Chitika

Data, Information and Knowledge, its characteristics and difference between Data and Information


Data, information and knowledge frequently overlap, mainly differing in abstraction. Data is least abstract, information next least, and knowledge most. Data becomes information by interpretation; e.g., the height of MD. Faruk is generally considered as "data", a book on MD. Faruk geological characteristics may be considered as "information", and a report containing practical information on the best way to reach MD. Faruk’s peak may be considered as "knowledge".


DATA 

DEFINITION

The word data is the plural of Latin datum, "something given," but it is not always treated as a plural noun in English. Data is a set of organized information; it is a quantification or measurement of the real world by a set of variables. Statistical data is a set of observations on which values of variables are given. Variables are things that one measures, controls or manipulates in a research problem.
The data is plentiful and easily available — H. A. Gleason, Jr.
Comprehensive data on economic growth have been published — N. H. Jacoby

EXAMPLES

     1.     Height of a man, suppose 70 inches, is a data;
     2.     Name of a person, suppose Rehan or Juni, is a data;
     3.     His/her weight, suppose 150 lbs., is a data;
     4.     His/her skin colour, suppose white, is a data;
     5.     His/her religion, suppose Islam, is a data; and so on.


CHARACTERISTICS

     1.     Data are the raw materials of information,
     2.     Data is a distinct piece of information,
     3.     Data must be disorganized or unprocessed,


INFORMATION

DEFINITION


One of the most common ways to define information is to describe it as one or more statements or facts that are received by a human and that have some form of worth to the recipient. For example, the Sesame Street character ``Cookie Monster" describes information as ``news or facts about something," or, as the first definition in the Random House College Dictionary suggests for information, ``knowledge communicated or received concerning a particular fact or circumstance; news." Cookie Monster's definition is consistent with the common notions that information must:
     
     1.     Be something, although the exact nature (substance, energy, or abstract concept) isn't clear;
     2.     Provide ``new" information: a repetition of previously received messages isn't informative;
     3.     Be ``true:" a lie or false or counterfactual information is mis-information, not  information itself;
     4.     Be ``about" something.


EXAMPLES

      1.     The average height or weight of several people, suppose 62 inch, is information;
      2.     The average weight of the class, suppose 130 lbs., is an information; and so on.


CHARACTERISTICS

      1.     Information is the resultant version of some data.
      2.     Information always be processed or organized
      3.     Information is the context in which data is taken.

KNOWLEDGE

DEFINITION


Knowledge is a combination of information, experience and insight that may benefit the individual or the organisation. "When crude oil prices go up by $10 per barrel, it's likely that petrol prices will rise by 2p per litre" is knowledge.

EXAMPLES

The shop manager can see that ‘Polar’ is the most popular ice-cream. Next time he places an order, he will ask for 4 times as much ‘Polar’ ice-cream than other ice-cream.


CHARACTERISTICS

     1.     General awareness or possession of information, facts, ideas, truths, or principles
     2.     Clear awareness or explicit information, for example, of a situation or fact
     3.     All the information, facts, truths, and principles learned throughout time
     4.     Familiarity or understanding gained through experience or study

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DATA AND INFORMATION

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE 1

Suppose, in your first, second, third and fourth year GPAs are: 3.0, 3.5, 3.5, and 4.0
Then so the CGPA is say something like: 3.5
Here, the individual GPAs are data
And then the finally calculated CGPA is information.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE 2

Suppose, in your first year, you got individual GPs in four classes you took as: 3.0, 3.5, 3.5, and 4.0
Then your average grade = (3.0+3.5+3.5+4.0)/4 = 3.5.
Here, the individual GPs you got are data,
And the average grade that is calculated is information.

CHART

                   DATA
              INFORMATION
Name or measure of a fact
Resultant form of the fact
Raw materials of information
Resultant version of some data
Unprocessed or unorganized
Processed or organized
Meaningful or meaningless
Must be meaningful
Examples: Marks, GP(Grade Point), etc.
Examples: GPA, CGPA, etc.

Just Remember

     1.     Positions of data and information are not always fixed,
     2.     They change themselves due to change of time or situation,
     3.     Just remember that, data is the primary or intermediate version of information.

