This document discusses information sources and services. It defines information as facts and details obtained from someone or something. There are three types of information sources: primary sources that generate original unorganized information like photographs; secondary sources that gather and organize information from primary sources into articles and reports; and tertiary sources that summarize primary and secondary sources into references like encyclopedias. Information services provide information to users by obtaining, organizing, and categorizing information from various sources. Libraries are an important type of information center that offers information services.

1. Specially For MLIS Students​
Information Sources & Services​
Adeel Farooq
adeelfarooqharaj@gmail.com

2. What is Information???​
The set of facts & details about anything we get from
someone or something is called "Information."​
Information should be:​
• Accurate​
• Related ​
• Timely​
• Advantageous​

3. How can we explain the word “Source”???
Source means “the book, person, place, point or thing
which originates the information about something.”
According to the given definition, source is:
• The book which gives information.
• The person which gives information.
• The place which gives information.
• The point whereby the information is obtained.
&
• The thing which generates information.

4. What are Information Sources???
Basically there are
three types of
Information Sources:
Primary Sources Secondary Srouces Tertiary Sources

5. “Primary Sources”
• Primary sources are that informative sources which
generate the information that does not exist already.
• Primary sources breaks out the new information.
• Primary sources provide original information or ideas.
• Primary source give unorganized information.
• Examples: Photographs, audio & video recordings,
speeches and manuscripts, etc.

6. “Secondary Sources”
• When the information breaks out from “primary sources,”
then secondary sources gather the information and
polish it.
• Secondary sources have organized information.
• Secondary sources make the information easy to
understand.
• Secondary sources consist of already published
information instead of new.
• Examples: Articles, reports, newspapers and essays etc.

7. “Tertiary Sources”
• Tertiary sources are made up of “primary and secondary
sources.”
• Tertiary sources don’t consist of subjective knowledge.
• Tertiary sources are totally based on facts.
• Tertiary sources are the summaries of particular topic.
• Tertiary sources are squeezed form of information.
• Examples: Dictionaries, encyclopedias, bibliographies,
bibliography of bibliographies and directories etc.

8. What are “Services”???
• Service is derived from the word “serve”. Serve mean to
render or to provide any kind of thing to any person for
his ease.
• Service is a set of those activities which anyone does to
facilitate his or her customers or users.
• Some services have to be paid for, but some are free.
• In libraries also, all the services for users & readers are
free.
• Examples: Medical services, haircuts, mail delivery,
motor repair, teaching and librarianship etc.

9. “Information Services”
• All these services which provide information about a
specific topic or subject, are called “Information
services.”
• Information services obtain information, modify, organize
and then categorize the information in specific sections.
• Information services are not limited, but have endless
boundaries.
• The places where information is provided are called
“Information centers.”
• Libraries also play an important role in providing the
information services to its users and readers in the form
of books, periodicals, etc.