My Content

Alerting Services - CAS, SDI, Inter Library Loan                        and Document   Delivery                   

   Introduction                                                                                       

 Today's human society is undergoing a sea change due to phenomenal growth of information. At every moment of our personal and professional life, we are information dependent. We make use of information in the course of our daily lives as the consumption / use of information increasedso also has the rate of generation of information increased. This exponential growth of information has been termed as information explosion. More and more generation of information has caused two major problems. The f irstone is related to its proper storage and organization and the second one is related to effective and efficient retrival and quick dissemination to information seekers in appropriate manner. Emergence of information technology has given solution to these problems. From the point of view of the information seeker, every one wants to get right information at the right time, in a right manner without much effort. 

 Researcher or information seekers are busy in conducting experiments, attending meetings, seminars, symposia, etc. They have little time left for scanning of documents and making themselves up-to-date in their areas of research. Therefore, a need was felt that there should be some mechanism to collect select, store, retrieve and disseminate current information relevant to the information seekers. This will save their time and efforts which they can apply to give pace in their research work. keeping these points in view, library and information science professionals have designed various kinds of services known as alerting services to help the researchers and other information seekers. Some of the important alerting services i.e. Current Awareness Service, Selective Dissemination of information service, etc. are described in the following sections. Emphasis has been given to practical aspects of these services provided through computer and communication technologies. 

  Current Awareness Services (CAS)                                                    

 Current Awareness Service has been defined by a number of library and information science professionals but none seens to be universally accepted, strauss and others have defined it as : 

the establishment of a system for reviewing publications immediately upon receipt. Selecting information pertinent to the program of the organization served and recording individual  items to be brought to the attention of those persons whose work they are related. It involves a  combination of processes including the selection of pertinent information from periodicals, books, pamphlets, patents and reports, infact, anything of serious content that is received. 

                                                                                                       Ref : Strauss, L.I.S. (1971) (et.al.) 

 Dr. S. R. Ranganathan defined CAS as :  

"documentation periodical... listing the documents and appearing during the period covered, and without being selected to  suit the requirements of a particular reader or of a specific topic under investigation. This is of the nature of a general appetizer. It endeavours to keep the clientele informed promptly of all the nascent thought created in their fields of work and related f ields". 

 Prof. B. Guha defines it as : 1983 

 "a current awareness service is a device of the information system through which the users of information can be informed promptly, as soon as possible after publication but before absorption into the comprehensive secondary sources  of current literature on a broad subject f ield or on an area in which a group of persons are intersted and presented in a manner, volume and rhythm intended to facilitate or cultivate current approach to information. In the context of a literary, the time limit should be after the receipt of the publications but well before the receipt of the secondary publications containing them". 

 In the context of science and technology, it has been defined as : "Science - information system continually  calling the scientists attention to the newly developed material on topic falling into his long-term field of interest  which remains unchanged until further notice". 

 Information seekers use the following conventional channels to know the current developments in their areas  of interest :  

• Communication, oral or written, received from colleague working in similar area  of research. 

 • Regular scanning of current awareness lists such as list of additions, forthcoming or current contents, etc. brought out by various agencies and primary sources of information received in libraries / information centres. 

• Pre prints received from authors. 

 • Reviews of publications appeared in primary sources. 

 • Attending meetings, symposia, conference etc. and through exchange of information during personal discussions. 

 • Laboratory notes, technical records. 

 • Information received through newspaper, e-mail, bulletin board, internet etc. 

 • Alerting services received from professional agencies. 

 Besides, the above, there are many other sources and channels from where current information is received by the information seekers regularly, Every professional, be they information scientists, lawyers, doctors, engineers, technologiisits, managers, academicians, whether  in marketing, business, teaching or research worh, need to be aware of changes in the environment that impinge upon the organization for which they work. Although they may collect information through any of the above channels, but it may be  quite time consuming for the individual information seeker to scan all of the appropriate sources. In order to support their information requirements in keeping up to date, organizations, where they are working should provide current awareness service to:  

• Keep the information seeker up to date. 

 • Save the Project time. 