REFERENCES: S.M. Zabed Ahmed, Chairman, Dept. of Information Science and                              Library Management, University of Dhaka
                             UNESCO
                             WIKIPEDIA
                             otec.uoregon.edu
                             www.merriam-webster.com


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Digital Library: Advantages and Challenges

The idea of easy, finger-tip access to information-what we conceptualize as digital libraries today-began with Vannenar Bush's Memex machine (Bush, 1945) and has continued to evolve with each advance in information technology. With the arrival of computers, the concept centered on large bibliographic databases, the now familiar online retrieval and public access systems that are part of any contemporary library.

Definition
A digital library is a library in which collections are stored in digital formats (as opposed to print, microform, or other media) and accessible via computers. The digital content may be stored locally, or accessed remotely via computer networks. A digital library is a type of information retrieval system.













Advantages

The advantages of digital libraries as a means of easily and rapidly accessing books, archives and images of various types are now widely recognized by commercial interests and public bodies alike.
No physical boundary: The user of a digital library need not to go to the library physically; people from all over the world can gain access to the same information, as long as an Internet connection is available.
Round the clock availability: A major advantage of digital libraries is that people can gain access 24/7 to the information.
Multiple accesses: The same resources can be used simultaneously by a number of institutions and patrons.
Information retrieval: The user is able to use any search term (word, phrase, title, name, subject) to search the entire collection. Digital libraries can provide very user-friendly interfaces, giving click able access to its resources.
Preservation and conservation: Digitized collections and born-digital objects pose much preservation and conservation concerns that analogue materials do not.
Space: Whereas traditional libraries are limited by storage space, digital libraries have the potential to store much more information; simply because digital information requires very little physical space to contain them and media storage technologies are more affordable than ever before.
Added value: Certain characteristics of objects, primarily the quality of images, may be improved. Digitization can enhance legibility and remove visible flaws such as stains and discoloration.
Easily accessible: Anybody can easily access the digital library.

Challenges

Challenge One: Develop improved technology for digitizing analog materials.
Challenge Two: Design search and retrieval tools that compensate for abbreviated or incomplete cataloging or descriptive information.
Challenge Three: Design tools that facilitate the enhancement of cataloging or descriptive information by incorporating the contributions of users.
Challenge Four: Establish protocols and standards to facilitate the assembly of distributed digital libraries.
Challenge Five: Address legal concerns associated with access, copying, and dissemination of physical and digital materials.
Challenge Six: Integrate access to both digital and physical materials.
Challenge Seven: Develop approaches that can present heterogeneous resources in a coherent way.
Challenge Eight:  Make the National Digital Library useful to different communities of users and for different purposes.
Challenge Nine: Provide more efficient and more flexible tools for transforming digital content to suit the needs of end-users.
Challenge Ten: Develop economic models for the support of the National Digital Library.

Though there are many challenges for digital library, information can be consulted, shared by multiple users simultaneously, updated quickly, and available 24/7 by the digital library.


REFERENCE: WIKIPEDIA


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Catalogue and Cataloguing


Cataloguing is the process of listing something for inclusion in a catalogue. In library and information science, the process encompasses the production of bibliographic descriptions of books as well as other types of discovery tools for documents. Today cataloguing study and practice has broadened and merged with that of metadata ("data about data contents"), increasingly associated with Resource Description and Access.

DEFINITION OF CATALOGUE

The word ‘Catalogue’ derives from ‘Kata logos’. ‘Kata logos’ is a Greek phrase. ‘Kata’ means according to and ‘logos’ means word/order/reason. Catalogue is a record or list of books, periodicals, journals, pamphlets, monographs, audio-visual aids and other materials of a particular library, or a group of libraries (when union catalogue), or a private collection containing specified items of bibliographical information, viz. author, title, edition, imprint, collation, etc. in automated, microfiche, card or printed form arranged in classified or alphabetical order according to any standard catalogue code or rules, i.e. AACR, ALA,LC, etc. All together we can say catalogue is a mirror of a library.

AUTHORITATIVE DEFINITION OF CATALOGUE

The Random House Dictionary defined, “Catalogue is a systematic list of contents of a library”.
Charles Ammi Cutter defined, “A library catalogue is a list of books which is arranged on some definite plan, as distinguished from a bibliography, it is a list of books in some library or collection”.


