the same topic have all been put together, and of
related topics close by. They are no more scattered. Even if the articles are in
different languages you will find the abstracts in the same language. In a way
it is overcoming the language barrier. As the bibliographical details of the
primary sources are usually given in the secondary sources, these sources act
as a key to primary sources. In a review article, also a secondary source, the
entire information on a particular topic for a certain period is first collected,
then digested and finally a report is written wherein the entire matter is
organised coherently. Here the entire phenomenon of scattering is done away
with and the whole matter gets well-organised. Generally most reference
books also draw materials from primary sources.
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Documentary Cat
Sources
1.2.9 Tertiary Sources
A source that is entirely dependent on secondary sources or primary and
secondary sources for its existence is a tertiary source. Sources like ‘guides to
reference sources’ and ‘bibliography of bibliographies’ are examples of
tertiary sources. These sources act as key to primary sources as well as
secondary sources. Some authors have considered directories, yearbooks, etc.
also as tertiary sources as they help the searcher in using primary and
secondary sources.

There are sources, like directory of on-going research projects, which are
placed under tertiary sources. For such publications data is directly gathered
from scientists (primary sources), as such they deserve to be placed under
primary sources. Why such publications have been placed under tertiary
sources is not quite clear. We shall have further discussion on this in this Unit.

1.2.10 Macro and Micro Sources

Ranganathan, the father of library science in India, conceived the idea of
macro documents and micro documents. Documents embodying macro
thoughts such as books are macro documents, and those embodying micro
thoughts such as journal articles are micro documents. It is to be noted that
documents in microforms are not always micro documents since a microfilm
can harbour a book – a macro document, or a journal article – a micro
document.

1.2.11 Conventional and Non-conventional Sources

Ranganathan termed documents such as books printed on paper as
conventional sources, and microfilm, reprograph, etc. as non-conventional
sources.

Self Check Exercise

Note: i) Write your answer in the space given below.
ii) Check your answer with the answers given at the end of this Unit.
1) Give examples of primary, secondary and tertiary sources of information.

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1.3 CATEGORISATION OF SOURCES BY

GROGAN
Grogan also attempted to categorise documents relating to scientific literature
only. Hence, periodicals here mean scientific periodicals, research reports
mean scientific research reports, etc. He covered both published and
unpublished sources. The coverage is fairly comprehensive.
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Primary Sources Categorisation of
Sources
• Periodicals (solely devoted to • Theses and Dissertations
report original work) • Laboratory Notebooks
• Research Reports • Diaries
• Conference Proceedings • Memoranda
• Reports of Scientific Expeditions • Internal Research Reports
• Official Publications • Minutes of Meetings
• Patents • Company Files
• Standards • Correspondence
• Trade Literature • Personal Files, etc.
Comments – The first item in this category is ‘periodicals’, which implies
scientific periodicals only. All scientific periodicals do not fall under this
category. That is why the author has to specify the periodicals that fall under
this category. We can call them as ‘primary periodicals’. The second item in
this category is ‘research reports’. No other author has taken into account
‘reports of scientific expeditions’ in any category. In a way they are also
research reports. Their placement here is justified as they report the outcome
of original research. Other sources mentioned here are unquestionably primary
sources. Some primary sources are missing from the list such as festschriften,
research monographs, preprints, reprints, information leaflets, notes,
information cards, medical records, audio and video tapes, and computer
programs. Electronic sources are not included possibly because they were not
that commonplace at the time of the writing of the book as they are today.
Secondary Sources

• Periodicals (non-primary)
– Abstracting Services
– Indexing Services
– Reviews of Progress
• Reference Books, e.g.,
– Encyclopaedias
– Dictionaries
– Handbooks
– Tables
– Formularies
• Treatises
• Monographs, and
• Textbooks
Comments – Periodicals are included here also as abstracting, indexing, and
reviewing periodicals, are secondary sources of information. Moreover,
popular periodicals are also secondary periodicals as often they interpret in
lucid terms the advances in science reported in primary periodicals. Express
information service, manuals, bibliographies, yearbooks, directories, indexes,
translations, etc. are missing in the list as some of them figure under tertiary
sources. Express information service is not popular outside Soviet Union that
explains its absence in the list. Computerised sources are also missing.

