4.3 Sources of materials
A wide range of sources can be used to find out what materials
are available. The main sources are:
- producers and distributors
- bibliographic sources
- local information sources
- the Internet.
TIP: Developing contacts
It is a good idea to develop contacts with local, national and
international organisations that produce or disseminate information
that may be of use to users. Book fairs and exhibitions are
a good place to develop contacts. Details of organisations should
be kept on file. Organisations should be contacted, asking to
be put on their mailing list to receive regular information
about new materials.
4.3.1 Producers and distributors
Producers and distributors include:
- specialist suppliers
- commercial publishers
- United Nations agencies
- government departments
- non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
- professional associations
- training institutions
- subscription agents.
Specialist suppliers, such as the African
Books Collective, Hesperian Foundation, IT Publications, PACT,
Tropical Health Technology and Teaching-aids at Low Cost (TALC),
supply materials to developing countries, usually at lower prices
than commercial publishers. Suppliers' catalogues are available
free on request.
Commercial publishers are organisations that
produce materials for profit. Commercial publishers that produce
materials on health and development include Butterworth-Heinemann,
Macmillan, Oxford University Press (OUP) and Zed Books. Some
of the larger publishers, such as Macmillan and OUP, have offices
in developing countries, which support local production and
distribution of materials. Publishers’ catalogues are
available free on request.
Most United Nations agencies, such as UNESCO,
UNICEF, UNDP, WHO and the World Bank, and NGOs, such as AMREF,
Healthlink Worldwide, INTRAC, International Planned Parenthood
Federation (IPPF), Oxfam, Save the Children (SCF) and Women
INK, produce materials, often free or at low cost. Most produce
catalogues or publications lists that are available free on
request. Government documents from ministries such as the Ministry
of Health include important policy documents, guidelines and
training manuals.
Professional associations of, for example,
doctors, nurses or librarians, produce materials including books,
guidelines and newsletters.
Training institutions may produce training
materials, including distance education materials.
Subscription agents, such as Swets Blackwell,
organise subscriptions to periodicals.
Details of key producers and distributors of materials are
given in Section 4.9.
4.3.2 Bibliographic sources
Bibliographic sources include:
- resource lists and bibliographies
- bibliographic databases
- acquisitions bulletins
- book reviews and summaries
- sources of information for articles
- Blue Trunk Library lists.
Some publications are a combination of different types of
material providing bibliographic source information.
Resource lists are publications that contain
details of materials, usually on a specific subject such as
diarrhoeal diseases, disability issues, or reproductive and
sexual health. They usually include a brief description of each
material, the price, and details of how to obtain the material.
Bibliographies are similar to resource lists, but do not necessarily
include information on how to obtain materials. Resource lists
and bibliographies are usually available in print or electronic
format.
Bibliographic databases contain bibliographic information on
computer about publications or aticles in periodicals, including
author, title, publisher and price. They use keywords (selected
words or phrases) to describe the content. Some include abstracts
(summaries of contents). Others include the full text of articles.
Many bibliographic databases containing details of materials
on health and development include African HealthLine, African
Index Medicus, CAB Health, Extramed, Source, Medline and POPLINE.
Example of a bibliographic database record
Acquisitions bulletins are regular publications
that contain details of materials added to a resource centre
collection during a particular period. They can be used to find
out what has been acquired by other resource centres, and to
help identify materials for the collection. The resource centre
can either subscribe to an acquisitions bulletin or, if it produces
one, it can arrange to receive others in exchange.
Book reviews and abstracts (summaries) in
newsletters, magazines and journals can help to assess whether
a material will be useful. They often comment on the material,
as well as describing the contents. It can be useful to photocopy
and file reviews to help select materials. Reviews can also
be circulated to users.
Sources of information for articles in newsletters,
magazines and journals are often listed at the end of the article.
They can be used to identify materials for the collection. However,
the materials listed are usually not new, and are more useful
for building up a collection in a new subject area than updating
an existing subject area.
Blue Trunk Libraries list, produced by the
World Health Organisation (WHO) Library and Information Networks
for Knowledge Programme, lists about 150 publications selected
for their Blue Trunk Libraries project. The materials are divided
into 14 categories: General medicine and nursing, Community
health, Primary healthcare, Health management and epidemiology,
Maternal health and family planning, Child heatlh, Diarrhoeal
diseases, Nutrition and nutritional disorders, Essential drugs,
Communicable diseases and vaccination, Parasitic diseases and
vector control, Sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS, Surgery,
anaesthesia and hospitals, and Medical and laboratory technology.
See http://www.who.int/library/country/trunks/contents/index.en.shtml
4.3.3 Local information sources
Local sources of information include:
- colleagues in the same organisation
- resource centre users
- other organisations
- research and development projects
- training programmes
- book fairs, exhibitions and conferences.
Colleagues and users of the resource centre are
useful sources of information about materials for the collection.
They can be asked to suggest materials. For example, they might
recommend a manual that they have used during a training workshop,
or that has been recommended by another colleague. Members of
the resource centre advisory committee (see
Section 2.2) should be involved in deciding what to collect,
and it is worth encouraging them to suggest ideas.
Other organisations working in similar areas
can also be useful sources of information. Resource centre staff
may be in touch with staff of other resource centres, or with
staff of organisations working in a similar subject area.
Research and development projects, being carried
out either within the same organisation as the resource centre
or elsewhere, are a source of information on new developments
and findings.
Training programmes usually provide participants
with handouts, photocopies of sections of materials and reading
lists. These materials may themselves be useful additions to
the collection, or they may help to identify useful materials.
It is therefore good to encourage people to share such materials
with resource centre staff.
Book fairs, exhibitions and conferences include
displays by publishers and booksellers of new materials.
4.3.4 The Internet
If the resource centre has a computer connected to the
Internet, information sources such as electronic conferences or
discussion groups and on-line databases will also be accessible.
Full-text documents on the Internet can be obtained by resource
centres with only e-mail access. They are often advertised on
newsletters or through electronic discussion lists. See
Section 6.5 for information about Internet services.
Example of a web page
next: 4.4 Selecting materials
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