OBJECTIVES OF CATALOGUING

Charles Ammi Cutter (1837-1903) published his Rules for a Dictionary Catalogue in 1876. His "Objectives" still inform cataloguing today.
His objectives, after 28 years of discussions were – in 1904 – stated like this:

1.     To enable a person to find a book when one of the following information is known:
a.     The author
b.    The title
c.      The subject

2.     To show what the information institution has
a.     By a given author
b.    On a given subject
c.      In a given kind of literature

3.     To assist in the choice of a book
a.     As to the edition (bibliographically)
b.    As to its character (literary or topical)

The first point describes the finding objectives. The second is the collocating objective. The last point could be called the selecting (or choice) objective.
When formulating the objectives in this way, we get operational objectives; we see what rules we must have. Cutter summarizes the rules like this:

     1.     For the objectives 1a and 2a we need author-entry with the necessary references
     2.     For 1b we need title-entry or title-reference
     3.     For 1c and 2b, we need subject-entry, cross-references and classed subject-table
     4.     For 2c, form-entry and language-entry
     5.     For 3a, giving edition and imprint, with notes when necessary
     6.     For 3b, Notes

PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF CATALOGUING

     1. To record books and other reading materials in the information institution.

     2. To interpret the reading materials to the reader by mentioning essential elements  of a book, i.e. author, title, edition, imprint, collation, series, bibliography, subject, etc.
.    3. To make the reading materials available quickly, so a reader requiring books on a subject (i.e. Cataloguing 025.3) will not have to go all around the library to collect the required materials.

.    4. To put order into the collection so that the volumes may be located and used conveniently for reference and circulation.



FUNCTIONS OF CATALOGUING


The major functions of a library catalogue are, therefore, to enable a reader to determine:

     1.  Whether an information institution contains a certain book or other reading materials.

     2.  Which works by a particular author are in the collection.

     3.  Which materials the library has on a particular subject.

     4.  Which editions of a particular work the library has.

Apart from these four basic functions, a catalogue is expected to broadly perform the following role:

     1.  To work as a book selection tool for other comparatively new or smaller library.

     2.  To explain a book to the reader by providing a description of each book.

     3.  To employ Cross references, i.e. See, and See also references.

     4.  To arrange the call numbers numerically and alphabetically by which books may be located or obtained.

     5.  To record each work in an information institution by author, editor, compiler, translator, series, or by corporate body.

     6.  To arrange author entries in such a way that a reader finds all the works of an author together in a dictionary catalogue.

     7.  To record each work in an information institution under the subject.

     8.  To arrange subject entries either according to classification number, or alphabetically by subject.

     9.  To record titles of work if it is  (a) written by more than three authors, (b) a compiled or edited work including encyclopaedias and dictionaries, (c) a fiction, or a popular work.
     10.To help the research workers and readers know what materials are available on a given subject in the information institution.



A catalogue may be helpful in identifying know items or known works when some attributes can be used as search keys (e.g. author name or title). In electronic catalogues a combination of search keys such as words from titles and printing year may be used for known item searching. A catalogue may also be helpful in identifying not know items dealing with a particular subject such as World War II. These last kinds of searches are especially facilitated by classification codes (such as Dewey Decimal Classification codes) or subject terms (such as Library of Congress Subject Headings) in the records.


REFERENCES: ESSENTIALS OF CATALOGUING AND CLASSIFICATION,
                           PROF. DR. K.M. SAIFUL ISLAM
                           DEPT. OF INFORMATION SCIENCE AND LIBRARY  
                           MANAGEMENT, UNIVERSITY OF DHAKA

                           RULES FOR A DICTIONARY CATALOGUE
                           CHARLES AMMI CUTTER

Five Laws of Library Science


In the context of library science Dr. S. R. Ranganathan conceived the five laws of library science in 1924. The statement embodying these laws were formulated i.e. the laws took the final form in 1928 and a detailed account of these laws and their implication were published in the form of a book in 1931 by Bombay Asia Publishing House. Most librarians worldwide accept them as the foundations of their philosophy.

The five laws of library science are:
a)      Books are for use.

b)      Every reader his / her book (i.e. books are for all).

c)      Every book its reader (i.e. every book in a library must find its reader)

d)     Save the time of the reader (i.e. a user is supposed to be a busy person. So his / her time must be saved). Corollary: Save the time of the staff.

e)      Library is a growing organism (A library always grows in terms of document i.e. book, reader or user and staff).

Description of the Five Law’s


First Law: Books are for Use:  

The first law embodies an elementary principle and all the other laws of library science are based on the first law. The library becomes great not because of its collection or building but as a result of the use made of by its users. Therefore, the motto of a librarian should be to acquire process and serve document for use.