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Documentary Cat
Sources Tertiary Sources • Guides to ‘The Literature’
• Yearbooks • Lists of Research in Progress
• Directories • Guides to Sources of Information
• Bibliographies (List of Books, • Guides to Libraries
Location Lists of Periodicals,
• Guides to Organisations
Lists of Indexing and Abstracting
Services)

Comments – Majority of the items placed under tertiary sources do not really
belong to this category. It has already been pointed out that yearbooks and
directories are secondary sources. Bibliographies that list only primary
sources belong to secondary sources. Bibliographies that list only secondary
sources or both primary and secondary sources should go to tertiary sources.
Union catalogues of books as well as of periodicals are tertiary sources.
‘Bibliography of bibliographies’ is also a tertiary source which does not find a
mention here. A ‘Lists of research in progress’ provides information about
on-going research either just providing citations or citations along with a short
description. Citations or the abstracts are primary sources as they are being
reported for the first time. A list of such items surely does not belong to
tertiary source. As a bibliography of research articles is considered a
secondary source, similarly a list of the citations or citations plus description
should be considered a secondary source. ‘Guides to libraries’ and ‘Guides to
organisations’ are also directories and should belong to secondary sources.

1.4 CATEGORISATION OF SOURCES BY BONN

AND SMITH
The categorisation given below is by George S. Bonn and Linda C. Smith.
Initially, sources were categorised by George S. Bonn alone. The following
categorisation is for scientific and technical literature. It may be noted that by
and large only published sources have been covered.

Primary Sources
• Periodicals • Preprints
• Festschriften • Patents
• Conference Proceedings • Standards
• Research Reports • Dissertations
• Research Monographs • Manufacturers’ Literature

Comments – Periodicals depending on the content may be treated as primary

or secondary sources. Hence, they cannot be always placed under primary
sources. All other sources included in this category are primary sources except
festschriften which at times may contain some informative articles.
Manufacturers’ literature is also termed as trade literature. Sources missing
are: official publications and most of the unpublished sources.

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Secondary Sources Categorisation of
Sources
• Handbooks • Indexing Serials
• Encyclopaedias • Critical Tables
• Dictionaries • Abstracting Serials
• Treatises • Machine-readable Bibliographic
• Monographs Databases
• Indexes • Databanks
• Bibliographies • Translations
• Reviews
Comments – Most secondary sources have been covered. Sources like
express information service, lists of research in progress, manuals,
formularies, almanacs, yearbooks, directories, textbooks, etc. are missing as
the last three items are included in tertiary sources. Translations as sources of
information have been covered in this list only, which other authors have
missed. Moreover, machine-readable bibliographic databases and databanks
have been included which others did not, maybe because they did not deem it
necessary considering the fact that in the machine-readable form there is no
change in the content. It is the medium which is different. The document may
be in print form, in microform or in machine-readable form. If the content
remains the same their categorisation remains unchanged.

Tertiary Sources
• Guides to the Literature
• Directories (of persons, organisations, products, etc.)
• Textbooks
Comments – Most of the tertiary sources are missing such as library
catalogues, bibliography of bibliographies, directory of directories, and guides
to reference sources. It may be noted here that ‘textbooks’ are placed in
tertiary sources. The placement of directories here does not seem to be very
sound. We shall discuss about the placement of the same source in different
categories in Section 1.8.

1.5 CATEGORISATION OF SOURCES BY

GILJAREVSKIJ
R S Giljarevskij, a Russian information scientist, is little known outside
Russia. According to his categorisation, all information sources are either
primary or secondary. There is no tertiary category. Moreover, his
categorisation covers all literature, not only scientific and technical.

Primary Sources
• Monographs • Invention Specifications (e.g.
• Collections of Papers (e.g. Patents)
Festschrift volumes) • Technical Catalogues
• Conference Proceedings • Information Leaflets
• Textbooks and Manuals • Scientific and Technical Reports
• Official Publications • Theses

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Documentary • Serials • Information Cards Cat
Sources
• Journals and Magazines • Preprints
• Newspapers • Manuscripts and Galleys
• Standards • Data Files
Comments – The categorisation by Giljarevskij differs a great deal from
others as he has covered the entire gamut of literature whereas others have
covered only scientific and technical literature. As a result some uncommon
sources have appeared in his list which we will describe below:

Monographs are included here as primary sources. Monographs are basically

long research articles or a short book on a specific theme. It is to be
remembered that only research monographs are primary sources and the rest
are secondary sources.