 • Aid in the creation of new ideas. 

 • Save the time and financial resources  on subscription and storage of primary information sources. 

 • Reduce the paper flow through an organization. 

  Characteristics of CAS                                                                       

 Current awareness service has certain characteristics. It is not in response to any specific query. This service is provided to update knowledge of researcher in their areas of work and also to keep them abreast of developments in a broader field. It is a continuous service provided to the information seekers irrespective of the stage and progress of their research. Information seekers may not find all information  relevant to them all the time but they may record the sources which they have already scanned through to make sure that nothing has left during their literature search to avoid duplication  in research. Library and information  professionals providing current awareness service  should keep the following  characteristics in their mind: 

 • A current aweareness services is an announcement mechanism. 

 • It may presented in printed, electronic or any appropriate form acceptable to information secker. 

 • It is provided to meet the current information requirement. 

 This service is not usually intended to fulfill information requirement of any specific query.It is meant for panoramic view of current developments. 

 • The service is usually provided in a broader subject area to present a view of specific as well as peripheral subjects. 

 • Usually CAS is provided to a group of researclzers, of homogenous requirements of information, not to  individual. 

 • It is not a tailor-made or customized service. 

 • CAS has to be provided within a time frame much before the information is published or appeared in indexing and abstracting sources. 

 • Getting feedback, from the users about the relevance of information supplied to them, is not a prerequisite in CAS. 

 • Speed, currency and ease to use are three factors to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of CAS in any organization. 

 Current awareness services overcome the time lag between the publication of items and their subsequent inclusion in comprehensive indexing or abstracting sources. Information professionals have different opinion about this time period, Same say, it should not be more than one month from the items appeared in primary sources others opine that  there should not be any arbitrary time limit. More precisely, it should be brought out before the notification in secondary sources of information.

   Components of CAS                                                                          

 Following are the basic components of any current awareness service : 

1. Full bibliographic citation consisting of the following information as the case may be :  

• Author 

 • Title 

 • Volume number, issue number, part pagination. 

 • Year, month, date of publication. 

 • Conference location and date (in case of conference) 

 • Patentee, Patent number, patent issuing body, data of patent granted, country, etc. (in case of patents) 

 • Standard / Specification number, Standardizing body, country, data of issue, etc. (in case of standards) 

 • Any other specific information required qualify bibliographic citation. 

 2. Subject-wise, group-wise or any other suitable pattern of arrangement  of records/entries. 

 3. Alphabetical arrangement of list of keywords / descriptors / index terms representing subject concept of document. 

 4. Well arranged, more suitably alphabetical, list of all sources of information need to be included in CAS. 

 5. Alphabetical list of contributors and their addresses with full details  of contact. This may be helpful in getting more information or in sharing available information. 

  Modes of providing CAS                                                                    

 Broadly, current awareness service can be divided into bibliographic and Non- bibliographic services. Bibliographic service provides access to the literature of a subject field whereas non-bibliographic service  provides the information itself. Libraries and information centres serving organizations may choose  any or both of the two type of mode of current awareness services. 

 i. In-house generated current awareness service. 

 ii. Current awareness service provided by external agencies.

  Current Awareness Services.     (LIS link)                                         

   Introduction                                                                                       

 The awareness service provides knowledge to the user regarding recent developments in the field of general interest. This type of service is directed towards all users of the services. It does not deal with the exact or specific requirement or interest of the user and is thus distinguished  from Selective Dissemination of information (SDI) Service. 

  Need                                                                                                     

 Current Awareness Service (CAS) helps the user by keeping him up-to-date and well informed with the latest information on a particular field and also in the related field. It indicates what one should read and thereby, it saves the time of the reader. It also serves as a rapid survey of restrospective literature. CAS helps the user in the following ways. 

  a. Keep's well Informed   

Deu to great advances made in the field of knowledge, it is becoming more and more difficult for the users to keep themselves up-to-date and well informed in their field of specialization. CAS meets this end for the researcher and others. Otherwise, too much of information would make it difficult for them to use information effectively. 