Implications of the first law

In Ranganathan’s own words the implications of the first laws of library science are:

a) Location of the Library: Location of the library should be the one which is conveniently accessible to the community to be served.
b) Library Building and Furniture: The library building should be well planned, functional with enough space and at the same time aesthetic. The exterior should be inviting and the interior should be attractive. The furniture should be so provided as to give comfort to the readers and racks in which books are kept should not be high and books on the top shelves should be easily reachable.
c) Library Hours: The influence of the first law on library hours has resulted in opening for long hours and on all days of the year without any holidays.
d) Library Staff: In order to maximize the use of the library, it is essential that library staff should be qualified and efficient. Every member of the staff should perform the role of a friend, philosopher and guide to all those who come to the library to use it.
e) Book Selection: The books should be selected and acquired keeping in view the present and potential requirement of the user.
f) Shelf Arrangement: The books should be classified, catalogued and arranged according to a helpful sequence.
g) Reference Service: The personal service will lead to greater use of library document.


The forces of the first law

The forces of the first law as a whole can be traced out as - 

- Make the library open access rather than traditional closed access;
- Make free access to the book world;
- Branch libraries should open in the larger cities in order to be easily reachable within a few minutes’ walk from each house;
- Books should be sent free to the houses of those that would offer to get them introduced in their neighbourhood;
- Books should be carried in motor van from street to street for their distribution amongst the residents.

The above forces of the first law will be possible only if library has enough funds and the library itself obtains free copy of books from different sources.


Second Law: Every Reader his / her Book (books are for all): 

According to the second law every reader of a library should have the books he/she want. Books or their lists should be shown or displayed before the reader for their valuable suggestion. The second law emphasises not only selections of book for the normal people but also for the physical handicraft and the blind readers.

 

Implication of the second law

Ranganathan examines the implication of the second law under the following four categories.

a) Obligation of the State

i) Library Legislation: In order to achieve the second law it is desirable that economy factor should not stand as a barrier. This will be possible through library legislation, which will provide for finance of public libraries at various levels to achieve free library services for all.
ii) Maintenance of a Library System (Network): As far as students, teachers and researchers are concerned the public library plays only a marginal role in fulfilling the second law. Therefore, the state also has the responsibility of establishing other types of libraries like school library, college library, university library and special library.
iii) Coordination and Resource Sharing: A given library would not have the finance to purchase documents on occasional demand. Therefore the second law would suggest the formulation of a National library network to share the resources, especially for the purpose of inter-library loan.

b) Obligation of the Library Authority

i) Choice of Book (Book Selection): The selection should be based on individual needs. The library authority should ensure the proper selection and acquisition policy in order to build up a balanced collection in the library for each category of users i.e. the blind, neo-literates, scholars, children, young, adult, man, women, etc.
ii) Choice of the Staff: The library authority should select an adequate and competent team of library staff and it should take utmost care in the recruitment of the library personnel, their subsequent promotion, recognition and status.

c) Obligation of the Library Staff

i) Open Access: The library staff should also feel the obligation to introduce open access to help the readers in gaining access to all the books of possible interest to them.
ii) Cataloguing: Sometimes the information contained in a chapter or a few pages of a book may be of interest to a reader but the users often tend to miss such content. To avoid such oversight the library should introduce subject analytical or cross reference entries.
iii) Shelf Arrangement: The shelf should be arranged according to the subject of the document and not based on the size and other aspects.
iv) Maintenance: In case of open access libraries there is every possibility of some document being misplaced intentionally or unintentionally by the patron of the library. To fulfil the second law misplaced books must be restored to their proper places. Books in need of binding or repair should be taken out from the shelves from time to time.
v) Reference Service: The library staff should have proper training in reference work and be able to provide an effective reference service to the user in getting the right book.

d) Obligation of the Reader

i) Library Rules should be followed: A user must realize that library rules are framed to get the maximum out of the library resources and to prevent the misuse of library resources.
ii) Maintenance of the System: A user should not misplace the books within the library or damage; similarly a user should not mutilate or take out cards from the library catalogue, tear pages or steal etc.
iii) Should not ask for Any Undue Special Privileges: The Library is meant for every body’s use and no one should have undue privileges at the expense of others.
iv) Returns of Books in Time: The books that are borrowed must be returned on or before due date so that other users do not have to suffer.