Collection of papers – This particular heading used by Giljarevskij is a better

one in the sense that its scope is wide unlike festschriften used by other
authors. Sometimes articles are collected on a particular topic, or contributed
by a particular person and brought out in the form of a book. If the articles
belong to primary sources, the anthology will also be a primary source. Under
this heading both collected works and festschriften can be accommodated.

Textbooks and manuals have been considered as primary sources by

Giljarevskij, which others have considered as secondary or tertiary sources.
This will be discussed further in Section 1.8

Serials, journals and magazines all figure in the list. Journals and magazines
being serials there was no need to mention all the three. It is also a fact that all
serials are not primary sources.

Newspapers are excluded from others’ list since they do not pertain to
scientific and technical literature. It is included here as this categorisation
covers the entire gamut of literature. Newspapers contain primary information
and its placement here is well justified.

Technical catalogues are generally manufacturers’ catalogues and form trade

literature. Similarly information leaflets supplied along with the products,
processes, etc. by manufacturers also form trade literature. They are primary
sources. However, information leaflets based on primary literature are
secondary sources.

An invitation card is an information card. Even a letter contained in a

postcard is an information card. Information cards exist in various fields. Even
you may receive a card from a journal editor informing that your article has
been accepted for publication is also an example under this category.

Manuscripts and galleys – A manuscript may be a handwritten book or any

other document or a typed article or the like that has been sent for publication.
The galley is a printer’s proof. All these are original documents, and hence
placed under primary sources.

Data files are computerised files containing data. If the data belongs to
primary sources, then the data files will be primary sources.

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Secondary Sources Categorisation of
Sources
• Reference Literature • Invention Bulletins
• Reviews • Secondary Publications on Patents
• Abstract Journals • Library Catalogues
• Express Information Bulletins • Bibliographic Files
• Standards Indexes
Comments – All the sources listed are indisputably secondary sources, except
library catalogues that belong to tertiary sources as they contain information
both about primary and secondary sources. Possibly, library catalogues are
placed here as there is no category of tertiary source. Some of the missing
items are: treatises, translations, etc.

Self Check Exercise

Note: i) Write your answer in the space given below.
ii) Check your answer with the answers given at the end of this Unit.
2) Briefly comment on the categorisation of primary sources by Giljarevskij.
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1.6 CATEGORISATION OF SOURCES BY

SUBRAMANYAM
While categorising, Grogan, Boon and Smith, and Giljarevskij considered
mostly macro documents (books, journals, etc.). Subramanyam has also
included micro documents (journal articles, preprints, etc.). His categorisation,
more exhaustive than others is presented below:

Primary Sources
• Laboratory Note Books • Letters to the editor or short
• Diaries communications in primary
journals
• Notes
• Preliminary Communications in
• Medical Records “letters” journals
• Personal Correspondence
• Preprints and Reprints of
• Videotapes of experiments and Conference Papers
surgical operations • Conference Proceedings
• Graphs, charts, and tables usually • Technical Reports
machine-generated during
experiments • Theses and Dissertations
• Transcripts and audio or • Journal Articles, Preprints, Reprints
videotapes of lectures and • Newsletters
discussions • House Organs
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Documentary • Internal Research Reports • Standards, Specifications, Codes of Cat
Sources
• Memoranda Practice
• Company Files • Trade Literature
• Patent Specifications
• Computer Programs

Comments – In Subramanyam’s categorisation the coverage is wide and it

includes quite a few micro documents such as medical records, videotapes and
audiotapes. However, journals and a few other items seem to be missing.
Instead of listing journals as such, he has listed the contents of the journal
such as journal articles, preliminary communications in ‘letters’ journals,
letters to the editor in primary journals, as well as preprints, reprints,
newsletters and house organs which sufficiently take care of journals.
Anthologies (including festschriften), research monographs, official
publications, information leaflets, personal files, data files, etc. are absent. As
this categorisation is based on scientific and technical literature only,
newspapers, information cards, etc. are excluded.

Secondary Sources
• Bibliographies • Catalogues
• Indexes • Yearbooks
• Abstracts • Almanacs
• Current Awareness Services • Reviews
• Dictionaries • Monographs
• Directories • Textbooks
• Tables • Encyclopaedias
• Handbooks

Comments – The coverage of items is extensive. It may be observed here that

instead of abstracting periodicals, the author has listed ‘abstracts’. An
abstracting periodical is nothing but a collection of abstracts arranged
systematically. Express information service is, of course, missing as it is more
or less unknown outside Russia. In addition, lists of research in progress,
manuals, formularies, treatises, translations, etc. are also missing.