  b. Help the user in scanning the literature   

 There may be users who do not possess the ability or willingness to do the literature scanning regularly on their own CAS provides aid in such situation by widely and regularly scanning the literature and sending to the user the relevant topic of interest. 

   c. Save Time   

 The library and information centres by scanning the sources of information and notifying the members of the community, saves their valuable time. Again, in case each user scans literature individually then this will lead to unnecessary duplication of effort. So, the CAS can help the user avoid this duplication 

  d. Promotes and Supports Library Service  

 All services of the library are not free nowadays. So, in this context, it is essential to promote and market library services. CAS is one of the ways to bring the resources of the library / information centre to the notice of the users. This will in turn lead to greater dermand for the library service, giving opportunity to the library to prove its value and justification for the money spent on it. 

   Steps in CAS                                                                                      

 The steps involved  in CAS may be of the following types 

  a. Creation of user Profile  

 The profiles of the user, who are to be given CAS service are prepared. A profile may consist of the following fields and can be noted down in a  database or Microsoft Excel sheet. 

 i. Name 

 ii. Designation 

 iii. Subject 

iv. Keywords that collectively characterize the subject interest of an individual. 

 v. Email ID 

 vi. Mobile Number 

 vii. Fax 

 viii. Complete postal address, etc. 

 The first four fields will identify the person and the last four fields will be used to deliver  the CAS to the user. The profile can be of a single user or a group working on the same project or some limited subject field. The profile obtained thus must be kept up-to-date. There fore, if the topic of interest changes  then the corresponding profile must also be modified accordingly. In some organizations, the interest profile was much more then a simple list of keywords. Librarians or information professionals conducted extensive interviews with their clients to establish a fairly complex profile for each individual. 

   b. Acquisition of Resources   

 The different sources of information, periodicals, research papers, which are relevant to the parent body, must be selected and collected from different sources. In the next step, through rapid reading the resources are scanned by the LIS professionals to find out the key concepts. 

   c. Creation of Document Profile   

 The relevant and significant information is recorded in the form of content list for different contexts. The recorded information may be in the form of an abstract or an extract. Depending upon the significance of the document, the bibliographical details and indexing terms and the information itself are stored on the file / magne tape / computer document.  

  d. Matching Profile  

In a regular interval, the user profile should be correlated or matched with the document profile. The computer compares the two inputs, the output is printed out in the form of two cards. One card is called information card that contain either the list of document or the information itself along with bibliographical details of decument which also has a tear off strip request note. The other card is called response card. 

   e. Notification / Information Communication  

If there exists any matching  between the two profiles then the matching information is sent to the user or group of users, who may  require it, through different means of communication in anticipation, like telephone calls, postal mail/email/ SMS with a request to call at the reference desk to get the pertinent information. In case of postal  communication, the two cards are sent to the user. The information. can also be sent through a messenger. 

   f. Feedback Mechanism  

 The user keeps the information card for his use. In case he wants to consult the document, he tears off the request note strip and sends it to the library along with the response card, in which he indicates the degree of interest in the particular document. 

   g. Library Action   

 The library takes action on the request note strip to send the document to the concerned user or to keep it in the library for him. The response card helps the library to knows about the usefulness of the information provided as well as the shift in the information need. The library accordingly modifies the user profile page for improving performance. 

   Forms of CAS                                                                                    

 CAS service may take the following forms 

   a. Acquisition Bulletin   

 Acquisition bulletin is the list of nearly purchase books or other reading materials. Public libraries in particular have used display boards and shelves to draw attention to recent additions. 

   b. Annotated Index   

 An abstract of the articles of the recent issues of the journals. 

   c. Conference Alert   

 A list of forthcoming seminars, conference, that are released weekly on monthly. 

  Conclusion                                                                                          

 Librarians have been providing the CAS service on manual  basis for a long time. But nowadays computers are used to machanize the procedure. The current awareness service through computer may be provided through E-List (a web enabled contemporary reference service offered to the registered members). Online groups, blogs, RSS, E-mail, Bulk SMS services, community opt SMS services etc.

  Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) service                      

   Introduction                                                                                       

 Selective Dissemination of information service is a refinement of CAS service which is directed to individual personal requirement (personalized). It provides a deeper analysis of literature. If two people exactly match in terms of their interest then SDI also can be provided to the two people. Hans Peter Luhn of IBM is a pioneer in this field. 

  Need                                                                                                     

The aim of SDI is to see that the user should neither be provided too much of information nor made to miss information essential for his requirements. It should also meet the user need at individual level. 

   Steps in SDI                                                                                       

The steps in providing  SDI services are same as that of CAS. the difference is only in the depth of the interest. So, the steps involved in SDI may be of the  following types. 

  a. Creation of user Profile   

The profile of the user, who are to be given CAS service, are prepared. A profile may consist of the following fields and can be noted down in a database or Microsoft Excel sheet. 

 i. Name 

 ii. Designation 

 iii. Subject 

 iv. Keywords that collectively characterize the subject interest of an individed. 

 v. Email ID 

 vi. Mobile Number 

 vii. Fax 

viii. Complete postal address etc. 

 The first four field's will identify the person and the last four  f ields will be used to deliver the CAS to the user. The profile can be of a single user or a group working on the same project or some limited subject field. The profile obtained thus must be kept up-to-date. Therefore, if the topic of interest changes then the corresponding profile must also be modified accordingly. In some organizations, the interest profile was much more than a simple list of keywords. Librarian or information professionals conducted extensive interviews with their clients to establish a fairly complex for each individual. 

   b. Acquisition of Resources   

The different sources of information, periodicals, research papers, which are relevant to the parent body, must be selected and collected from different sources. In the next step, through rapid reading the resources are scanned by the LIS professionals to f ind out the key concepts. 

   c. Creation of Document Profile   

 The relevant and significant information is recorded in the form of content list for different contexts. The recorded information may be in the form of an abstract or an extract. Depending upon the significance of the document, the bibliographical details and indexing terms and the information itself are stored on the file / magnetic tape/computer document. 

   d. Matching Profile   

In a regular interval, the user profile should be correlated or matched with the document profile. The computer compares the two inputs, the output is printed out in the form of two cards. One card is called information card that contain either the list of document or the information itself along with bibliographical details of document which also has a tear off strip request note. The other card is called response card.

  e. Notification / Information Communication   

If there exists any matching between the two profiles then the matching information is sent to the user or group of users, who may require it, through different means of communication in anticipation, like telephone calls, postal mail/ email / SMS with a request to call at the reference desk to get the pertinent information. In case of postal communication, the two card are sent to the user. The information can also be sent through a messenger. 

   f. Feedback Mechanism   

The user keeps the information card for his use. In case he wants to consult the document, he tears off the request note strip and sends it to the library along with the response card, in which he indicates the degree of interest in the particular document.  

   g. Library Action   

 The library takes action on the request note strip to send the document to the concerned user or to keep it in the library for him. The response card helps the library to know about the usefulness of the information provided as well as the shift in the information need. The library accordingly modifies the user profile page for improving performance. 

   Forms of SDI                                                                                     

 SDI service may take the following forms -  

  a. Contents Alerts   

This service is provided by photocopying, scanning the content pages of learned journals and other important publications keeping in view  the interest of the users. 

   b. Routine of Periodicals (Automatic loan)   

 In this procedure, the current issues of periodicals are routed. There are two systems of routing the current issues of the periodicals. In the first method, the library sends the current  issue to the first person on the last, who passes it on to the next name in the list. The last person in the list returns the periodical to the library. In the second method, the library sends the issue to the first person on the list, who returns it to the library, and them the library sends it to the next person on the list, who again returns it to the library, Next the library sends it to the third person, and the system goes on like this. 

   c. Notification of Forth Coming Conferences, seminars, etc.  

The information about forth coming meetings, conferences, symposia, seminar, workshop etc. on a specific field should be notified to the members belonging to that specific domain. Keeping this purpose in view some library provides this kind of service to the user. 