Third Law: Every Book its Reader: 

Every book in a library must find its reader. This law emphasizes the approach to the document. According to this law, every book in a library must find its reader, not a single item should be lost in the darkness of the stack.

Implications of the third law

The following measures should be adopted for giving effect to this law.

a) Introducing Open Access: In the open access system books are arranged in shelves in the classified order and the readers have freedom to access them.
b) Provision of Popular Department: The provision of popular department like newspaper reading room, periodical section, etc. offer baits to the reader and such provision increases the chances for every book to get its reader.
c) Book Selection: Best attention should be paid to book selection so that the chances of books remaining unused are reduced.
d) Cataloguing: Subject cataloguing, series entries, cross reference entries etc. may often reveal to the reader the books which might not have otherwise been noticed.
e) Shelf Arrangement: If the shelf arrangement is made by the subject approach then there are better chances of books finding their reader.
f) Reference Service: There must be the provision for personal assistance to each reader when they feel they need it.


Fourth Law: Save the Time of the Reader:  

A user is supposed to be a busy person; so his / her time must be saved. Corollary of this law is “save the time of the staff”.  A reader coming to the library should get an exact and fast service; they should not be made to wait longer than necessary. Unnecessary delay may cause vexation and readers may be dissatisfied. Dissatisfied readers may cease to come to the library.

Implications of the fourth law

The implications of the fourth law are as follows:

a) Location of the library: The library must be centrally located so that it is conveniently accessible to the community being served.
b) Open Access: There are many advantages of introducing the open access. One of the major advantages of open access system is the subjective time decline which gives satisfaction to the readers.
c) Classification and Cataloguing: Proper Classification system which would bring together documents on a specific subject and also the related subject should be adopted.
d) Shelf Arrangement: The arrangement of documents according to the degree of mutual relationship of subjects would lead to saving the time of the readers.
e) Signage System: Stack room guide, bay guides, tier guides, gangway guides should be provided to save the time of the reader.
f) Reference Service: The fourth law advocates the need of reference service.
g) Charging System: The issue method, charging and discharging should be done as quickly as possible.
h) Centralized Cataloguing: Cataloguing in press, cataloguing in publication, cataloguing with the aid of OCLC database greatly reduce the time factor.
i) Information Technology: The use of IT in libraries invariably speeds up many activities. So to fulfil the fourth law the IT should be introduced.

Fifth Law: Library is a Growing Organism: 

The main components of the library are documents, the user and the staff. A library always grows in terms of documents, the reader or the user and the staff. The growth of a new library can be compared to the growth of a child as it grows in every aspect. In case of a service library that has attained certain degree of stability its growth can be compared with the growth of the adult i.e. it grows in terms of replacing old document by new one and new user will continuously replace the old one.

Implications of the fifth law

The implication of the fifth law of library and information science are:

a) Library Building: The library building should be modular and should have the provision of future growth.
b) Choice of Classification and Cataloguing Code: The classification and cataloguing scheme chosen should have the provision to keep pace with the development in the universe of subject.
c) Physical Forms of Catalogue: The physical forms of catalogue chosen should have the provision of updating, sorting in different order, editing and so on.
d) Weeding out of Document: To make the space for new addition the documents that are obsolete and unused should be weeded out.
e) Modernization, Computerization: Library that grows fast both in terms of size and services may have to go for the computerization of various house-keeping operations (i.e. acquisition, circulation, cataloguing etc.).

Previously the libraries grew with the collection, but nowadays the digital library, or virtual library or e-library does not show the characteristics of the growing of a library by volume. The growth is in the use of sophisticated technologies.


Ranganathan’s five laws of library science consist of five short statements but they provide guidance and rationale for practice and teaching of library and information science. With the help of these laws, we can derive postulates, cannons and principles applicable in different fields of library and information science.  The first three laws emphasize the exploitation of the documents of the library fully by the maximum number of users. The fourth law gives emphasis on the role of reference librarian and has a great potentiality to bring reforms in the running of libraries. All laws as a whole will serve as source of inspiration and guidance in the years to come.


REFERENCE : FIVE LAWS OF LIBRARY SCIENCE 
                         OR, PANCHSEEL OF LIBRARY  SCIENCE
                         BY DR. S. R. RANGANATHAN