Tertiary Sources
• Bibliography of Bibliographies
• Directory of Directories
• Guides to Literature

Comments – Library catalogues have been listed under the secondary sources.
‘Guides to reference sources’ have not been listed separately possibly with the
consideration that these guides form part of ‘guides to literature’. There is
slight difference between the ‘guides to literature’ and ‘guides to reference
sources’. In ‘guides to literature’ one may find the listing of primary sources
along with secondary sources. On the other hand ‘guides to reference sources’
are unlikely to cover primary sources.

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 Categorisation of
1.7 CATEGORISATION BY RANGANATHAN Sources

Ranganathan has categorised the documents from two different angles: i) by

the volume of thought content; and ii) by recording media. Documents
according to first categorisation are termed as macro and micro documents,
and by second categorisation as conventional and non-conventional
documents.

1.7.1 Macro and Micro Documents

Macro Document
When a work expressing macro thought is embodied into a document all by
itself is called a macro document. A book may be considered as a macro
document.

Micro Document
A work expressing micro thought, say, a journal article, is usually not
embodied into a document all by itself. Several micro documents comprise a
macro document when they are printed together in the macro document. Take,
for example, the September 2010 issue of the Annals of Library and
Information Studies. In this particular issue there are 15 different articles.
Each of the articles is a micro document.

Comment – This is an extremely broad categorisation based on the volume of

thought content. It does not go into the numerous types of documents
prevalent in the world. Neither does it takes into account the various forms the
content of a document take while passing from primary to secondary to
tertiary phases.

1.7.2 Conventional and Non-conventional Documents

Conventional Documents
A conventional document is one in which paper forms the basic material on
which recording is done by phonetic symbols forming the script of an
articulate natural or artificial language, or non-conventional script such as
Braille, or non-phonetic symbols such as drawings, or simply by writing.
These documents are used for the communication of thought content. Some
examples of conventional documents are journals, serials, books, articles,
Braille books, stenographs, books with musical notations or ciphers, maps,
atlases and similar documents, and handwritten manuscripts.

Non-conventional Documents
A non-conventional document is one:
i) which is reproduced from a conventional document either on paper (e.g.
a photocopy), or on any other non-paper material, (e.g. a microfilm) —
sometimes, these documents are highly reduced in size (e.g. a
microfiche) requiring a device for reading; and

ii) which records sound on non-paper media (e.g. gramophone record), or

sound and picture together on non-paper media (e.g. A/V materials,
video recordings, etc.), or simply picture on non-paper media (visual
documents).

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Documentary Comments – Categorisation of documents here is predominantly based on the Cat
Sources
media of recording – paper and non-paper. It does not take into account the
content of the document.

1.8 LACK OF UNANIMITY IN CATEGORISATION

Going through the categorisation by various authors it becomes evident that
Ranganathan has categorised documents firstly by the volume of the thought
content – macro or micro and secondly by the recording media – paper and
non-paper. Moreover, Ranganathan’s categorisation forms part of his
Classified Catalogue Code. It may be construed that the categorisation is in
the context of cataloguing. Grogan, Bonn and Smith, Giljarevskij, and
Subramanyam have categorised documents on the basis of the forms the
content of a document takes while passing from the primary to secondary to
tertiary stages. It has been noticed that in the categorisation by aforesaid
authors, there is no unanimity in the categorisation of certain sources like
textbooks, monographs, manuals, yearbooks, bibliographies, and directories.
It makes it amply clear that criteria for categorisation are not yet fixed firmly,
and naming of the sources in certain cases has not been precise. We shall
discuss these items one by one and try to see why they have been placed under
different categories.

Textbooks
It has been placed under primary category by Giljarevskij, secondary category
by Grogan and Subramanyam, and tertiary category by Bonn and Smith. If we
strictly follow the characteristics of a primary source then a textbook cannot
be placed under primary source which is supposed to contain something
original. If the content of a textbook is analysed, then it will be seen that
generally a textbook contains facts which were reported before in primary
sources and are already known. As it is based on primary sources, it has to be
a secondary source. Of course, there are certain textbooks that contain original
ideas too, e.g. Prolegomena to Library Classification by Ranganathan. Such
cases may be treated as exceptions rather than rule.

