Community Information Services and Reference Service
Community Information Services address the everyday practical needs of citizens — health, legal aid, employment, government schemes — often through public libraries. Reference Service is the direct, personalised assistance given to a user in locating information to answer a specific query.
| Type of reference service | Description |
|---|---|
| Ready reference | Quick factual answers (dates, definitions, addresses) |
| Long-range/exhaustive reference | In-depth research assistance requiring extended search |
| Referral service | Directing the user to another agency, expert, or library better placed to answer the query |
Alerting Services
| Service | Description |
|---|---|
| CAS (Current Awareness Service) | Keeps a broad user group updated on new publications/developments in their field |
| SDI (Selective Dissemination of Information) | A personalised, profile-matched alert service tailored to an individual user's specific interests |
| Inter-Library Loan (ILL) | Borrowing/lending materials between libraries to meet a user's need not met by the local collection |
| Document Delivery Service (DDS) | Supplying a copy of a specific document (often an article or chapter) directly to the requester |
Mobile-based Library Services and Tools
- Mobile OPAC — catalogue search optimised for mobile devices.
- Mobile Databases and Library Websites — responsive access to subscribed content and library information.
- Library Apps — dedicated applications for catalogue search, renewals, and notifications.
- SMS Alerts and Geo-Location — due-date reminders and location-aware services (e.g., nearest library branch).
- Augmented Reality — overlays digital information for wayfinding or shelf navigation within the library.
- Mobile Reference Enquiry — answering reference questions via chat, text, or app-based messaging.
Web 2.0/3.0 and Collaborative Services
The application of Web 2.0 principles — user participation, interactivity, and continuous improvement — to library services, characterised by two-way communication with users rather than one-way broadcast.
- Instant Messaging, RSS Feeds, Podcasts, Vodcasts — real-time and syndicated ways of pushing content and updates to users.
- Ask a Librarian — a live or asynchronous virtual reference channel.
- Collaborative services — academic social networks (ResearchGate, Academia.edu), social tagging, and social bookmarking allow users to organise and share information collectively.
Web 3.0, the semantic web, extends this by making web content machine-understandable, enabling smarter, context-aware information retrieval.
Web-scale Discovery Services
A single search interface that simultaneously searches a library's catalogue, institutional repository, and multiple subscribed databases through a unified, pre-harvested index — giving users a "Google-like" single search box experience across otherwise siloed collections.
National Information Systems and Networks
| Network | Focus |
|---|---|
| NISCAIR / DESIDOC | Scientific and defence-related information dissemination |
| ENVIS | Environmental information system |
| INFLIBNET | Inter-university library networking, N-LIST, e-resource access for higher education |
| DELNET | Resource sharing network of libraries across India |
| NICNET / ERNET | National government and education/research networks |
| National Knowledge Network (NKN) | High-speed network connecting research and education institutions |
International Information Systems and Networks
| Network | Domain |
|---|---|
| INIS | Nuclear science information (IAEA) |
| AGRIS | Agricultural science information (FAO) |
| INSPEC / MEDLARS / BIOSIS | Physics-engineering-computing / biomedical / biological sciences abstracting databases |
| ERIC | Education literature database |
| Patent Information System (PIS) | Patent documentation and search |
Library Resource Sharing and Consortia
Consortia allow multiple libraries to jointly negotiate and share access to expensive e-resources, reducing per-institution cost. India's UGC-INFONET Digital Library Consortium (via INFLIBNET) is a leading example at the national level, alongside international models of shared licensing and resource-sharing agreements.