Non-documentary sources of information include human experts, oral conversations, conferences, radio, and television. They provide invaluable live expertise that can answer questions not found in documents. While convenient to access, they have disadvantages like high costs for distance communication. Key non-documentary sources are human experts in various roles like generators, gatherers, processors, and disseminators of information. Other sources are referral systems, institutions like research organizations, and mass media like newspapers and broadcasts.

1. Non- Documentary
Sources of Information
Submitted By:
Jaya Singh
Bachelor of Library and Information Sciences
2ND Semester
Session: 2017-2018
Submitted To:
Dr. Ravindra Kumar
Department of Library and Information Sciences 1

2. Conceptual
2
 Information sources are many and varied.
 Since time immemorial human beings are generating information by
observation and experimentation.
 The information generated were generally communicated to others
for their own interest and survival.
 Information sources and reference source can be put into two broad
categories - On the basis of the physical nature, use and
arrangement.
1. Documentary
2. Non documentary

3. Information Resources Types
Two kinds of information
2. Non documentary1. Documentary
3

4. Non-Documentary
Formal
Radio, T.V,
Conferences, etc.
Informal/Oral
Oral talk with
colleagues, telephonic
talk, conversations
with colleague etc.

5. Non-documentary sources
 Unique and invaluable source, carrying expert
knowledge/skills that can very often be the only source of
information for responding to certain types of enquiries
and questions.
 Non-documentary sources are live sources which are
extremely important in the process of communication.
 It is easier to have a dialogue with an expert
than to use a bibliography or index or card catalogue.
Example:
 If a scientist working on an experiment needs some
information, he would turn to his/her colleague working
in the same laboratory rather than to a printed page.

6. Non-documentary sources
 The main disadvantage is that it involves high cost when distance
between the people is large and that it also demands use of highly
sophisticated techniques i.e. computer system, video conference,
telephone, etc.
 Non-documentary sources mainly includes Human resources,
Referral system, Institutional sources and Mass media.
 Institutional sources – research organizations, societies, industries,
government departments, universities, consultants, etc.

7. Non-documentary sources
Humans as sources of information
 Human resources are those source in which any human serve as a
source of information.
 An experience and knowledgeable person acts as a source of
information.
 An interaction with experts, knowledgeable persons, colleagues,
subject specialists, etc.
 A human “source” is roughly defined as a person who contributes
information to a piece of reportage, whether or not it is ultimately
published or aired in any venue — print, the Internet, radio (audio
podcasts included), video on a news report on television, the Web or
in a documentary film.

8. Categories of Human sources of Information
1. Information generators
2. Information gatherers
3. Information processors
4. Information recorders
5. Information disseminators
6. Translators
7. Information condensers
8. Information retrievers
9. Information technologists
10. Information preservers

9. Human sources of
Information
1. Information generators
 Who generate knowledge or create information.
 Involved in different kinds of activities.
 The knowledge or information, arising out of these activities, may be
made available in the form of books, journal articles, etc.
 They are experts in their area of specialisation and hence constitute a
very valuable source of information, particularly when they don't make
their information available in any published form.
astronomer, authors, planners,Example: Researchers, inventors,
industrialist and policy makers, etc.
2. Information gatherers
 Gathering information for various purposes and reporting them through
appropriate channel.
 Example: Bibliographers, encyclopaedists, lexicographer,
cartographer, reporter, police, detective, etc.

10. Human sources of
Information
3. Information processors
 Involved in giving a shape to collected information for ease of use
to another category of specialists.
 Transforming a draft into a fine reading materials.
Example: Technical editors, style editors, language editors, and the
general editors, etc.
4. Information recorders
 Persons involved in translation work, printing, publishing, data entry
operators, etc.
 These types of skills/expertise get nowhere recorded and would
never be available in any published sources.
Example: Engravers, calligraphers, printers, data entry operators,
typists, videographers, photographers, painters, sculptors, etc.

11. Human sources of
Information
5. Information disseminators
 Who are involved in dissemination of information or knowledge
already collected and available in some form.
 Extension workers disseminate information to farmers and village
people about low-cost housing, family planning, health care, social
welfare, etc.
 They play an intermediary role.
Example: Publishers, library professionals, information specialists,
teachers, sales persons, consultants, advertisers, extension workers,
documentalist, Information officers, etc.

12. Human sources of
Information
6. Translators
 Articles, news items, books, periodicals, patents, theses, etc. are
appearing in numerous languages in the world such as English,
Russian, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Hindi and
Bengali, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, etc.
 It is not possible for a person to learn all the languages. Therefore,
the need for translation or interpretation arises quite often.
 Their nature of work is closely associated with the subject areas they
are handling.
 For getting a piece of writing translated we generally go to a
translator.
 She/he informs us about the cost involved in translation and
approximate time he/she will take for translating the piece.
Example: French to English

13. Human sources of
Information
7. Information condensers
 Often information needs to be condensed as per the requirement of
the user.
 Case - A minister has spoken about the information policy of a
country for about an hour. A broadcasting agency is to report the
speech of the minister in the news. Obviously, in 10-minute
news, it is not possible to accommodate the one-hour-long
speech of the minister.
 For these jobs we need persons who can condense the information.
Example:Abstractors