It may be argued that many references in textbooks pertain to secondary

sources like textbooks, dictionaries, encyclopaedias, etc. Hence, textbooks
should be placed under tertiary sources. For example, in the book Theory of
Classification, by Krishan Kumar, Indian Standard Glossary of Classification
Terms has been referred to, which is a secondary source. References to
textbooks are also quite common. Take for example, Newton’s laws of
motion. They were originally recorded in Philosophiae Naturalis Principia
Mathematica, popularly known as Principia published in 1687. When
textbooks on physics were written after the publication of Principia the
authors referred to Principia. Now authors do not refer to Principia as it is not
easily accessible, moreover it is in Latin. They simply refer to authentic
textbooks published recently for writing the ‘laws of motion’. In innumerable
cases matters were drawn initially from the original source for writing a
textbook. Often, they are drawn from authentic textbooks rather than the
original source. The fact is that the matter contained in the textbooks owe its
origin to primary sources with rare exceptions. Hence, it will be wise to place
textbooks under secondary sources.

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Monographs Categorisation of
Sources
Bonn and Smith have considered research monograph as a primary source,
and Giljarveskij has considered all monographs as primary sources. On the
other hand Subramanyam and Grogan have considered monographs as
secondary sources. Now the question arises what is the reality. If a set of
scientific monographs is examined, then it is likely to be found that some
monographs contain the research results of a particular experiment, survey,
etc. Such monographs are undeniably primary sources and it will be apt to call
them research monographs. On the other hand if a monograph is produced
culling data from primary sources, then this monograph will be a secondary
source. Rice in India is a monograph belonging to this category. Hence,
research monographs belong to primary sources and other monographs to
secondary sources.

Yearbooks
Grogan has placed yearbooks under tertiary sources, and Subramanyam under
secondary sources. Giljarveskij did not mention yearbooks in his list.
However, he has mentioned ‘reference literature’ under secondary sources,
and yearbooks get covered under that. Yearbooks mostly draw materials from
primary sources like newspapers and other mass communication media and
serve as reference sources. Hence, yearbooks logically belong to secondary
sources.

Directories and Lists of Research in Progress

Grogan as well as Bonn and Smith have placed directories under tertiary
sources and Subramanyam under secondary sources. Giljarveskij’s list is
silent about ‘directories’. ‘Lists of research in progress’ figures only in
Grogan’s list under tertiary sources. Directories and lists of research in
progress are reference sources. From this point of view, they are secondary
sources. If we consider their compilation then we find both the items are
compiled from the data gathered through questionnaires and not from any
primary or secondary sources. Hence, these two sources may be considered as
primary sources as well.

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) Textbooks have been placed by various authors in primary sources,

secondary sources and tertiary sources. Where would you like to place it
and why?
…………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………..

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Documentary 4) Monographs are placed under primary sources and sometimes under Cat
Sources
secondary sources as well. Explain why?

…………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………..

5) Under which category you will like to place ‘lists of research in

progress’. Justify your answer.

…………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………..

1.9 USEFULNESS OF CATEGORISATION

i) To judge the soundness of a collection, categorisation of documents
renders positive help. Take for example the periodical collection of a
research library. If the library contains more primary periodicals compared
to secondary, then the collection will be considered balanced and more
helpful for research. In any scientific library wherever there is dominance
of primary documents, it is surely the sign of a good collection.

ii) Using categorisation it is possible to determine to what extent a particular

field is research-oriented. Take the current periodicals of a particular field.
Categorise them in primary and secondary sources, and then find out the
percentage of periodicals in each category. The percentage will indicate to
what extent the field is research-oriented. If in a field more than 50%
periodicals are primary, then the field is surely research-dominated.
Applying the same criteria we can determine to what extent LIS field in
India is research-oriented.

1.10 SUMMARY
By combining categorisation of all the authors we cannot arrive at an
unanimous decision as to the items that comprise primary, secondary and
tertiary sources. Maybe in future, it might be possible to distinctly identify
the sources that fall under primary, secondary and tertiary sources. Needless
to say, categorisation takes into account documentary sources generally
pertaining to pure and applied science. We shall discuss them one by one in
detail in units 2 and 3 of this Block.

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 Categorisation of
1.11 ANSWERS TO SELF CHECK EXERCISES Sources

1) Research periodicals, research monographs, research reports, conference

proceedings, patents, standards, theses, dissertations, etc. are primary
sources of information. Abstracting and indexing periodicals, reviews of
progress, popular periodicals, encyclopaedias, dictionaries, handbooks,
tables, manuals, formularies, bibliographies, treatises, textbooks, etc. are
secondary sources. Bibliography of bibliographies, guides to reference
sources, etc. are tertiary sources of information.

