SPECIAL LIBRARIES : An Overview

 

Special Libraries are the Libraries which are attached to Special Type of Organization like that of learned societies, research organizations, industrial and commercial undertakings, government departments and special education institutions. They deal with one subject or a group of allied subjects, but the form of their material can be varied such as periodicals, standards and patents specifications, maps, clippings, technical reports, microfilms, microfiches, disc and tapes, sound recordings etc .

u Harrod  defines that

 

 “Special library is a collection of books and other printed, graphic or recorded material dealing with a limited field of knowledge and provided by a learned society, research organization, industrial or commercial undertaking, government department or even an educational institution. It may also be a special branch of a public library serving certain interests or occupational groups such as a technical library or a special subject library, meeting the needs of all enquiries on that given subject such as music library.”

 

TYPES  OF  SPECIAL   LIBRARIES

 

•      Research Libraries

•      Federal Libraries

•      Corporate Libraries

•      Institutional Libraries

•      Law libraries

•      Medical libraries

•      Music libraries

•       Museum libraries etc

SERVICES OF SPECIAL LIBRARIES

Abstracting services

 Indexing services

 Reference Services

 Translation services

 Reprographic services

 Press clippings /newspaper  clippings

 Resource sharing

 Bibliographical services

  Awareness Services such as Current Awareness and routing, news letters and other bulletin services

Personalised and customised information services such as SDI

  Specialised services like consolidation and repackaging of information and

   Analysis, synthesis and evaluation of information and data and preparation of critic
al reports as and when required.