   Conclusion                                                                                         

SDI refers to tools and resources used to keep a user informed of new resources on specified topic. contemporary analogous systems for SDI services include alerts, current awareness tools or trackers. These systems provide automated searches that inform the user of the availability of new resources meeting the user's specified keywords and search parameters. Alerts can be received a number of ways, including emails, RSS feeds, voice mail, instant messaging and text messaging.

  Inter Library Loan                                                                              

 Inter Library Loan is a Service the receives and lend's books and articles all over the world. The library has received materials from libraries in wisconsin, the united states and from as faraway as prague and Australia. Requests can be made through the online form available on the polk library web page. 

   Accessing ILL   

To place a inter library loan request enter the 16 digit number located at the bottom of your Titancard and your last name at the login screen. New cards must be activated at the circulation desk before accessing these services. 

   Important Interlibrary Loan facts   

* ILL takes 1-2 weeks. 

* whole issues of periodicals, videos, and genealogical materials cannot be received. 

* Online farms are available on the polk library web pages. 

* Fill requests out as completely as possible, where you found the citation (eric, cinahi, abi, etc).

* Materials are picked up at the circulation desk. You must have your Titancard when you pick up ILL materials. 

* Reference librarians can answer general questions concerning ILL. Other questions will be directed to the ILL Department itself. ILL is open Monday - Friday 7.45 -4.30 and is closed on the weekends.

   Document Delivery Service (DDS)                                                   

 The requested material for DDS may be articles from journals, papers from conference proceeding, any other materials required for academic and research purposes, depending on the availability. Modern computer and telecommunication technology made it possible to transfer the electronic text of the document to long distances at extremely fast speed. 

   Definition                                                                                           

DDS is concerned with the supply of document to the user on demand either in original or its photocopies irrespective of the location. and form of original document. The Document Delivery centre (DDC) on demand, deliver the copies of papers from learned journals, conference proceedings and other materials available in their collection. Every DDC will also make the required effort to procure and supply the paper from other institution. 

  Need                                                                                                     

The need for DDS felt due to ever increasing subscription cost of learned journals that leads to a situation where no library can hold every item required to meet the needs of its user.

  DDS Providers                                                                                    

The British Library Document Supply Centre. Boston and university Microfilm international, Ann Arbor provide the DDS at international level. 

 In national level, INFLIBNET contre in collaboration with the following universities provides DDS. The role of INFLIBNET here is mainly to act as a catalyst in promoting this service. 

 * Banaras Hindu University; Varanasi; For the region of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh. 

 * university of Hyderabad, Hyderabad; For the region of Andhra Pradesh,  Madhva Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal 

 * Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; For Karnataka, Kerala Lakshadeep, Pondicherry, Tamilnadu. 

 * Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi Harvana, Rajasthan. 

 * Punjab university, chandigarh covers Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab. 

 * Tata istitute of Social Science, Mumbai; Includes Diu and Daman, Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra. 

 Placing Request and Delivering the Material  

The request, listing the items required with complete bibliographical information are generally made using Email, normal letter by post, fax, telephone (in case of urgency) or requests in person. The delivery is also made accordingly.

   Charging Pattern                                                                               

Some DDS services are provided on No Profit - No Loss basis while others are on profit. Each document delivery centre makes best effort to deliver the requested materials as early as possible. The fee for the service is charged depending on the type of members and mode of delivery (electronic copies through email / print out copy of electronic document photocopy (xerox) of printed material by hand scanning the printed page through electronic / Photocopy of printed material by Fax/Courier/speed post). The member's and associated member libraries of DDC can make the payment on supply of requested materials. However, there is some time bound to settle the account. All non-member commercial organizations and individuals will have to pay in advance. To avoid the delay and paper work, in many case it is suggested that a deposit account with a minimum of amount may be opened. In today's era many DDC also have the facility of online transfer of money through credit card or internet banking while some others are still functioning by taking account of the demand draft, cheque or by cash.

   f. Let us sum up                                                                                 

 The requesting library/individual for the DDS will have to follow the copyright regulation and therefore will have to give an undertaking in the request itself that the requested material will be used only for academic and research  purpose and not for any commercial gains.

                                                                     Notes                                                                

                                                                     Question