2) Giljarevskij’s categorisation covers the literature in its entirety unlike

others whose categorisation is based on only scientific and technical
literature. Moreover Giljarevskij has categorised the sources only in two
groups while other have done it in three groups. There is no dispute
about the following sources which are considered primary sources by all
— collections of papers (e.g. festschrift volumes), conference
proceedings, official publications, newspapers, standards, invention
specifications (e.g. patents), technical catalogues, scientific and technical
reports, theses, preprints, data files, etc. Documents which are disputed
are: monographs, textbooks and manuals, serials, information leaflets,
information cards, manuscripts and galleys, etc. Except textbooks and
manuals, the remaining sources become primary or secondary depending
on the content.

3) The matter in textbooks is usually derived from primary sources, hence

it should be placed under secondary sources. Books with original ideas
like Prolegomena to Library Classification are sometimes prescribed as
textbooks. Such cases may be treated as an exception. As textbooks
derive materials from secondary sources like dictionaries,
encyclopaedias, etc. some authors tend to consider textbooks as tertiary
sources. However, it should be remembered that though textbooks draw
materials from secondary sources, the content mostly owes its origin to
primary sources that might have been published long before. As such, it
is better to consider textbooks as secondary sources.

4) The contents of monographs vary. Some contain only the results of

research and are justifiably called ‘research monographs’. These
monographs are primary sources. On the other hand, many monographs
are written culling information from primary sources. Naturally, these
monographs are secondary sources.

5) ‘Lists of research in progress’ includes the name/s of the researcher/s,

the title of the research project, the name of the institute where the
research is being conducted, duration of the project, and a brief
description of the project. It may also include the subject heading and
the class number. The information is obtained through questionnaire,
and the publication is compiled using raw data. From this consideration,
this is a primary source. However, it is mostly used as a reference tool
and thereby finds a place among secondary sources. Its placement under
tertiary sources is difficult to justify.

1.12 KEYWORDS
Data File : A computer file containing data.
21
Documentary Express Information Service : It is a secondary periodical Cat
Sources
containing detailed summary of the
article along with the mathematical
calculations and illustrations. It
resembles an abstracting periodical
but the information given is much
more detailed.
Movable Types : In this type of printing each character
may be an individual letter or a
punctuation mark may be cast on a
separate piece of clay/wood or metal
for printing.
Personal File : It is an official file containing
information about an employee
relating to her/his service.
Transcript : A written or printed version of
material that was originally appeared
in a different medium.
1.13 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING
Bonn, George S., and Smith Linda C. “Literature on Science and
Technology”. Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. 10th ed. New York:
Mcgraw-Hill, 2007: 109-115. Print.
Changing Scenario in Digital Era –Prof Alaka Buragohain Festschrift
Volume. Guwahati: Assam College Librarians’ Association, 2008. Print.
Feather J, and Sturges P., eds. International Encyclopedia of Library and
Information Science. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 1997: 263-4. Print.
Giljarevskij, R. S. Sources of Scientific and Technical Information. Moscow:
VINITI, 1973. Course Material of UNIDO-UNESCO Interregional Training
Course for Industrial Information Officers and Documentalists. Print.
Grogan, Denis. Science and Technology: An Introduction to the Literature. 4th
ed. London: Clive Bingley, 1982. Print
Indian Standard Glossary of Classification Terms. New Delhi: Indian
Standards Institution, 1963. (IS:2550-1963).Print.
Journal of Intellectual Property Rights. New Delhi: National Institute of
Science Communication and Information Resources, 1996-. Print.
Newton, Isaac. Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. London: 1687.
Print.
Raju, A. A. N., and L. S. Ramaiah, eds. National Bibliographical Control:
Problems and Perspectives – Essays for A. K. Dasgupta. New Delhi: Allied
Publishers (P) Ltd., 2003. Print.
Ranganathan, S. R. Classified Catalogue Code with Additional Rules for
Dictionary Catalogue Code. 5th ed. Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1964.
Print.
---., Prolegomena to Library Classification. 3rd ed. Bombay: Asia Publishing
House, 1967.Print.
Schneyman A. H. “Organizing Information Resources”. Information
Management Review 1985, 1.1: 34-45. Print.
Subramanyam, K. “Scientific Literature”. Encyclopedia of Library and
Information Science. 1979:26.376-548. Print.
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