14. Human sources of
Information
8. Information retrievers
 Involved in creating tools for information storage and retrieval.
 Their nature of work is making them more expertise in that particularfield.
Example: Librarians, database searchers, etc.
9. Information technologists
 Computer hardware and software specialists who involved in system
design, maintenance, and similar services.
 Telecommunication specialists maintain and design network architecture,
establish networks and extend facilities to share resources.
 Many groups of consultants, information brokers, intermediaries and other
specialists are offering paid services.
Example: Information Scientist

15. Human sources of
Information
10. Information Preservers
 Man since time immemorial has been trying to preserve information
by various means.
 Even today man is discovering and inventing newer methods and
media of preservation.
 Preservation is done to improve life span of an artefacts.
Example:Archivist

16. Referral System
 The function of Referral System are distinctly different from
institutions offering reference services.
 It provides only sources of information.
 Directs enquirers to a source of information which may be either a
directory, an organization or an individual expert.
 The Harrod’s Librarian’s Glossary defined referral centers as “an
organization for directing researchers for information and data to
appropriate sources such as libraries, information evaluation centers,
documents and documentation centers and individuals”.

17. Referral System
Functions
 Collects information about information sources within the range or
scope of either the subject or activity or the referral centers.
 Prepares comprehensive inventory of the types of information/data
services available from these sources with a detailed subject index to
facilitate access.
 Guides users to appropriate sources where the required information
is available.
 Functions as a intermediary between enquirer and the organization
or individuals who possess the information.

18. Referral System
Referral Centers
 Global Referral information centers
 UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) – it was established to
provide referral service globally for all source of environmental
information.
 National Referral Centers
 NISCAIR - National Institute of Science Communication and
Information Resources (2002)
 NASSDOC - National Social Science Documentation Centre (1969)
 DESIDOC - Defence Scientific Information & Documentation
Centre (1958)
 SENDOC - Small Entreprises National Documentation Centre
(1970)

19. Institutional Information
Sources
 An institution in an organization or establishment devoted to the
promotion of a particular courses or objectives.
 Generate information or knowledge of various kinds.
 Disseminated knowledge through formal channels such as journals,
report and special publications. Others get stored in their database –
these are not notices by the people.
 Institutions are sources of information in terms of their published or
unpublished sources.
 Experts performing in these institutions become invaluable sources.
 Libraries and information centers should be well acquainted with
various institutions, their nature of work and activities.

20. Categories of Institutions
1. Knowledge Creating Institutions
2. Knowledge/Information Processing Institution
3. Institution serves knowledge and information
1. Knowledge Creating Institutions
 Government ministries and departments - Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry
of Railways, etc.
 R & D organizations - Department of Science and Technology (DST),
Department of Biotechnology (DBT), etc.
 Academic institutions - Pondicherry Central University
 Broadcasting stations - IGNOU’s Gyan Vani and Gyan Darshan are
educational broadcasting stations on radio and television respectively.
 Museums - Museum of Alexandria, The National Museum, New Delhi
 Archives - The National Archives of India

21. Categories of
Institutions
2. Knowledge/Information Processing Institution
 Commercial publishers - Elsevier, Springer etc.
 Statistical organizations – WHO, Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation, etc.
 Data centers - Facility composed of networked computers and storage
that businesses or other organizations use to organize, process, store
and disseminate large amounts of data.
Example: Ricoh Data Center
3. Institution serves knowledge and information
 Libraries - Ananda RangapillaiLibrary
 Documentation centers - SAARC Documentation Centre – NISCAIR
 Information centres - Developing Library Network (DELNET)
 Referral centres - NISCAIR
 Information brokers - Acxiom, Experian, Epsilon,etc.

22. Mass Media as a Source of Information
Mass Media
 Today mass media is not only conventional paper print media but
also a variety of audio and visual media.
 Mass media represented by printed daily newspapers; weekly,
fortnightly, monthly; broadcasting over radio, telecasting over TV
and other combination of audio-visual communications.
 Mass media is defined “as the institutions of public communication
that have as their physical channel of transmission a mass medium –
television, radio, motion pictures, newspapers, books, music and
recordings”.

23. Mass Media as a Source of Information
 Mass media offer a current awareness service - reporting of current
events and activities by radio and television.
 Radio and television are faster means of communication than the
print media such as newspapers.
 Positive Influences - Pro-communal harmony, anti-environmental
pollution, support national integration, anti-drug addiction, advocate
health care and safety, create peace for economic prosperity,
generally educative and instructive, giving helpful guidance to
children and young adults, etc.
 Negative Influences - Wrong interpretation of news may even blow
up things out of proportion and create unrest or even violence at any
time and place and pose a law and order problem.

24. References
 Bopp, R. E., & In Smith, L. C. (2011). Reference and
information services: An introduction. Santa Barbara,Calif:
Libraries Unlimited.
 Singh, G. (2013). Information Sources, Services and Systems.
Delhi: Phi Learning.
 Katz, W.A. (1991). Introduction to reference work. US:
McGraw-Hill Inc.